Education

Two major education provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), signed into law on July 4, 2025, garnered a lot of ink and debate—a federal School Choice Tax Credit and an excise tax on the investment income of private universities with large endowments.

Despite Massachusetts families’ strong interest in alternative to traditional educational models, entrepreneurs seeking to establish innovative learning environments face significant challenges, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Pioneer Institute has released a new Urban Voc-Tech Toolkit  aimed at helping Boston’s Madison Park Technical Vocational High School reach its full potential as a driver of opportunity for high-need students. Drawing on the successes of vocational-technical schools in Worcester, Springfield, and across Massachusetts, the toolkit outlines strategies based on high academic standards, strong industry partnerships, and increased school autonomy. The toolkit was coauthored by a group of five nationally recognized education leaders.

Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios submitted testimony highlighting the success of Massachusetts’ vocational-technical high schools and urging policymakers to focus on expanding capacity rather than altering existing admissions policies. 

New report urges maximizing tax-credit value to expand educational opportunity and boost private contributions

Book finds that marginalized students suffer most from turn away from academics 

Advocates seek to require that admission to vocational-technical high schools be done strictly via lottery, but this would only rearrange who gets excluded. Thanks to their strong performance, voc-tech schools in Massachusetts have roughly 8,000 students on waiting lists. There are good...

Yesterday was a bad day for public school students in Massachusetts because the last pillar of the most effective state education reform in modern American history fell. Since 2008, the Commonwealth has been witness to the systematic dismantling of the 1993 Education...

Recommends Sustainable Policy Responses to Pandemic Learning Loss

Gains have been particularly notable among low-income, Black and Hispanic students