Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…

In February 2015 a large group of scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in P-20 finance issues gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the National Education Finance Academy's annual conference, on February 25-27, 2015 to discuss, among multiple topics, the state of P-20 finance in all 50 states. There were 35 states represented in the…

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…

In 2008, due to increasing stakeholder dissatisfaction with assessment results and school report cards, South Carolina revised its 1998 Educational Accountability Act and required public engagement with stakeholders including parents/guardians, educators, business and community leaders, and taxpayers. The legislation created partnerships between…

A recent study (Cook, 1989) involving 58 randomly selected South Carolina elementary schools indicated that none of these schools could be characterized as having an "open climate." This paper suggests that this situation may have its origins in the educational reform movement of the 1980s, first ignited by the publication of "A…

The South Carolina Education Finance Act of 1977 aims toward equalization of public school finance in South Carolina. A major goal is the state provision of 70 percent of school funding. The bill contains three other major provisions: the Defined Minimum Program (DMP), the Index of Taxpaying Ability, and the Weighted Pupil/Base Pupil calculation.…

A review of the legal basis for and a model of operationalizing definitions of handicapping conditions is presented along with a trend analysis of the association between operationalized criteria and stability in incidence rates. The role of Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act), Public Law 93-380, and Section 504 of…

This paper includes a discussion of South Carolina's 1988 amendment to the law regulating home schooling instruction. A brief history of the law and the amendment is provided. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the State Board of Education approved home instruction programs. The amendment specifies: (1) procedures for application; (2)…

The National Basic Skills Improvement Program is authorized to provide grants and contracts to enable children to master the basic skills of reading, mathematics, and effective communication. In mid-1978 the South Carolina Legislature established the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program. In the first half of 1979 an intensive project was…

In 1989, South Carolina passed the Flexibility Through Desegregation Program as a means to provide exemptions from state oversight to those schools that had demonstrated sustained improvement. The first section of this paper provides an overview of educational improvement legislation enacted in South Carolina, specifically, the deregulated schools…

This paper presents findings of an assessment of the effect of recent educational reforms on low achieving and minority students in South Carolina. Despite criticism that the recent reforms would be harmful to these students because of higher standards and testing programs, it is reported that the achievement of black students and low-achieving…

Some insights into the development of an eleventh grade test of "adult functional competency" are provided. The evolution of the test from its first mention to its translation into a test item pool is traced. An attempt is made to identify some of the instructional, measurement, and legal implications inherent in various decisions which…

South Carolina's approach to teacher certification testing is presented. The teacher certification program is a combination of National Teacher Examination (NTE) requirements and Act 187 requirements. NTE's have been administered in South Carolina to certify teachers since 1945 and are administered in 45 teaching areas. In August 1979, Act 187 was…

This paper describes efforts to design an evaluation system that has as its primary objective helping schools effect positive change through the Accelerated Schools Project. Three characteristics were deemed essential: (1) that the evaluation be useful and meaningful; (2) that it be sensitive to local conditions; and (3) that evaluations of…

An examination of education-reform efforts in 50 states for the period 1983-87 found widespread adoption of reforms that were designed to increase state authority over education policymaking. The few decentralizing efforts contrasted sharply with the near universality of the centralizing reforms. This paper presents findings of a study that…