The Educational Priorities Panel undertook a study to find out how funds are distributed among community school districts in New York (New York) and how resources are distributed to individual schools within the system. For the first time, in 1992, the New York City Board of Education published detailed budgets for the 32 community school…

A recent court case, Sheff vs. O'Neill has centered Connecticut's attention on the fact that its public schools are largely segregated by race/ethnicity (80% of the state's minority student population are clustered in 18 of 166 school districts while 140 others are more than 90% white). This paper discusses financing the cost of higher standards…

During the 1990s, Kentucky has undergone an extensive educational renaissance guided by three milestones: enactment of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA); creation of the nation's first Workforce Development Cabinet; and development of the Kentucky Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Kentucky. This report to President Bush describes…

The RAND Institute on Education and Training has undertaken an analysis of Federal policy options to improve education in low-income areas. Volumes I and II, separately published, have assessed the current Chapter I program and presented a strategy for reformulating the program with commentaries by invited contributors. This volume assesses…

This issue summarizes Marshall S. Smith and Jennifer O'Day's "Systemic School Reform," an analytic essay discussing research into the effectiveness of current education policies and policy system development in numerous states. The essay proposes a design for a systemic state structure that supports school-site improvement efforts and is…

Because many school funding studies are seriously flawed, valid conclusions cannot be reached concerning the effects of school funding in the United States. New evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and two international achievement tests shows that differences among U.S. public school districts (and states) in funding and…

Explores equity issues related to the funding of urban schools. Data suggest that poverty level is more closely tied to spending differences than minority status. Federal and state funding formulas have brought per-student spending in most schools close to the national average, although high-income areas continue to enjoy higher per-pupil…

Examines a policy providing for the differential distribution of educational resources in urban Toronto, Canada. Although this policy addressed systemic social inequality through schooling by placing increased resources in the hands of innercity school staff, it also reaffirmed a normative relationship between mass compulsory schooling and the…

Discusses worldwide economic and sociological dimensions of children's policy. Economic instability, budgetary policy changes, and social shifts have impoverished many children and severely constrained their life prospects. Proposes a New Ethic providing a "first call for children" in national and international policy, modeled after the…

Alternative high schools whose power emanates from variety, choice, and personal relationships are hindered from succeeding by sending schools' practices. Alternatives lack control over who attends, student diversity, time of entry, who teaches, program definition, and graduation policies. They often have inferior facilities and insufficient…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined publicly supported training programs for employed workers, including low-wage workers. The GAO surveyed local workforce boards nationwide and received responses from 470 boards. Two-thirds of the responding boards provided assistance to train employed workers, including partnering with employers to…

The role of adult education in sustaining economic growth and expanding opportunity in Massachusetts was explored. The analysis focused on the new basic skills needed for a new economy, groups lacking the new basic skills, the demand for adult basic education (ABE), funding for ABE, building basic skills through adult education, ABE's costs and…

Virginia has 36 criminal justice training academies, including 10 regional academies. The academies conduct entry-level, inservice, and specialized training for law enforcement officers, jailers, and other criminal justice personnel. In 1998, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) was directed to review the quality, consistency,…

The factors influencing demand for vocational education and training (VET) courses in Australia by individuals, enterprises, industries, communities, and regions were examined through a review of Australian and selected international research. The following were among the key findings: (1) current definitions of "industry" may not be…

This report summarizes evaluation results from AISD's federally-funded Title I program activities during 2002-2003.