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Underserved Students

Report
Finding Help Outside the Classroom: Approaches for Supporting College Students' Basic Needs
This Perspective builds on the research findings from a related RAND Corporation report on a North Carolina initiative to support college students' basic needs with strategies to improve the uptake and effectiveness of such initiatives nationally.
May 23, 2023
Blog
Truth Decay and National Security, Gun Violence, Blockading Crimea: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on Truth Decay and national security, America's gun violence problem, how Ukraine could blockade Crimea, and more.
Apr 14, 2023
Report
Stackable Credential Pipelines and Equity for Low-Income Individuals: Evidence from Colorado and Ohio
The authors examine whether low-income individuals are stacking credentials and benefiting economically, explore systemic barriers to stackable credential opportunities for low-income individuals, and consider solutions to strengthen these pipelines.
Apr 13, 2023
Research Brief
States Can Take Steps to Address Potential Barriers to Equity in Stackable Credential Pipelines
The authors examine barriers to stacking credentials for low-income individuals -- limited chances for stacking in some fields and institutions, insufficient information, and challenges moving between programs -- and consider solutions from stakeholders.
Apr 13, 2023
Research Brief
Do Low-Income Students Benefit from Stacking Credentials? Descriptive Evidence from Colorado and Ohio
The authors describe findings from a study on how frequently low-income individuals are stacking credentials, whether stacking increases wage-earning opportunities, and which fields provide the best returns from stacking.
Apr 13, 2023
Research Brief
How Community Colleges Can Support Student Mental Health Needs
This report is a descriptive study of eight community colleges at the forefront of implementing multilevel approaches to support student mental health, as well as key facilitators for and barriers to their success.
Apr 5, 2023
Report
Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Community College Students
This report is a descriptive study of eight community colleges at the forefront of implementing multilevel approaches to support student mental health and key facilitators for and barriers to their success.
Apr 5, 2023
Report
Report on the Implementation, Costs, and Impacts of the Findhelp Platform in the North Carolina Community College System
The authors examine how the Findhelp online "social care network," which connects students to services that provide basic needs assistance, was implemented at four community colleges in North Carolina, its costs, and its impacts on student success.
Apr 5, 2023
Report
Supporting Students in Foster Care
State and federal policymakers have passed legislation designed to promote collaboration between the education and child welfare systems with the goal of improving educational stability for youth in foster care and, in turn, their educational outcomes. But there are barriers to cross-system collaboration.
Apr 4, 2023
Report
Supporting Equitable Math Instruction in California: Findings from the 2022 Learn Together Survey and the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey
In 2023, California will implement a new statewide math framework that will drive curriculum decisions for years to come. Researchers leveraged data collected from California math teachers to paint a picture of math instruction throughout the state.
Mar 21, 2023
Report
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Third and Final Year
The authors evaluated two Delaware programs for local education agencies with students experiencing poverty and multilingual learners during the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant program.
Feb 7, 2023
Report
Flexible Opportunity Funding Investments in Delaware: Lessons from District Leaders
The authors drew on surveys of Delaware local education agencies that received Opportunity Funding and describe the investments they made to improve the academic achievement of multilingual learners and students experiencing poverty.
Feb 7, 2023
Research Brief
Six Skills for Success: How the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Can Support Participants in Developing Portable Skills Employers Value
The authors of this research identify a set of common skills among high-paying, growing occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree for possible incorporation into the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program curriculum.
Jun 30, 2022
Report
What Are the Skills Required to Obtain a Good Job? An Analysis of Labor Markets, Occupational Features, and Skill Training for the Youth ChalleNGe Program
The authors of this report identify a set of common skills among high-paying, growing occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree and describe how to incorporate such broader skills into the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program curriculum.
Feb 4, 2022
Report
English Language Arts Instructional Systems in the First Full Year of COVID-19
The authors focus on teachers' perceptions of the guidance received on English language arts instruction and instructional system coherence during the first full year of COVID-19 (2020–2021), and how teachers' perceptions compared with 2019–2020.
Jan 31, 2022
Report
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Second Year
This is the second of three annual reports evaluating the implementation and effects of two Delaware funding programs for disadvantaged K–12 schools in the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant.
Jan 27, 2022
Report
Summer for All: Building Coordinated Networks to Promote Access to Quality Summer Learning and Enrichment Opportunities Across a Community
In this eighth report in RAND's Summer Learning Series, the authors chronicle early efforts in four communities to create coordinated approaches to summer programming, noting their challenges, enablers, and early outcomes.
Nov 10, 2021
Journal Article
Benefits of Extracurricular Activities for Children: A Focus on Social Inclusion and Children from Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Backgrounds
This research note summarises the existing evidence on the benefits of extracurricular activities, how they can be used to support social inclusion, and how access for disadvantaged children can be improved.
Jun 9, 2021
Report
Transforming Global Education Through Evidence: An Evaluation System for the BHP Foundation's Education Equity Global Signature Program—Executive Summary
This report is a summary of research for the evaluation of the BHP Foundation's Education Equity Global Signature Program.
Apr 15, 2021
Report
Transforming Global Education Through Evidence: An Evaluation System for the BHP Foundation's Education Equity Global Signature Program
In this report, researchers develop a framework to evaluate the BHP Foundation's Education Equity Global Signature Program, explain methods for assessing progress over five years, and present preliminary results after a year of evaluation.
Apr 15, 2021

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Heather Gomez-Bendaña

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Candidate, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Heather Gomez-Bendaña (she/her/ella) is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research interests include social determinants of health, special needs population, people with disabilities, health care access, health disparities, health…
Elaine Leigh

Associate Policy Researcher

Elaine W. Leigh (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research broadly examines policies and practices that address inequities in postsecondary and workforce transitions for historically excluded students. Recent areas of inquiry include understanding workforce…

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