Chapter 1: In response to tightened budgets and concerns about higher education costs, governments have introduced rules to limit the use of publicly funded aid, particularly at for-profit colleges. In this paper, we use an event study framework to estimate how tuition, enrollments, and loan use changed at for-profit colleges that became…

Career and technical education (CTE) is increasingly seen as a major potential contributor to the recovery of the U.S. economy. However, the effectiveness and impact of the current Carl D. Perkins Act (otherwise known as Perkins IV) that governs CTE are unclear. Is the federal investment in CTE paying off? To answer this, we need to establish the…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

Traditionally, the high-performance computing (HPC) systems used to conduct research at universities have amounted to silos of technology scattered across the campus and falling under the purview of the researchers themselves. This article reports that a growing number of universities are now taking over the management of those systems and…

The development of Texas' new cost-of-education index (CEI) for 1992-93 is described in this report. The two components of the index are price, which adjusts for regional price variations beyond the control of local districts, and scale, which adjusts for diseconomies of scale due to differences in district size as measured by pupil attendance.…

This booklet reports on a study of food service functions in Texas schools. The report contains examples taken from previous school reviews and is based on the state Comptroller's instruction that the best practices identified by the Texas School Performance Review team be communicated to all the state's school districts. Some examples present…

Administrative costs and efficiency have become public policy concerns over the past several years as significant amounts of new state and local tax revenue have been infused into Texas's education system. Current trends and state law favor fewer centralized administrative functions at the school district level and greater autonomy at the campus…

The Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 1 in 1990, which gave all school districts the option to offer prekindergarten programs for 3-year-old disadvantaged children. The financial feasibility of implementing such programs in the Texas public schools is analyzed in this report. A brief review of the economic impact of program implementation…

This paper considers implications of the findings of the Texas Performance Review concerning mental retardation services, in light of decreasing numbers of students at state schools and budgetary restraints on major investments in both institutional operations and community service programs. The paper concludes that Texas should consider closing…

This report, in two volumes, contains recommendations and supporting documentation for restructuring mental health services to Texas' children with an emphasis on the cost effectiveness of developing accountable school and community based services, family centered prevention services, and early intervention services. Major mental health issues for…

A comprehensive program for finance reform of the Texas school system based on an analytical paradigm that encompasses adequacy, equity, and efficiency considerations is introduced. Topics such as the development of the Texas conceptual model, the structural elements of the allocation model, and the development of the revenue-raising system are…

In 2007, the Texas Legislature (80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2007) authorized the creation of the Texas Rural Technology (R-Tech) Pilot program, which provides $8 million in funding to support rural districts in implementing technology-based supplemental education programs. In order to be eligible for funding, districts must have…