CPE Full Library of Research

The Center for Public Education (CPE) provides accurate and timely information about public education and its importance to the wellbeing of our nation. CPE offers research, data, and analysis on current education issues and explores ways to improve student achievement and engage support for public schools. Search below by alphabetical order or review the categories to search by topic.

Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the Loop

(A Five-Part Series)

Part 5: Parent and Community Supports Are Assets of Rural Schools
In this concluding part of our rural education series, we focus on stories of rural families that go beyond statistics and delve into specific challenges rural parents encounter when getting involved in their children's education. Strategic recommendations are provided for rural school districts to support their communities better and enhance educational outcomes.

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Urban Student Characteristics and Urban School Challenges: What High-Quality Education for Every Student Means

In CPE’s 2024 report on urban education, researchers explore the unique challenges and strengths of urban schools. This comprehensive analysis offers insights into demographic diversity, equity issues, and the meaning of high-quality education for every urban student. The report incorporates many data points and best practices at the district level; it is an informative read for educators, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of urban education.

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Urban Student Characteristics and Urban School Challenges: What High-Quality Education for Every Student Means

About 39.1 million students, 80% of the U.S. student population, attend nonrural or urban public schools. To present a more accurate snapshot of urban students, we use a broader concept to define urban in this report: That definition encompasses all students attending schools in nonrural areas, i.e., cities, suburbs, and towns. In the Executive Summary, we highlight some findings on urban student characteristics and equity issues that challenge urban school districts.

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Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the Loop

(A Five-Part Series)

Part 4: School Safety and Mental Health of Rural Students: Things That Matter

In this part of our report on rural education, we present data about how the COVID-19 pandemic changed rural student behaviors and aggravated mental health issues in rural schools. Challenges and considerations are examined in the areas of preventing suicide in rural schools, preventing school violence in rural areas, and partnering with parents and communities to foster a safe and healthy school culture.

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Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the Loop

(A Five-Part Series)

Part 3: Thinking Broadly and Deeply about Rural Student Achievement and Teacher Pipelines

This report focuses on the student achievement gap and teacher shortages in rural areas. We examined the diversity of rural students on the Nation’s Report Card, namely, regional, demographic, and geographical patterns in student academic performance. Based on our findings, we discuss five unique learning opportunities that rural students often miss and encourage education leaders to consider providing more policy and practice support in those fields.

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Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the Loop

(A Five-Part Series)

Part 2: An Urgent Need to Fix the Digital Divide

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgency of building equal access to internet services in rural areas. In this section, we address how the persistent digital divide ― often referred to as the homework gap ― causes underserved rural students to face more challenges and disadvantages, and what strategies education leaders may take to close the gap.

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Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the Loop

(A Five-Part Series)

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. After a two-year pandemic, issues related to funding, teacher recruitment and retention, and serving disadvantaged students have become more severe in rural school districts. In this five-part series, we use data to address the growing diversity of rural students, and the urgent need to fix the digital divide and support rural student well-being. We also explore five topics about unequal learning opportunities and the achievement gap that affect these students.

Part 1: Growing Diversity of Rural Students
In this section, we discuss changes in the enrollment patterns in rural schools and the growing diversity of their students. Our data cover not only the demographic changes of rural students, but also isolation levels, poverty concentration, regional differences in poverty, and other challenges.

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Community Schools: A Strategy Focusing on Student Needs and Parent Engagement

The concept of community schools can be traced back to the early 20th century when industrialization, immigration, and urbanization were rapidly increasing, and public schools in cities were struggling to meet the social and civic needs of students from low-income families. For this research brief, the Center for Public Education conducted a literature review and briefly reported on the characteristics of community schools and how they engage parents and all stakeholders to improve student achievement and well-being.

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Social Media Use and Adolescent Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic aggravates the situation of student mental well-being, which has become a common challenge in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Yet, literature shows two sides of the same coin. If adolescents use social media in a purposeful and positive manner, social media will enhance their self-esteem and meet their social interaction needs. To help school leaders understand the association between social media use and adolescents’ mental health, NSBA’s Center for Public Education (CPE) developed this report after reviewing over one hundred relevant empirical studies, professional or federal research papers, and media articles.

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COVID-19 Related School Support for Hispanic/Latino Students and Families

This research brief highlights the disparate impact that the pandemic has had on Hispanic/Latino communities and the unique challenges facing these communities (work obligations that were not flexible, logistical barriers, language barriers, immigration concerns, and a lack of information about the availability, safety, and effectiveness of vaccines from trusted sources). It includes a set of best practices for meeting these challenges.

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A New Look at Apprenticeship: Linking School to 21st Century Skills

As high schools provide different programs to acquaint teenagers with workplace demands, “A New Look at Apprenticeship” examines how apprenticeships are used in the U.S. and elsewhere and analyzes their potential impact on developing workplace skills. The report contains useful information to assist school leaders who may be considering adding apprenticeships to their portfolio of college and career-ready programs.

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Black Students in "The Condition of Education 2020" Report

A high-quality education for every student is a pivotal goal that public schools are pursuing. However, the recently released congressionally mandated annual report, the Condition of Education 2020, painted an unsettling national picture of the state of education for Black students. The Center for Public Education (CPE) selected relevant data from the report and compiled this brief. The brief aims to help school leaders monitor the educational progress of Black students and rethink what public schools can do better for Black students.

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Going Above and Beyond: Achievement of Students Employment Experiences

The Center for Public Education (CPE) explored data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) and investigated the relationship between students’ employment experiences and their achievements. Our findings suggest that employment experience – appropriate quantity and quality of employee-type jobs – not only has positive effects on students’ grades in academic courses but also helps students to acquire real-world skills.

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