Midway through the second decade of this century, the importance of early care and education (ECE) to children's lifelong learning and to our nation's economic well-being is recognized up to the highest levels of government, and in businesses, schools, and living rooms across the country. This understanding represents a dramatic shift from earlier…

This report presents the findings from a rigorous national survey of charter school authorizers conducted in 2011 by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). This is the fourth time NACSA has conducted this type of national survey. As in years past, the vast majority of authorizers (90 percent) are school districts and they…

In 2011, Indiana enacted the broadest school voucher program in the country. In the program's first year, almost 4,000 families used vouchers to attend participating private schools, with the number of students applying for vouchers more than doubling in each of the following two years, to 9,324 students in 2012-13, and 19,809 in 2013-14. The…

Indiana is at the national forefront on private school choice. With the broadest eligibility guidelines among the country's 22 other school voucher programs, Indiana's Choice Scholarship Program has seen enrollment more than double each year since being enacted in 2011. Today, when compared with voucher programs in 12 other states, Indiana has the…

Purpose: Extant reports on states' policy differences are mostly descriptive and largely ignore the pervasive role of political culture on their educational policy-making processes. This article examines the effect of policy culture on states' policy-making mechanisms. There is evidence that a state's political culture is a significant mediating…

This study examined official records on retention from the Department of Education to ascertain national and state status and trends of retention/dropouts. The records showed that since 1983 the retention rate has peaked and is beginning to decline. In this investigation of the dropout situation in Indiana, questionnaires were administered to and…

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education…

A national survey revealed that 13 states have created legislation to assist financially distressed schools. Focusing on two states, Indiana and Pennsylvania, the report outlines different methods they have developed to deal with financially distressed schools. In Pennsylvania a distressed school district is taken over by the state, whereas in…

This report examines arts participation in the ten largest metropolitan areas in the United States using data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. These data indicate that, in general, these metropolitan regions tend to be more alike than different with respect to arts participation patterns. Analysis reveals that while…

The personal, academic, financial, and vocational/educational characteristics of over 6,800 students attending 32 private colleges and universities in Indiana were studied, as part of a larger study. At the time of applying to college, 49.4 percent of the students lived in Indiana. About 88 percent were 18-24 years old, and nearly 80 percent began…

The state of interinstitutional cooperation among private colleges and universities in Indiana was studied in 1974 as part of a larger study, and three recommendations were offered namely, that cooperative arrangements should be encouraged; that such arrangements should involve clear goals using cost-benefit analysis as a criterion; and that the…

The documents enclosed in this report provide a comprehensive and systematic review of the progress made in developing a network organization capable of supporting nanoscience education for the public on a national scale. There is a logic to the studies that were done and to the reports that are included in this notebook. The following are the…

The financial health of private higher education in Indiana during 1968-1973 was assessed as part of a larger comprehensive study. In the report, attention is directed to enrollment trends, current fund revenues and expenditures, instructional expenditures, libraries, college administration, operations and maintenance, and balance sheets. Between…

This bulletin summarizes the findings of a study that sought to determine what policies, regulations, and practices teachers believed posed the most significant constraints on their classroom activities; whether these constraints originated at the federal, state, local, or school level; and what effect the costraints had on quality instruction and…

The purpose, design, and results of a study of teacher certification and qualifications for the subjects of science, mathematics, foreign language, and computer learning in Indiana are presented in this document. Sections of the report include: (1) contextual setting (explaining the federal regulations of needs assessments); (2) needs…