School attendance in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has increased exponentially in the last two decades, almost every child goes to primary school and access to preschool and high school is fast catching up. This increase in access has been mostly led by more attendance to school of previously excluded children and youth -poor, rural and indigenous populations-, which has created a heterogeneous pool of students with very diverse needs, abilities and interests.

The use of technologies within educational settings has become a priority for governments of developing countries. Investment in Technologies for Education (TEd), which has the goal of improving the quality of education and making it relevant to 21st century realities, has grown steadily during the past decade. However, efforts involving the evaluation of such projects have been inadequate thus far.

Disconnected is a path-breaking analysis of the relationship between schooling and employers in Latin America. It is sophisticated in its design, using multiple surveys and multiple methods. It distinguishes carefully among different types of skills and the relationship of each type to employment outcomes and employer needs. It examines both the demand and the supply side of the labor market. And it provides guidance for further work. We commend this book to all readers, scholars, and practitioners concerned with schooling and job markets in Latin America.

The study reports on a randomized trial of 1,200 young adults enrolled in an employment training program, to determine the most cost-effective and appropriate interview mode for measuring youth risk behaviors. Four different survey administration modes -two interviewer-assisted (FTFI and CATI) and two self-administered modes (SAI and ACASI)-were randomly assigned.

As schools seek to improve learning, many are moving towards sophisticated and high-stakes testing regimes. What isn't tested doesn't matter. To sharpen the focus on the competencies demanded by tests, schools are devoting an ever-greater share of resources to a few, basic subject areas, while reducing - even eliminating - time spent on subjects not tested. A casualty among these has been physical education. This brief summarizes the evidence against this trend.