The charter sector has grown dramatically since its beginnings in Minnesota almost a quarter of a century ago. Today, an estimated 2.5 million children attend approximately 6,400 charter schools across the country, and all but 8 states have charter laws in place. The expansion of the sector has been accompanied by an increase in public commentary…

As a new decade dawns, teachers stand at the center of a policy vortex. They serve as the primary focus of one of the Obama administration's four pillars of educational reform--effective teachers and leaders. Educational reformers of all stripes have focused tremendous energy on thinking of ways to identify effective teachers and in turn recruit,…

Education researchers and policymakers agree that teachers differ in terms of quality and that quality matters for student achievement. Despite prodigious amounts of research, however, debate still persists about the causal relationship between specific teacher credentials and student achievement. In this paper, we use a rich administrative data…

This report evaluates the success of the magnet school program in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District for the 1987-88 school year. The following sections are included: (1) "Overview of the District"; (2) "History of Desegregation in Houston"; (3) "Development of Houston's Magnet School Program"; (4)…

This report evaluates the success of the magnet school program in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District for the 1988-89 school year. The following sections are included: (1) "Overview of the District"; (2) "History of Desegregation in Houston"; (3) "Development of Houston's Magnet School Program"; (4)…