Equitable educational opportunities can help to promote long-lasting, inclusive economic growth and social cohesion. Successful education and skills policies can empower individuals reach their full potential and enjoy the fruits of their labour, regardless of their circumstances at birth. However, as this report shows, far too many children,…

This book answers a simple question: How would one redesign the American education system if the aim was to take advantage of everything that has been learned by countries with the world's best education systems? With a growing number of countries outperforming the United States on the most respected comparisons of student achievement--and…

A comprehensive exploration of 21st Century school politics, "Teachers versus the Public" offers the first comparison of the education policy views of both teachers and the public as a whole, and reveals a deep, broad divide between the opinions held by citizens and those who teach in the public schools. Among the findings: (1) Divisions…

The question of what American colleges and universities should spend to educate their students is addressed. Both societal and institutional factors that determine the costs of colleges' educating their students and longitudinal changes in the unit cost of higher education are examined. The following issues are considered: long-term trends in unit…

This book presents ways in which school administrators can identify and redirect school funds to improve student performance. It quantifies the degree of overall financial inequality in the country using figures for all districts and shows how education dollars are currently spent, why these dollars are ineffectual, and how different and more…

The strategic indicators defined in this book, which builds on two earlier studies published by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, are intended to enable institutions to compare their position in key strategic areas with their peer institutions. Data for more than 100 key indicators was collected from nearly 1,000…

Comparing or estimating the costs of educational projects by merely using cost-per-student figures is imprecise and ignores area differences in prices. The resource approach to cost analysis begins by determining specific physical resources (such as facilities, staff, equipment, materials, and services) needed for a project. Then the cost of these…

Whether or not there will be enough funds available to meet required expenditures has become an annual dilemma for most colleges and universities in recent years. This publication, based on a survey conducted among the 130 member institutions of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), is an attempt to show…

The philosophical underpinning of the purposes of the community college, an examination of the basis for state financial support from a philosophical viewpoint, and an analysis of the ways in which the various states have implemented that philosophy in financial support programs are the central focus of this report. The four current patterns of…

A discussion of higher education in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland assesses policy and provision of education in the two jurisdictions and places them in their international context. The jurisdictions' demographics, trends in participation, and patterns of expenditure are examined first, in the context of both the United Kingdom and…

Through international comparisons, countries may come to recognize weaknesses in their own systems while identifying strengths that might otherwise be overlooked. The 36 indicators included are the product of an ongoing process of conceptual development and data collection and represent the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the…

The papers in this book discuss the goals and constraints facing institutions of higher education in Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union countries. In the European Union countries budgetary pressures and the increasing number of students attending institutions of higher education have resulted in serious financial difficulties for many…