The increasing demand for public aid to private schooling raises the question of whether private schools really outperform public schools. National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics scores demonstrate that they do not. Other data substantiating this assertion highlight poor outcomes for both public and private education. (SLD)

The system for financing education in Illinois fails to deliver sufficient resources to the school districts that need them most. Although no individual or administrative unit acts to deprive particular groups, the system as a whole does. Using Census figures, state and local tax records and information from the Illinois Board of Education, this…

This comparative analysis updates the effects on school finance of the Delaware Legislature's passage of a new equalization law in 1984. The formula for allocation of equalization funds was modified by increasing the level of state support and by requiring greater local tax effort for districts to qualify for the funds. Analysis focuses on four…

Minority students' failure is costly, resulting in increases in remedial instruction and numbers of students held back or tracked in low-ability classes. Equitable opportunities will be ensured by creating equitable structures; selecting a diverse, committed faculty; valuing all students; providing equitable funding; and garnering stakeholder…

The vocational education and training (VET) reforms currently under way in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States are distinguished by the breadth, range, depth, and speed of the reforms proposed or already initiated. The European Union has assisted the reform process through its Phare and Tacis programs. The following have been…

This paper exploits a new source of variation in Head Start funding to identify the program's effects on health and schooling. In 1965 the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) provided technical assistance to the 300 poorest counties in the U.S. to develop Head Start funding proposals. The result was a large and lasting discontinuity in Head Start…

The 12 issues of this 1998 publication each contain one or more analyses of postsecondary educational opportunities, including tables and charts. Titles of the individual analytical articles are: "Pell Grant Program Participation, FFY 1974 to FFY 1999"; "Poverty Rates by Educational Attainment, 1996"; "Refinancing Higher…

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. District decision making was also studied. In Part I, interviews were conducted in 10 representative school districts to learn…

To provoke public discussion about the role state aid should play in Vermont public education and to make a case for a state aid system structured on the broad principles of equal opportunity, fair tax burdens, and adequate funding levels, this booklet examines Vermont's system of school finance, attempting to highlight its history and its present…

Three components of the teacher shortage are the recruitment challenge, the retention problem, and the demand for teacher quality. Although the teacher shortage problem involves many factors, any solution must address salaries. Rural districts face a threefold disadvantage: teachers are not compensated as well as other rural professionals; rural…

Ontario's funding formula fails to recognize the unique needs of northern school boards, which cover immense geographic areas, have many small schools, and enroll a high proportion of Aboriginal students. This report examines school size, enrollment, and staffing in northern Ontario schools, drawing on 2002-03 tracking reports of provincial…

A study of three London local education authorities explored the dynamics of British education markets. Findings showed that the market is a middle-class mode of social engagement; parental choice is class- and race-informed; schools are increasingly oriented toward meeting middle-class parents' perceived needs; and secondary schooling is becoming…

Business should participate in school reform but has too narrow a perspective to guide it. Nationalizing education through comparative testing is a move to cut spending for social services, to increase accountability and efficiency without increasing financial responsibility or equity. Imposing private-sector rules on public education undermines…

Since 1994, South Africa's pivotal concern has been access to educational resources for its diverse population. Supply is not meeting demand for either schools or housing. Problems with integrating curricula with salable skill; improving school- university linkages, and improving teacher qualifications are discussed. (MLH)

In September 1998, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) established a 1-year task force to review the NCES's role concerning lifelong learning. The eight-member task force established a working definition of lifelong learning ("a process or system through which individuals are able and willing to learn at all stages of life,…