"Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card" analyzes the condition of state school finance systems with a focus on the fair distribution of resources to the neediest students. The Report Card makes a number of assumptions about how school funding systems should be designed: (1) a fair funding system should provide levels of funding…

The National Report Card (NRC) evaluates and compares the extent to which state finance systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence, or school location. It is designed to provide policymakers, educators, business leaders, parents, and the public at large with…

The National Report Card (NRC) evaluates and compares the extent to which state finance systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence, or school location. It is designed to provide policymakers, educators, business leaders, parents, and the public at large with…

While the United States was recovering from the recent economic stress caused by the Great Recession, individual state economies were improving at a slow pace. In 2012, state education budgets came to a crossroads, as most states had exhausted their allocations of federal stimulus dollars. Prior editions of this report noted how many states used…

The third edition of the National Report Card examines the condition of states' finance systems as the country emerges from the Great Recession, but is still wrestling with its consequences. As in prior editions, this Third Edition of the National Report Card continues to make the case for states to take immediate and longer-term action to improve…

What if you could remove time and space pressures from the process of teaching and learning? The authors of "Off the Clock" not only suggest this, but they have implemented it in New Hampshire. Due in part to their work, the New England Consortium won the 2011 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation through the Education Commission of…

To understand and evaluate a university's effectiveness requires a lot of information. But rarely is that information brought together in one place. This report compiles publicly available data about the University of North Carolina system. It illustrates key characteristics of the 16 campuses and how they have changed over the past decade. This…

Most of us have had at least one amazing teacher who has inspired, influenced, or encouraged us to do better, aim higher, or just be more confident. However, most of us have also had at least one teacher who has not met our expectations. In "Teachers Matter", education researcher Marcus A. Winters, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute,…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "The Gap Defined": ACT Report Cites Poor State Standards and Assessments as Possible Reason for Gap Between Postsecondary…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Yes He Will?: Campaign Details Suggest That Obama Presidency Will Make Education Reform a High Priority; (2) A New Way Forward…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Bush Budget Proposes Spending Freeze for U.S. Department of Education: Title I, Striving Readers, Statewide Data…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "The Costs and Benefits of an Excellent Education": U.S. Could Net $45 Billion Annually if One Year's Worth…

An average of 33.5 percent of school district expenditures is spent on classroom teachers' compensation in Wisconsin elementary schools. The range varies from a low of 21.4 percent to a high of 45.9 percent. Financial data were analyzed from the survey responses of 110 of Wisconsin's 431 districts. The reasons for the average proportion spent on…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) NCLB Redux: House Committee Releases Draft Language on NCLB Reauthorization, Includes Significant New Programs for…

The first two-thirds of this book, an adaptation of the 1984 television documentary "To Save Our Schools, To Save Our Chldren," reports on an ABC News Closeup study of the challenges facing education in the United States. The book discusses the vast dispartities between educational ideals and realities, suggests that the future of…