The National Bureau of Economic Research released a paper summarizing recent evidence on what achievement tests measure; how achievement tests relate to other measures of cognitive ability; the important skills that achievement tests miss or mis-measure; and how much these skills matter in life. It discusses the inability to adequately capture soft skills – personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences – that are valued in the labor market, schools, and in many other domains. The overarching message of the paper states that soft skills predict success in life, and that programs that enhance soft skills have an important place in an effective portfolio of public policies.

The Center for Poverty Research faculty at the University of California Davis released a new study that examines the 1993 EITC expansion to measure the effect extra income had on rates of low birth weight. The study found that while the EITC is not a health program, it does have a clear impact on newborns.

The Associated Press and National Opinion Research Center's (NORC) Center for Public Affairs released a report on a two-part study conducted to better understand how lower-wage workers and employers think about jobs and opportunities for advancing workers' careers. This study revealed six critical issues with the potential to inform the policy conversation around investments in America's new economy and the workers who help drive it.

The National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families released a tip sheet that promotes the building of strong parenting partnerships. This tip sheet reviews concepts of parenting styles, including parental responsiveness and parental demandingness.

ConnectEd released a video about the Exploring College and Career Options (ECCO) curriculum, developed by MDRC and Bloom Associates, which includes lessons and activities that help students prepare for college and careers that expose them to real-world experiences on college campuses and in the workplace.

The National Center for Children in Poverty released a brief that provides an up-to-date look at how pioneering States and localities are using improved poverty measurement to build smarter social policy.

MDRC released a policy brief describing an innovative program designed to target the psychological and social behaviors that contribute to pain, disability, and inactivity among veterans with disabilities. The goal is to help these veterans resume daily activities and get on a path to work.

Produced as part of the Youth Demonstration Development project for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, this report presents a conceptual framework for efforts to prepare at-risk youth for healthy adult functioning and self-sufficiency. The framework explains how we can build our knowledge about what works for at-risk youth, by implementing and testing research-informed interventions to promote youths' resilience and human capital. An issue brief summarizes the framework.

This joint paper by the National Transitional Jobs Network at Heartland Alliance and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) provides suggestions and examples of innovative funding strategies for subsidized job programs to cities, States, and other public-sector entities that are considering or have decided to implement or expand subsidized employment programming. In particular, the paper may be helpful to sites that operate subsidized employment programs under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund and are interested in building on that experience but can no longer access TANF funds at the previous scale. The paper analyzes these strategies and makes recommendations based on prior successes.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has released a guide for Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) in a report titled Navigating Federal Programs to Build Sustainable Career Pathways in the Health Professions. This report explains the requirements and performance accountability systems of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the workforce and adult education programs supported under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Titles I and II. The report also discusses specific strategies that States can use to overcome potential barriers caused by the disparate requirements of these programs.