For decades, performance-based budgeting has been applied to evaluate the degree to which government programs and agencies are meeting their stated goals in a cost-efficient manner. The same thinking is applied to public education. In today's times of tight budgets and higher expectations, public schools are being asked to justify their budgets…

Small size is often cited by reformers and parents as the key ingredient necessary to create an effective learning environment. In New York City, the new public secondary schools have consistently smaller numbers of students than most existing high schools. The literature is unambiguous that smaller schools show better outputs than schools of…

This study investigated school district size, the consolidation of small school districts to make larger ones, and the linear relationships of school district size to expense per average daily attendance (ADA), basic and composite scores on the MAT6 standard achievement test, and secondary school dropout rate. Correlational analysis revealed that…

This report documents the extraordinary crisis facing Florida's public schools and provides evidence that Amendment 9--a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes--is a cost-effective and invaluable first step to rebuilding its troubled public schools. The report also sets the record straight about the long-term benefits of investing…

Schools within schools are large public schools that have been divided into smaller autonomous subunits to create a sense of community and cohesiveness among students and staff. This digest discusses the benefits, drawbacks, varieties, and sources of funding for schools within schools. Designers of these schools seek the advantages of both large…