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The Big Lift™ (Big Lift), a collective impact initiative extending from preschool through third grade in San Mateo County, California, aims to boost reading proficiency and kindergarten readiness through four programmatic pillars: High-Quality Preschool, Summer Learning, Attendance, and Family Engagement. In this report, the authors present results describing the early learning outcomes of children from three kindergarten classes who were eligible to participate in Big Lift. This report — part of a multiphase evaluation of Big Lift services — is the third in a series of annual outcome studies that focus on two pillars: High-Quality Preschool and Summer Learning. In earlier reports, the authors examined the early education and summer learning experiences of the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 kindergarten classes. In this report, the authors continue to follow these children through elementary school and add data for a new class of children, the 2018–2019 kindergarten class. The authors found that Big Lift preschoolers were more likely to be kindergarten-ready than demographically similar peers who did not attend preschool, but were less likely to be ready than peers who attended other community preschools. They also found that most children who attended Big Lift Inspiring Summers (BLIS) before first or second grade maintained or improved their reading levels over the summer. Within a subgroup of lower-income children, children who attended BLIS in the summer after kindergarten had reading levels at the start of first grade that were higher than those of children who did not attend any summer programs.

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Quality Start Los Angeles (QSLA) is a county-level quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) that supports center-based and family child care providers serving children from birth to age five. During a developmental evaluation of QSLA that focused on program coaching, assessment technical assistance, and quality tier rating perceptions, the authors of this report also examined data use at QSLA. In this report, they identified strengths, challenges, and lessons learned that could benefit other QRISs or early learning systems as such organizations create or expand data systems, noting that, even with good intentions and a strong data system infrastructure, data use might not always be implemented as expected.

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RAND researchers conducted a developmental evaluation of Quality Start Los Angeles (QSLA), the voluntary quality rating and improvement system for early learning providers in Los Angeles County. The goal of the evaluation was to determine whether selected components of the QSLA model were feasible, appropriate, and being implemented as designed. The evaluation focused on two topics: (1) the QSLA assessment process and tier ratings and (2) QSLA coaching. The RAND study team engaged in multiple data-collection and research activities from February 2019 through March 2020, including a survey of early learning providers; administrative data analysis; observations of coaching sessions; and focus groups and interviews with early learning providers, coaches, technical assistants (TAs), and other QSLA stakeholders.

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The local governance level in Israel has historically been weak compared with the power of the national government. Many of the issues regarding socioeconomic development and access to opportunity in the wider economy are best addressed at this level. This report discusses three key aspects of Israeli municipalities, with a view toward strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of local government in Israel, particularly in recruiting personnel to become more-active agents for change. First, the authors make the case for adopting a regional approach to address the fragmented nature of municipal governance and overcome some of the key obstacles confronted when dealing with the problems faced by individual small and poor municipalities. Second, they lay out a model for the hiring and placement of personnel in managerial municipal positions as a partial solution for cronyism and the dearth of skilled leadership and professional staffing that typifies many peripheral localities in Israel. Finally, the authors examine the education services that municipalities would be able to offer their residents, with an emphasis on minority communities. This report should be of interest to those involved in urban and regional transformations, the institutions of democratic governance, and Israeli social and economic development, including those working toward greater inclusion of disadvantaged populations within Israel and more generally.

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The government of Puerto Rico developed a plan to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, build resilience to withstand future disasters, and restore the struggling economy. The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), operated by RAND Corporation under contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with the development of the plan. Acting in support of FEMA's Education sector, HSOAC analyzed data sources to conduct an assessment of the damage and recovery needs, and engaged with stakeholders to identify recovery courses of action, costs, and possible funding mechanisms. Education system reforms initiated prior to the hurricanes and poststorm legislation set the strategy for the recovery actions. This report details prestorm conditions, assesses the damage and recovery needs, and describes the courses of action represented in the recovery plan for the Education sector. The analyses, coupled with discussions with local education stakeholders and subject-matter experts, informed the development of 13 courses of action to support Puerto Rico's recovery plan and efforts to transform the education system. The courses of action cover four major themes related to Education sector recovery: rebuilding, repairing, and upgrading infrastructure; strengthening and supporting the government's K–12 system reform; expanding and improving out-of-school and preschool learning opportunities; and increasing access to vocational, technical, and career education and strengthening school-to-work transitions.

Education and state --- Educational change --- Hurricane Maria, 2017. --- Hurricane Irma, 2017. --- Hurricane damage --- Puerto Rico.