Carnegie Insights: Data for Improving the Future of Learning and Democracy

Carnegie Insights surfaces data for improving prospects from cradle to career for all Americans

By Carnegie Corporation of New York May 12, 2021
Carnegie Reporter Spring 2021Future of Learning & Work
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From the Spring 2021 Carnegie Reporter

Data tells a story, from birth to learning to potentiality. In the past year, Carnegie Corporation of New York has published a number of resources that have preceded and followed the upheaval that began in March 2020. The pandemic kept us apart, closed our schools, and upended, it seems, learning. But it also opened up a greater understanding of the life conditions that affect all of us.

Carnegie Insights offers a glimpse into these life conditions and surfaces statistics that motivate the Corporation’s work to improve the future of learning and democracy for all Americans. From addressing significant learning loss during the pandemic to bridging the digital divide, investing in teachers, and cultivating better outcomes for all citizens, Carnegie Insights shows how our schools, communities, and broader economy and democracy are inextricably linked. 

Students were expected to return to school in fall 2020 with significant learning loss — up to 30% in reading skills and over 50% in math, especially among Black and Latino students.

"Why the Pandemic Presents a Rare Opening for Improving the Way We Educate Kids," October 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

In May 2020, only 9% of teachers reported that their classrooms’ daily attendance was above 90%.

Voices from the Classroom 2021: A Survey of America’s Educators, February 2021, Educators for Excellence

At the end of August, 40% of all families worried they would not have enough food to feed their families within the next month. By the end of 2020, experts estimated that one in four (17 million) children went hungry in the United States.

Voices from the Classroom 2021: A Survey of America’s Educators, February 2021, Educators for Excellence

4 in 10 teachers claim technology or reliable Internet access and limited access to a conducive learning environment have been “very serious” obstacles for their students.

Voices from the Classroom 2021: A Survey of America’s Educators, February 2021, Educators for Excellence

In 2020, 67% of parents said they felt more connected with their child’s day-to-day education than ever before, and 70% wanted to know more about lessons their children had missed and how their schools planned to recover that lost ground.

"Why the Pandemic Presents a Rare Opening for Improving the Way We Educate Kids," October 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Just 41% of principals and 33% of teachers report the availability of supports for the transition from high school to college.

Moving the College Access Needle for the New Majority, February 2021, National College Attainment Network

About 30% of Black workers and 20% of Latinx workers hold bachelor’s degrees, compared with 44% of white workers.

Reimagining College and Career Transitions under COVID-19, December 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

In the last quarter of 2019, the median earnings of white workers were 28% higher than those of Black workers and more than 35% higher than those of Latinx workers.

Reimagining College and Career Transitions under COVID-19, December 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Families pay more for childcare than for mortgages in 35 states and only 10% of childcare programs in this country are considered high quality.

Investing in the Birth-to-Three Workforce, January 2020, Bank Street College of Education

Major industrial development goes where there are good teachers. Economic development prospects never ask about the college of education, but 100% ask about the quality of the schools.

How Do Teacher Preparation Programs Affect a State’s Economy? What State Policymakers Need to Know, September 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

More effective teachers can add as much as $10,600 in earnings over the lifetime of an average worker, according to Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. If a teacher annually educates a class of 20 students (a low-end estimate), the economic impact on a state is significantly larger.

How Do Teacher Preparation Programs Affect a State’s Economy? What State Policymakers Need to Know, September 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

When teachers participated in curriculum-based professional learning, their students’ test scores improved by 9% of a standard deviation — about the same effect caused by replacing an average teacher with a top performer or reducing class size by 15%.

The Elements: Transforming Teaching through Curriculum-Based Professional Learning, November 2020, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Just 37% of teachers claim to receive training that enables them to implement their curricula effectively.

Voices from the Classroom 2021: A Survey of America’s Educators, February 2021, Educators for Excellence

More than 9 in 10 Americans (93%) — including 98% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans — say they favor a national initiative that creates paid work and job training opportunities as a component of COVID-19 economic recovery efforts.

Back to Work: Listening to Americans, February 2021, Gallup/Carnegie Corporation of New York Survey

65% of Americans identified addressing the impact of lost learning for K–12 students due to COVID-19 as a high priority in a possible jobs-and-training program.

Back to Work: Listening to Americans, February 2021, Gallup/Carnegie Corporation of New York Survey

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