This evaluation sampled 150 pairs of schools (50 pairs of high schools and 100 pairs of elementary schools) eligible for ESAP funds, randomly designating one school from each pair as a control school to receive no ESAP funds and using a flip of the coin to so designate. The first volume of the report comprises four chapters and seven appendices.…

This document contains papers intended to identify problems and issues confronting institutional research and to assess the measured response of institutional researchers. The following general topics are covered: (1) the campus and its environment, (2) allocation of college and university resources, (3) faculty workload and effectiveness, (4)…

This is the fourth annual report to Congress by the US Department of Education. Among the highlights of this report are: (1) More students were reported by states as having enrolled in vocational and technical education courses in Program Year (PY) 2002-2003 than in the past three years; (2) There remain concerns about the quality and reliability…

This policy brief presents findings from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory research on resource allocation in 1,504 independent school districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. Using 5 years' data from the federal Common Core of Data and the Census Bureau along with 3 years of student performance data from each state…

Presents responses of seven U.S. business leaders (G. Ball, J. Hume, S. Ingram, D. Kearns, T. Peters, D. Roberts, and T. Roeser) to questions about the six national goals for elementary education and secondary education by the year 2000. Highlights enhanced accountability, educational vouchers, structural reform, and resource allocation. (JB)

The Commonwealth of Virginia overcame an environment of each institution for itself to craft an accountability process oriented around state needs.

In this paper, a companion piece to "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools" (ED544382), the authors analyze small high school spending in three urban districts--Baltimore City, Boston, and Chicago--to understand whether it is higher than in larger schools; if it is, why it is different; and the policy…

This report summarizes the 1989-90 State Performance Reports for the Chapter 1 Basic Grants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and the Chapter 1 State Agency Neglected or Delinquent Program. The Neglected or Delinquent Program served youths in state-operated adult and juvenile correctional facilities and facilities for neglected children. The…

This study adds to the effective schools debate a criticism of existing criteria--based on standardized achievement test profiles--for targeting schools for intervention programs. Qualitative and quantitative methods of gathering data result in conflicting assessments of the magnet elementary school studied as needing or not needing intervention.…

This paper argues that social demands on the educational system have changed dramatically in the course of the past few years. A more affluent American society is now demanding that education provide a medium where excellence can be attained by the most able students and a certain minimum level of competence is attained by students who are less…

Research was undertaken to examine the effects of a critical mass policy (concentrating funds) on student achievement in compensatory education programs in California. No consistent, positive relationship was found between the level or composition of educational resources and achievement test scores in reading and mathematics. (MH)

This article summarizes the effects of NCLB on school districts based on four years of evaluations conducted by the Center on Education Policy as part of the most comprehensive and continuous overview being undertaken of that policy.

In the mission statement that introduces this annual report, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction defines the goals of revamping the state's "Essential Skills" program to reflect high academic standards and achievement, develop a fiscally responsible equitable school finance system, and reorganize the state department of…

The 27 papers included in this proceedings report focus on various aspects of institutional effectiveness and student outcomes. The papers are: (1) "Assessment Update: Ends, Means and Results" (Banta); (2) "The Top Ten Issues Facing America's Community Colleges" (Lorenzo and Banach); (3) "Assessing Institutional Effectiveness in Continuing…

The more commonly cited uses of state and local district assessment programs are addressed. The implications of seven proposed uses of state assessment data are reviewed point-by-point: (1) allocating state grants-in-aid to alleviate weaknesses in instructional programs; (2) designing instructional support programs for teachers; (3) developing…