One of a series of Education Resource Strategies (ERS) publications and tools, this paper explores important ways to organize and invest in Professional Growth & Support that strengthen teaching capacity and effectiveness at the system level. It draws on research, ERS experience with urban school systems nationwide, and detailed analyses of…

The fact that well-qualified teachers are inequitably distributed to students in the United States has received growing public attention. By every measure of qualifications--certification, subject matter background, pedagogical training, selectivity of college attended, test scores, or experience--less-qualified teachers tend to be found in…

For more than a century, a succession of New York City (NYC) mayors have claimed that they were reducing administrative overhead in the school system and driving more resources to instruction. These claims have been dutifully reported by the press with rarely any effort to verify them. For the last 50 years, the salaries of teachers were increased…

Using New York State data for 1970-94, considers how the teacher salary structures in public school districts have changed and whether salary increases have been allocated to achieve the greatest gain in education quality. Instead of using salary incentives to entice and retain the most able college graduates, most districts have inefficiently…

Examines how school financial policies affect economic incentives and working conditions for teachers and how these policies might serve to make the teaching profession more attractive to new and experienced teachers. Particular consideration is given to the California public school system. (DR)

Studying school district spending in New York State revealed that districts increased real expenditures per pupil by 46% between 1980 and 1992. A large portion of the spending has gone to disabled students. Also discussed are the growth in administrative expenditures, responses to changing enrollments, and teacher compensation. (SLD)

Despite a decade of reform efforts, important policy questions concerning the efficiency and equity of the current financing system remain unanswered. This paper examines New York State fiscal and educational outcome data for 1985/86 through 1989/90. Data are presented for school district expenditures and teacher salaries; local revenue bases and…

This report updates a 1985 research study prepared for the New York State Regents Task Force on Education and Economic Development. Average per pupil expenditures in 1984-85 were analyzed for 13 expense categories among 3 groups of school districts in New York State: (1) the New York City suburban counties; (2) the "Big Five" cities (New…

Research findings from a study of collective bargaining in New York and Michigan school districts indicate that collective bargaining does have a significant impact on the allocation of resources in ways that affect student learning. These findings support hypotheses based on the theory that collective bargaining will make a difference in resource…

Conventional research dealing with education finance in general and resource allocation in particular has focused on the raising of revenues at federal, state, and local levels and the subsequent apportionment of these resources across schooling systems, typically school districts. Concern about productivity and equity, however, cannot be…

This draft document presents an analysis of all major educational reform proposals before the Illinois General Assembly, assessing the costs of implementation and what benefits might be expected for the funding levels contained in the proposals themselves. The 18 areas examined are (1) student testing; (2) student retention/remediation; (3)…