We’ve got a stock market and a Gross Domestic Product to tell us how our economy is doing. But how are people doing? That is the question that informed a new and provocative book called The Measure of America, a report that uses indicators in three areas – income levels, health and education – to determine whether the conditions in our society are constraining or expanding people’s well-being.
Co-authors Kristen Lewis and Sarah Burd-Sharps have synthesized reams of statistics at the state and Congressional district level to deliver a richly textured snapshot of how the United States is faring when it comes to developing the potential of our people. Colorful maps and easy-to-understand graphics are a hallmark of the new book and website, which is part of the American Human Development Project at the Social Science Research Council. The New America Foundation recently held an event about the book – complete with video – and today we speak with Kristen Lewis about what the book's findings tell us about the health of the education system throughout the country.
Early Ed Watch podcast – April 19, 2011
Podcast: How Does Your State Stack Up on Measures of Human Development?
With our guest Kristen Lewis, co-author of The Measure of America: Mapping Risks and Resilience.
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The Early Education Initiative seeks to promote a high-quality and continuous system of early care and education for all children, birth to age 8. While much of our focus is on pre-K up through 3rd grade, we also examine the need for high-quality infant and toddler care and better policies to support new parents.
Our forum on LinkedIn is a space for school district leaders, early childhood educators, policymakers and other interested parties to discuss their struggles, questions and achievements in creating a “before birth and up through third grade” system. It grew out of an event held at the New America Foundation on March 2, 2011.
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