A model of cost-effectiveness is outlined which enables consideration of some non-financial, as well as financial, elements of educational systems at school or district levels. The model enables the decision-maker to compare educational outcomes of different units, to assess the impact of alternative levels of financial input, and to select…

Early proponents of charter schools argued that these human-scale organizations would help close the achievement gap. This paper examines survey data from principals of 1,010 charter schools nationwide during the 1999-2000 school year, along with 2,847 teachers in the same schools. Issues considered include how local activists and charter-school…

This study compared the equity and adequacy outcomes for plaintiff and nonplaintiff school districts as they relate to the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990. Both descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used in comparing variables and in determining the differences in selected finance measures. There were three major…

This report sets forth, through an analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, a vivid picture of the severe shortage of basic resources in 228 of New York City's public schools. Data come from detailed questionnaires filled out by parents, teachers, and administrators from these schools. These responses indicate that 55% of these school…

This report contains collective data on Hawaii's schools, showing trends over time and, where appropriate, comparisons with data from other states. It includes data from 246 public schools and 7 school districts for the 1996-97 school year. In 1996-97, enrollment growth, which had exceeded 1.5% for 5 years, declined sharply to 1%. Dropout rates…

Measured the wealth redistribution effected by southern schools and the taxes that supported them using data from a large sample of southern states for 1880 through 1910. When taxes and expenditures are considered, the separate but equal school system appears to have provided a net transfer to black students. Public schooling in the South was a…

Ng suggests that a funding scheme that is dramatically unequal in direct spending can still be fair, but his measure of fairness, net subsidy, flies in the face of all government public-good spending practices. Politicians trying to avoid the issue of unequal funding should not take comfort from Ng's analysis. (SLD)

In the standards-based education reforms of today, an important question is how much it will cost for all--or almost all--students to reach state-determined proficiency levels? School finance adequacy seeks to determine that cost. Four models have been developed to estimate the costs of adequacy. Two of them--the professional judgment and the…

Across the educational systems of the world, few issues have received more attention in recent years than the problem of ensuring that elementary and secondary-school classrooms are all staffed with adequately qualified teachers. The objective of this report is to present the results from a collaborative, comparative study, that examined the…

Across the educational systems of the world, few issues receive more attention than the problem of ensuring that elementary- and secondary-school classrooms are staffed with adequately qualified teachers. Even in nations where students routinely score high on international exams, the issue of teacher quality is the subject of concern. It is widely…

Across the educational systems of the world, few issues receive more attention than the problem of ensuring that elementary- and secondary-school classrooms are staffed with adequately qualified teachers. Even in nations where students routinely score high on international exams, the issue of teacher quality is the subject of concern. It is widely…

Most research on the association between school resources and student outcomes has concentrated on finances as measured in dollars. This study takes a fresh look at the issue by focusing on the allocation of real resources, defined as the personnel and materiel used to increase student learning, which are more relevant measures of a school's…

This report presents the findings of the Arizona Indicators Panel, a statewide representative sample of Arizonans conducted in May and July 2008. Arizonans think best of local hospitals and community parks among a group of government and community services. While they did not think particularly well of the responsiveness of local governments' to…

The 2007 Hawai'i State Legislature passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 118 S.D.1 HD 1 Improving the Community's Understanding of the Department of Education's Programs and School Expenses Including a Comparison with Other States on Adequacy of Funds. Among the requests contained in the resolution were the following: "Be it further resolved…

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) works with school and district leaders to help them more strategically use resources--people, time, and money--to improve student performance. They have found that many school districts begin creating small high schools without a clear sense of how much they will spend or how to ensure that small schools…