When Mark Smith was principal of Houston's Anderson Elementary School in the early 1990s, he often ran up against a maddening mathematics problem. At the time, the Houston Independent School District doled out money to schools for nonteaching staff members--like assistant principals, clerks, and librarians--based on a set of enrollment formulas…

Through executive orders, legislative initiatives, referenda, or constitutional amendments, a number of states have proposed measures to require school districts to spend at least 65 percent of their operational budgets on "in-class instruction." The current national average for such expenditures, using accounting categories from the…

Principals, teachers, students, and parents all have dreams for improving their schools, but often they do not have the funding to make their dreams come true. How can schools provide the additional financial support to make their dreams come true? Members of the Broughton High School community in Raleigh, North Carolina, found one answer: create…

This paper explores the implementation of China's English language policy for primary schools in the 2004-5 school year through case studies of four public schools of different types. Data were collected through document reviews, interviews, and observations. The investigation of the four schools illustrates that during 2004-5 the policy has not…

Charter school administrators weathered start-up woes, among them challenging students with unmet needs, verbal assaults, dwindling student enrollment, and a first-year budget deficit exceeding $200,000 to implement a reading improvement strategy that holds promise for helping at-risk students read better, a point particularly underscored…

The 2015 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 51st in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

In the early 1990s, large numbers of children in India remained out of school. International commitments to achieve education for all (EFA) globally meant that India was an important case for donors. India was pressed to accept aid for primary education, and agreed with some reluctance. Although subsequent donor involvement was substantial and…

This article critically reflects upon the "divides" among actors within two currently popular education policies in low-income countries: decentralisation and Universal Primary Education (UPE). Current literatures suggest that the existing decentralisation framework tends to overlook the "divides" among actors that often impede…

When parents and staff at Winter Park Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, realized that some children could not afford school activities, such as purchasing ice cream on Fridays, they decided to level the economic playing field. The school began eliminating all practices that required students to spend money to participate. Students…

In November 1996, the voters of Montgomery County (Maryland) approved by referendum an amendment to the County Charter that changed the County Council's review and approval cycle of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) from an annual to biennial cycle. The referendum specified that in odd-numbered fiscal years (on-years) the County…

This article discusses the methods and results of a study designed to determine the cost of education under the curriculum frameworks and state laws in a northeastern state after major education reform and a judicial decision finding the system inadequate and unconstitutional. The study is designed to determine the funding levels necessary for…

This report extends the funding gap analysis for K-12 districts that was published by The Education Trust in August 2002. This study provides information on the national ranking of all Illinois' school districts based on poverty quartile and state and local funding. It also examines funding adequacy, in addition to funding equity. (Contains 4…

The efficiency of schools diverges dramatically across countries in the OECD and can also vary markedly within countries. These differences in levels of efficiency can be traced to policy and institutional settings. As such, moving to best practice could boost educational attainment and reduce pressure on budgetary resources. This paper assesses…

The Detroit Public Schools (DPS) have been battered by substantial outside forces over the last decade. The school system was taken over by the state; its elected school board was dissolved and replaced by an appointed body; its many operating systems were privatized; its citizenry were encouraged to flee to charter schools; and its resources have…

This article provides a description of home-based education in the state of Florida and addresses the financial queries that often arise in the debate regarding the probative value of homeschooling and its effects on the financial coffers of state legislatures. This simple analysis of home-based education and its financial implications for Florida…