Congress amended and extended the "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education" ("Perkins IV") in 2018 with passage of the "Strengthening Career and Technical Education Act for the 21st Century" ("Perkins V"); the law became effective on July 1, 2019. "Perkins V" increases federal funding for…

Sixty-seven school finance reforms (SFRs) in 26 states have taken place since 1990; however, there is little empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of SFR effects. We provide a comprehensive description of how individual reforms affected resource allocation to low- and high-income districts within states, including both financial and…

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) playbook series has explored strategies and processes states can use to strengthen CTE program quality and provide students with pathways to postsecondary credentialing and middle- and higher wage career opportunities. In the first three CTE Playbooks, ExcelinEd provided a high-level view of how states can…

This paper explores what happens to similar groups of children educated in different school districts. In this case, the "twins" in the study are groups of students who live in the same state in similar geographies and who share certain demographic characteristics. For this report, "twin districts" have very similar sizes and…

How important is the faith associated with an educational institution in raising funds? Do development professionals at faith-based institutions use strategies different from their secular school colleagues? Are there particular challenges to raising money from donors who may already have philanthropic ties to churches or synagogues? Fundraisers…

Career and technical education (CTE) is increasingly seen as a major potential contributor to the recovery of the U.S. economy. However, the effectiveness and impact of the current Carl D. Perkins Act (otherwise known as Perkins IV) that governs CTE are unclear. Is the federal investment in CTE paying off? To answer this, we need to establish the…

For two decades, researchers at the Economic Policy Institute have been tracking nine school districts, typical of districts nationwide, to understand how the spending levels and composition in elementary and secondary education have changed over time. The first report, "Where's the Money Gone?" (1995) tracked expenditures from 1967 to…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

The nation's major city public school districts have substantial construction, renovation, modernization, and deferred maintenance needs because of the age and size of their school buildings, shifting populations, and the need to devote substantial resources to instructional personnel to meet their core academic mission. For instance, the average…

On March 25-26, 2010, a cadre of urban education leaders gathered in Baltimore, Maryland for the "Fair Student Funding Summit," a conference that brought together districts that use weighted student funding (WSF) as an approach for allocating dollars to schools. Convened by Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and hosted by Baltimore City…

In the tug-of-war between researchers and IT for supercomputing resources, a centralized approach can help both sides get more bang for their buck. As 2010 began, the University of Washington was preparing to launch its first shared high-performance computing cluster, a 1,500-node system called Hyak, dedicated to research activities. Like other…

The Recession, Retrenchment, and Recovery Project examined the effects of recessions on financial access to college during the 25-year period 1979-2004, identified states that have been relatively successful in maintaining financial access, and collected policy strategies used by these states. This study examined the similarities and differences…

Intended for federal policymakers, this study examined four aspects of the Chapter 1 migrant education program: program administration, program services, students served, and program expenditures. Case studies were conducted in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas between November 1986 and March 1987. State agencies and…