This overview provides a synthesis of a comprehensive survey of school finance programs in the 50 states conducted in 2006-07. Information was provided by chief state school finance officers or persons with expertise in a state's public school funding-allocation system. Brief descriptions of the major Pre-K-12 funding formulae, district-based…

This study examines the effects of public preschool expenditures on the math and science scores of 4th graders, holding constant child, family, and school characteristics, other relevant social expenditures, and country and year effects, in 7 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries--Australia, Japan, the…

The library and information science field is currently confronted with difficult decisions about how best to allocate acquisition expenditures among increasingly expensive journals. This article measures the return-on-investment of serial expenditures through the use of citation analysis, which is a widely used approach to ascertaining journal…

Distance educators find themselves in a growth segment of the education industry. Distance educators must understand why the industry is growing. This growth presents a number of challenges. Four contributing factors are: (1) changes in educational delivery and regulations; (2) changes in technology; (3) changes in society; and (4) environmental…

This paper explores research and literature related to professional learning communities (PLCs) and describes their attributes and structures, the impact of different environments in which professional learning communities can be sustained, and the benefits for staff and students. There is consensus that PLCs can improve professional practice and…

A review of the articles on modernization in Australia, England, New Zealand, Scotland and the USA demonstrates and discusses the complexity attached to the concept. This also enables a better understanding of the contention and controversy that surrounds the concept and its application to educational policy and practice. Modernization policies in…

The rise of cohabitation and the growing share of births to cohabiting couples have led to speculation that the boundary between marriage and cohabitation is blurring. Examines this issue with an analysis of the financial arrangements of fathers of mainland Puerto Rican children. Reveals that married fathers are more likely than cohabiting fathers…

A large literature finds that resources are not significant determinants of student performance. These results may arise because resources really do not matter in public education or because local school districts allocate additional resources to poorer performing schools. To shed light on this issue, a unique data set for the Metropolitan…

Researchers have questioned whether additional resources impact student achievement--essentially, whether money matters. This policy brief examines the connections between student achievement and resource allocation with the aim of providing policymakers with guidance in this area. Key points are that targeted resource allocation especially…

Reviews evidence and argues for view that managerial pay allocations are influenced by degree of dependent on subordinate and by threats to that dependent. Explores issues of managerial discretion and pay allocation and pay as a means of managing dependencies. Identifies major sources of objective and subjective dependence on subordinates.…

This paper summarizes views on the costs of evaluation developed as part of CSE's Evaluation Productivity Project. In particular, it focuses on ideas about the kinds of costs associated with factors known to effect evaluation utilization. The first section deals with general issues involved in identifying and valuing cost components, particularly…

Reviews and compares various theories of equal educational opportunity and their applications in the United States and elsewhere. Proposes a set of four types for classifying different measures of inequality. (MCG)

Reviews the multifaceted challenges facing public universities and offers insights into the potential educational consequences of overzealous revenue-based institutional management. It is vital not to lose sight of the essential elements of higher education in a concentration on finance. (SLD)

Based on his experiences as the leader of Vermont's Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and a transition researcher, the author describes why transitions from institutional settings to less restrictive ones are often unsuccessful. Also offers suggestions, including wraparound, for reversing this problem. (Author/MKA)

Defines the criteria of economy, effectiveness, efficiency, and equity for making choices about resource allocation, locates them within a conceptual framework, and examines reasons for the increasing interest in them. Explains and illustrates the evaluation methods of cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-consequences analyses.…