Completing Advanced Placement (AP) coursework is an important part of the selective college admissions process, and access to AP coursework can be viewed as a measure of equal opportunity. Relatively little research has fully examined how access to AP coursework is mediated by school characteristics. Rural schools are at a particular disadvantage…

This chapter presents data from a 15-year, mixed-methods school improvement effort. The High Reliability Schools (HRS) reform made use of previous research on school effects and on High Reliability Organizations (HROs). HROs are organizations in various parts of our cultures that are required to operate successfully "the first time, every…

Research on school leadership shows that principals can significantly impact student achievement by influencing classroom instruction, organizational conditions, community support and setting the teaching and learning conditions in schools. Moreover, strong principals provide a multiplier effect that enables improvement initiatives to succeed. The…

A quality data management system, such as an education management information system (EMIS), a state longitudinal data system, or a data warehouse, is key to ensuring that education policy, planning, and strategy decisions are grounded in accurate information. The chief state school officers of the Federated States of Micronesia have recognized…

A quality data management system, such as an education management information system (EMIS), a state longitudinal data system, or a data warehouse, is key to ensuring that education policy, planning, and strategy decisions are grounded in accurate information (Data Quality Campaign, 2010; Mohamed, Kadir, May-Lin, Rahman, & Arshad, 2009;…

"The ABCs of School Choice" is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America. The 2016 edition of "The ABCs of School Choice" is the best yet, not just because of the new look and the fantastic growth in the number of school choice programs, but also because it is now paired with a…

Despite increasing financial pressures on higher education systems throughout the world, many governments remain resolutely opposed to the introduction of tuition fees, and some countries and states where tuition fees have been long established are now reconsidering free higher education. This paper examines the consequences of charging tuition…

The Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) offers publicly funded vouchers to students in low-performing schools with family income no greater than 250% of the poverty line, allowing them to enroll in participating private schools. Initially established in 2008 as a pilot program in New Orleans, the LSP was expanded statewide in 2012. This article…

This study uses logistic and multinomial logistic regression models to analyze neighborhood factors affecting EMO (Education Management Organization)-operated schools' locational attributes (using census tracts) in 41 states for the 2014-2015 school year. Our research combines market-based school reform, institutional theory, and resource…

Education is pivotal to a better life for many individuals. Unfortunately, a large number of adolescents in poverty fail to complete high school; thereby limiting their opportunities for better employment options. However, there are adolescents who live in poverty and successfully complete high school, despite the adversities. This study, using…

Massive funding cuts to public education took place around the country following the Great Recession. Many school districts were forced to conduct teacher layoffs at a larger scale than any other time in recent history. We show that prior to a district intervention, the layoff process disproportionately impacted historically disadvantaged students…

This is the Mackinac Center's fourth school report card and covers elementary and middle schools. A similar report card was published in 2013, and this edition includes two years' worth of new data. A unique characteristic of this report card is that takes into consideration the "context" of a school when assessing its performance.…

Previous studies have shown that state performance funding policies do not increase baccalaureate degree production, but higher education scholarship lacks a rigorous, quantitative analysis of the unintended consequences of performance funding. In this article, we use difference-in-differences estimation with fixed effects to evaluate performance…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which there is a typology of principals who depart from their schools in the U.S. using the 2007-2008 Schools and Staffing Survey and the 2008-2009 Principal Follow-up Survey. Prior principal retention research has focused on identifying factors that predict principal turnover; however,…

This article presents a comparative analysis of educational inequality by family background and gender in Taiwan and the Czech Republic, which have both experienced substantial educational expansion in the last half-century under different educational systems. We highlight the specific institutional histories of both countries and examine the role…