Two schools in Maryland received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their turnaround efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) G. James Gholson Middle School; and (2) Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School. The experiences of…

In U.S. K-12 public education, incentive pay for educators remains firmly fixed as a high-interest policy topic and has recently become a popular reform initiative in many school systems. The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), created in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education, is at the forefront of this policy movement and has provided hundreds of…

"The Condition of Education 2017" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year's report includes 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary…

The changes in the New Orleans public school system are proceeding at break neck speed. There is currently a bill in the Louisiana State Senate which would allow the state to sell, lease, or give New Orleans school buildings to any institution that has operated schools for 25 years. This would be done with a no-bid process. The money would not go…

How can communities encourage the development of good school alternatives harnessed to solid public oversight? Do charter or voucher schools face particular accountability challenges? What do parents need if they are to make sound choices? In particular, what do the poorest parents need? How do advocates of more school choice deal with the…

The Annual Report is a critical document in charter school accountability; it is intended to be a clear, concise report regarding school performance and its success in meeting Accountability Plan goals. The formatting for each school's report may be unique; however, there are required elements set forth in this document that must be included in…

This paper presents the Superintendent's 20th Annual Report, a comprehensive overview of Hawaii's public schools for school year 2008-09. This report contains essential progress indicators and measures, as well as highlights and comparisons of core educational data presented in a concise and user-friendly format. Appended are: (1) Glossary; (2)…

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) establishes requirements, definitions, and approval criteria for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (Stabilization or SFSF) program. The Secretary may use one or more of these requirements, definitions, and approval criteria in awarding funds under this program in fiscal year (FY) 2010. These requirements,…

A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted of Gordon, Kane, and Staiger's (2006) proposal to raise student achievement by identifying and replacing the bottom quartile of novice teachers, using value-added assessment of teacher performance. The cost effectiveness of this proposal was compared to the cost effectiveness of voucher programs, charter…

This report describes Ohio's school restructuring efforts under the No Child Left Behind Act, including findings from interviews with state officials and case studies of nine schools in four school districts: Cincinnati Public Schools, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Mansfield City Schools, and Mount Vernon City Schools. Key findings from…

The second edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, abridged versions of research reports, outside articles and op-eds, book reviews, and other Education Sector publications. The 2007 edition features: (1) K-12 Accountability (Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education (Bill…

The "Closing the Achievement Gap" series explores the Casey Foundation's education investments and presents stories, results, and lessons learned. This publication looks at the various influence activities the Foundation's education program has supported in the past seven years. It also explains the logic behind this diverse set of investments,…

The Texas example illustrates the challenge faced by today's charter movement: how to meet growing demand while maintaining quality. Its considerable progress is sometimes obscured by headlines about the few schools at the top that generate enormous excitement and world-class achievement and the few at the bottom that use their autonomy for unwise…

This report synthesizes the year 2 findings of a 3-year qualitative study of autonomy, accountability, finance, and supports in New York City charter schools. In 2000-2001, the study sample included 10 schools (8 charter and 2 alternative schools considering charter status). Section 1 reviews the literature on supports provided to traditional…

To measure returns on taxpayer investments, two distinct evaluation levels are needed: a publicly accessible system that provides data and analytical conclusions for a state's school districts and charter schools; and an indepth assessment of individual school districts or sites. Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services framework looks…