For-profit colleges do not always recruit aggressively; nor do they always shortchange students. But the problem of colleges systematically overpromising and underdelivering, when it does happen, has largely been a for-profit phenomenon. The abuses have been the most widespread and most damaging when they have been fueled by government grants and…

Even though 34 states and the District of Columbia have No Child Left Behind Act waivers in hand, many of them are still negotiating with the U.S. Department of Education over their teacher evaluation systems--a crucial component if they want to keep their newfound flexibility. More than six months after waiver recipients turned in their…

While the federal government spends billions of dollars every year on federal education programs, federal policymakers and education advocates often lament that these programs do not achieve their intended results--specifically, increasing student academic achievement. To address this problem, policymakers and advocates typically debate the merits…

This Quick Reference Document is being distributed by the Regional Resource Center Program ARRA/Fiscal Priority Team to provide RRCP state liaisons and other (Technical Assistance) TA providers with a summary of critical fiscal monitoring and support activities they may be involved in during calendar years 2011 and 2012. Like other documents in…

Applying a Multiple Streams framework, the article documents the development and ultimate undoing of what became known as the national sales tax plan for education. The authors identify four factors that coalesced to lead the Nixon administration to propose replacing local property taxes with a federal value-added tax to finance K-12 education.…

This Quick Reference Document has been prepared by the Regional Resource Center Program Fiscal Priority Team to aid RRCP State liaisons and other Technical Assistance (TA) providers in understanding the general context of State questions surrounding Maintenance of State Financial Support (MFS) and Local Educational Agency (LEA) Maintenance of…

This article offers an analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of the Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant program and places it in the broader context of the debate over the No Child Left Behind Act and the shifting intergovernmental relations around education. RTTT is fundamentally about two things: creating…

The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from…

This Quick Reference Document has been prepared by the Regional Resource Center Program ARRA/Fiscal Priority Team to aid RRCP State Liaisons and other (Technical Assistance) TA providers in understanding the general context of state questions surrounding excess cost. As a "first-stop" for TA providers in investigating excess cost…

This results improvement resource guide includes a listing of TA&D programs and centers that provide technical assistance related to academic achievement results improvement for students with disabilities. The website URL, target audience(s), and purpose are provided for each center/program. In addition, a brief example describing the…

This letter is submitted to comment on the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) proposed revisions to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), as published in the September 23, 2011, Federal Register. Overall, the Data Quality Campaign believes the proposed changes strike a sensible balance: they…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the federal stimulus package, will over the next two years provide all states with federal funding to support early learning opportunities for 3- and 4-year-olds. This investment clearly reflects Washington's acknowledgement of the link between high-quality early education and the nation's…

The U.S. Department of Education is conducting several activities to address privacy and security issues related to education data. Earlier this year a contractor for the Department convened a group of privacy and security experts and produced a report with recommendations to the Department on ways they can address emerging challenges in…

This report discusses: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy requiring that foster care training costs be allocated proportionately between the Social Security Act Title IV-E foster care program and other programs; (2) adherence to this cost-sharing policy; and (3) the effect of cost-sharing on states' training programs. It…

Responding to an article from the April 1987 Phi Delta Kappan criticizing Chapter 1 structures, the author points out that radical changes will not improve the program, instead a broader "systems approach" for interpreting rules governing such programs is needed. (MD)