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News, ideas, and analysis from J-PAL staff and affiliated professors. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly email updates.

parent child digital report

How filling in the information gaps can increase student learning

Educators around the world are currently engaging in many creative strategies to encourage learning despite closed schools, social distancing policies, and other COVID-imposed obstacles to traditional classroom-based learning. This blog summarizes the key takeaway messages from J-PAL’s new policy...
students in China taking an exam

How prioritizing health in schools can also promote learning

As communities and governments find new and resilient ways to support families during the pandemic, schools have stood out as useful nodes within communities. For example, schools or Ministries of Education in many countries worldwide are providing much-needed nutritional support to families...
A man shows a tablet to a small child who is doing homework.

Using evidence to effectively support education during COVID-19

In light of school closures caused by COVID-19, millions of students are home for the remainder of the academic year. Philanthropy will play a vital role in the response to this crisis. But how can education funders and donors ensure that they are allocating their resources effectively?
Indiana state house building

State and local policy responses to COVID-19: Lessons from evidence

J-PAL North America has curated a set of randomized evaluations that tested specific policy options related to the social safety net, health, and education. Our goal is to provide actionable evidence to inform state and local leaders’ policy responses to challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two women gather around a computer on which an online course is displayed.

How to keep students engaged in online learning

Transitioning from a classroom to an online video conference is challenging for everyone involved—teachers must make extra effort to engage students effectively, and students in turn have to make an extra effort to stay engaged amid distractions at home. Research suggests that students typically do...
Children sit on the ground, playing on tablets

Affiliate Spotlight: Karthik Muralidharan

Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellor’s Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego and also serves as a J-PAL Board member and co-chair of the Education sector. A pioneering researcher in education and service delivery, Karthik has profoundly influenced social service...
A group of people sit around a table discussing.

Catalyzing research partnerships: matchmaking from A to Z

At J-PAL, we help promote evidence-based policies by ensuring that decision-makers have access to scientific evidence on the questions that matter. But what spurs these research-policy connections in the first place?
researcher presents at a conference

Strengthening the Egyptian education system: A recap from the Global Evidence for Egypt spotlight seminar on education

The J-PAL Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Initiative, housed within the American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business, hosted a seminar on “Strengthening the Egyptian Education System to Better Reach Marginalized Children and Youth: What We Can Learn from Randomized Evaluations” at AUC...