As education budgets continue to tighten, increased attention is focused on how school districts can best distribute existing funds to schools and how schools can best use these funds. Student-based funding (SBF)--sometimes referred to as a weighted student formula--is one approach that school districts have taken during the past decade. SBF…

The infrastructure, both physical and human, devoted to intercollegiate athletics at the largest U.S. universities is more comprehensive and impressive than the Olympic training facilities of most countries. More challenging is determining the extent of the significant investment that these institutions make in their sports programs. Many…

Each year at Utica College, a tiny pot of money stands as a kind of symbol of where the college hopes to go and how close it sits to the edge. In a $55-million budget, after the college has paid its employees, heating bills, and other expenses, about $150,000 is left over for what the college calls its initiative fund. Todd S. Hutton, the…

This article reports on a 2009 budget survey conducted by "Library Journal" in which a random sample of U.S. public libraries were surveyed via mail or fax in October 2008. Those that answered the survey projected a modest increase in budgets for 2009, just 2%, with less than a 1% increase in funds for materials, a predictable area for cuts. That…

The principal purpose of the report for the "Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers" is to provide timely, accurate, and comparative information about the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers System. This report is intended for use by people who are interested in data relevant to education in the School…

As Nevada struggles in this difficult time of recession and high unemployment, it is time to acknowledge that only through a robust and adequately funded education infrastructure and, in particular, higher education will the State ever achieve the diversification and growth all Nevadans need. Nevada must make a long term commitment to excellence…

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended, is the largest federal education funding source for kindergarten through grade 12. In fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated $14.5 billion for Title I grants to school districts to improve educational programs in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income…

For fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated $14.5 billion for Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), which funds services to students in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families. Title I, Part A includes several fiscal requirements, which are designed to prevent local school…

The most sweeping federal education law in decades, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, requires states to administer standardized exams and to punish schools that do not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the fraction of students passing these exams. While the literature on school accountability is well-established, there exists no…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to compare the performance of area-based vs individual-level measures of socioeconomic status (SES). Design/methodology/approach: Using data from the longitudinal surveys of Australian youth (LSAY), a multidimensional measure of individual SES is created. This individual measure is used to benchmark the relative…

Public universities are not for-profit businesses with an easy-to-understand bottom line: their financial reports are not designed to convey information to the public fully or to reflect all the costs of teaching and research. Financial reports do track every dollar in accordance with the accounting rules required by auditors, but they do not…

This paper sets out a new budget allocation formula for schools, designed to achieve a more equitable distribution of educational achievement. In addition to needs-based elements, the suggested composite allocation formula includes an improvement component, whereby schools receive budgetary allocations based on a new incentive measure developed in…

Government agencies and professional organizations have attempted to improve education research by creating common standards for judging research quality. However, the absence of agreement regarding research quality has limited the effectiveness of this approach. This article argues that, rather than focusing on standards, policy makers should…

This study examines the effects of family socio-economic disadvantage and differences in school resources on student achievement in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Using data from the ICFES and C-600 national databases, we conduct a multilevel analysis to determine the unique contribution of school-level factors above and beyond family…

Research has indicated that physical education (PE) teachers report feeling isolated, having limited (or no) access to resources, and struggling to be perceived as legitimate professionals by other teachers, students, administrators, and parents. As time and resources for PE continue to be reduced, PE's marginal status is intensified. This article…