State education leaders across the country are rightly prioritizing efforts to improve elementary student reading outcomes. However, too often these initiatives do not focus enough on the key component to strong implementation and long-term sustainability: effective teachers. Only when state leaders implement a literacy strategy that prioritizes…

In fall of 2015, a Field Poll of California voters revealed that Californians are well aware of the emerging shortage of K-12 public school teachers and think the state should take decisive action to rectify the situation. Eighty-six percent of voters view the shortage as a serious problem, and nearly two-thirds see it as very serious. Ninety-one…

This report, the latest in a series of studies by the Center for an Urban Future examining opportunities to expand economic mobility in New York City, takes an in-depth look at college readiness and success among the city's public high school students. It explores opportunities to dramatically boost the rate at which New York City's students enter…

This report is designed to inform policymakers and educators about the current status of key education policies across the 50 states that define and shape elementary and secondary education in public schools. Time and attendance policies cover length of school year, date for start of school, length of school day, year-round school, kindergarten…

The states exhibit policy variations affecting school districts' local environment. This paper develops a theoretical model demonstrating that bias induced by omitting relevant state characteristics is greater in state-level analyses than in less aggregate studies. Aggregation to the state level inflates the coefficients on school input variables.…

This report presents the results of a survey of 2,000 Minnesota adults' opinions about public education in 1985. Following a discussion of study background and a summary of findings, the report is divided into ten sections, each dealing with a different survey question. Each section presents the question, shows the distribution of responses,…

Nearly every state is in fiscal crisis. A slow-growing national economy, a decrease in state tax collections, and a rise in health-care costs are three of the main factors that have created massive budget shortfalls, according to this report. The 2002 edition of this annual survey presents aggregate and individual data on the states' general fund…

This study is the third annual study of primary program implementation in Kentucky elementary schools. This research project is one of six studies conducted in 1995 to determine the extent Kentucky schools and educators had implemented educational technology. In June, 1990, the Kentucky legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA),…

This document is the Tennessee Board of Regents' (TBR's) second annual report card, which details the accomplishments of the state's public higher education institutions in four areas: student learning, academic programs, faculty productivity, and financial accountability. An overall status report is provided for the entire state system, followed…

This 13th annual edition of "Education Vital Signs" reports on indicators of school and student success, such as parent involvement, academic coursework, high school completion, technology use, achievement test scores, and student performance on reading, math, and science assessments. Also offers state-by-state statistics and a profile of school…

A research project that developed methods for describing, organizing, analyzing, and predicting state education policy activity had as its major focus the way that values affect that policy. Data were drawn from six states: Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Arizona, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. They were chosen to represent ranges of political…

A survey of state policies and practices regarding child care that was conducted prior to most states' implementation of the Family Support Act is reported. The report summarizes the findings of that survey and provides information from other recent studies. State child care roles and responsibilities are assessed in four main areas: (1) states as…