In this critical, political discourse analysis, we trace how two concepts, equity and quality, became discursively linked and contested in the administration of postsecondary education policy over time (1968-1994) -- a developmental process we refer to as (e)quality politics. By engaging in a historical analysis, we investigate (a) the racialized…

This mixed-method study examines Michigan's Partnership policy for school turnaround, which positions the district and superintendents as key policy implementation actors. We first interviewed 21 of 35 Partnership superintendents/leaders across Michigan and surveyed teachers to understand the initial response to the turnaround policy and the…

As school board meetings are integral sites of local education policymaking, scholars must consider how structural racism manifests in these spaces across various district contexts. We examine how racialized institutional logics undergird the interactions between majority-Black district leadership and a local Black community during school board…

Examining rhetoric is important to understanding educational policymaking. This study focuses on rhetoric on one educational policy, performance-based funding (PBF) for higher education. In contrast to previous research on PBF, we analyze rhetoric in both states that implemented the policy and those that opted out. We employ a sequential…

Recognizing the need for scientific fidelity and balanced representation in the evidence that informs public policy, this study investigates technical and issue bias in 43 policy briefs and state handbooks that provided information about the use of Student Learning Objectives to evaluate teachers' performance. The author uses multiple qualitative…

Using congressional testimony on teacher quality from 2003 to 2015 and analysis of 60 elite interviews, we show how the political economy of knowledge production influences idea uptake in education policy discourse. We develop and assess a conceptual framework showing the organizational and financial infrastructure that links research, ideas, and…

In this article, we perform cost-effectiveness analysis on interventions that improve the rate of high school completion. Using the What Works Clearinghouse to select effective interventions, we calculate cost-effectiveness ratios for five youth interventions. We document wide variation in cost-effectiveness ratios between programs and between…

The common reporting of effect sizes has been an important advance in education research in recent years. However, the benchmarks used to interpret the size of these effects--as small, medium, and large--do little to inform educational administration and policy making because they do not account for program costs. The author proposes an approach…

This interview with the Director of the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) at George Washington University discusses: (1) what IEL is and how it functions; (2) how IEL meets the needs of educational policymakers and decision makers; and (3) other programs of IEL. (RL)

Barbara Jordan's views are expressed regarding the merits of a clarification hearing (on the topic of minimum competency testing) over which she presided. The benefits of such a hearing as a process for illuminating educational policy issues are discussed. (Author/GK)

This interview with a former Commissioner of Education for New York during 1969-1977 reflects on his stormy tenure and the state of American education policy making. (RL)

Concentrates on building a conceptual framework for policy research that would provide more useful information to policymakers. Examines four different policy instruments and specifies key relationships among them. (RB)

Discusses a framework for integrating the macroworld of the policymakers with the microworld of the individuals who implement those policies. Analyzes policy directed change. (RB)

The processes and procedures of national commissions on education are discussed. Elements of commonality are presented with a review of competing explanations of the popularity of such commissions. A sociopolitical thesis of educational reform through commissions is advanced, based on the "trickle down" theory of economics. (SLD)

Institutions, individuals, policies, and interactions are identified as the four research perspectives that have guided most legislative studies and that could help to identify promising areas for future investigation of education issues. The discussion of each perspective includes a review of landmark research and comments on its contributions…