Analyzes trends in student achievement and student and teacher attendance--outcomes rewarded by South Carolina's School Incentive Reward Program since 1984. Results show modest improvements in student achievement and no significant improvements in attendance patterns for students or teachers. Grouping schools into socioeconomic bands to compete…

Replies to E. A. Hanushek's questioning of the validity of meta-analysis as used by the authors in analyzing resource allocation and its effects on improving student academic performance. Statistical analysis procedures are examined. (GLR)

Lack of statistically significant input/achievement relationships in many production-function studies has bolstered "money doesn't matter" arguments. This study uses detailed national student data to estimate an education production function that omits restrictive assumptions, concluding that school inputs (especially instructional…

This study focuses on flexibility provisions in the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) provision of NCLB. Specifically, it addresses REAP Flex, a program that allows rural districts additional control over how to spend portions of their federal funding. REAP Flex is part of a series of NCLB flexibility initiatives aimed at rural schools.…

In the Fall of 2006, Education Resource Strategies (ERS), a nation-wide leader in helping school systems make the most of their resources, was invited by Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) to study the use of resources in the district and create priority recommendations to inform the district's strategic plan. Saint Paul is in a situation where…

Drawing from three years of research in the classrooms of four highly effective elementary and secondary teachers in South Los Angeles, this article considers theories of teaching in urban contexts by examining effective practices in urban classrooms. It outlines an original framework of five indicators of effective teaching in urban schools and…

Balanced allocation of fundamental education teachers is one of the most important ways to achieve the highest quality of compulsory education. It also guarantees an accelerated achievement of a balanced development of fundamental education. In poverty-stricken areas of ethnic minorities, unbalanced teacher allocation is a major factor that…

Testimony concerning the proposed Regulatory Impact on Student Excellence Act (RISE), a bill to assist schools in improving student performance, is reported. The text of the bill is given in full. It begins with Congress's finding that: (1) public school teachers are currently spending more time on regulatory paperwork; (2) many teachers have…

This report examines the procedures employed in the Home Start Program, which offered prekindergarten readiness enrichment for economically disadvantaged children, ages two through five. The program focused on regular visits to the home by paraprofessional home workers, and took into account parental needs as well as the multifaceted development…

Based on the economic theory of constrained maximizing behavior, this paper constructs a model of decision-making in public schools in order to discuss the role of unions and collective bargaining in resource allocation decisions. Research findings from a study of collective bargaining in New York and Michigan school districts indicate that…

This is one of six related reports that describe the effects of the current Title I funds allocation formula and examine several alternatives. This particular study analyzes the results of demonstration projects in 13 school districts that switched to student achievement measures as criteria for allocating Title I funds to schools rather than…

No Child Left Behind as well as many state policies maintain that the threat of sanctions are a method that will insure quality teaching and improved student achievement. Proponents of these policies often point to states such as Florida and Texas and their improved achievement scores under such policies. For the most part, these claims are not…

Presents the results of an analysis of resource inputs and academic performance based on the production-function framework. Data were collected from 26 Nigerian secondary schools. Results indicate that there is a significant relationship between teachers' salaries or professional qualifications of English language teachers and academic…

Investigates the performance of a regulated, equalized school system by analyzing the relationship between resource use and student achievement in 34 Norwegian high schools. Distinguishing between quantity and quality, uses data envelopment analysis to establish a reference frontier representing best practices and measure technical efficiencies.…

More and more schools in California and across the nation are showing that when school communities accept the possibility and responsibility of bringing all of their students to proficiency levels, they can do amazing things. Six schools located in southern California--Martin Luther King and Harvey of Santa Ana Unified, Morrison Elementary of…