In "Holding Accountability to Account: How Scholarship and Experience in Other Fields Inform Exploration of Performance Incentives in Education"--a paper presented at the National Center on Performance Incentives research to policy conference in February--Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, argues educational…

This review paper, prepared for the forthcoming Russell Sage volume Changing Poverty, considers the ability of different education policies to improve the learning outcomes of low-income children in America. Disagreements on this question stem in part from different beliefs about the problems with our nation's public schools. In our view there…

In most states, declining state appropriations have forced public colleges and universities to raise tuition at an unprecedented rate. Colleges and universities are expected to become more accountable, improve institutional effectiveness and efficiency, and report progress in measurable terms. Amid these pressures, institutions are challenged to…

Comparisons of student achievement effect sizes suggest that systems in which student performance in math and reading is rapidly assessed between 2 and 5 times per week are 4 times as effective as a 10% increase in per pupil expenditure, 6 times as effective as voucher programs, 64 times as effective as charter schools, and 6 times as effective as…

Traditionally, education in Scotland has been viewed as a national service that is locally administered. This research casts new light on that relationship between the Scottish Executive and local authorities by drawing on evidence from an evaluation of the implementation of the additional support staff element of the Teachers' Agreement which…

Background: High levels of early language difficulties raise practical issues about the efficient and effective means of meeting children's needs. Persistent language difficulties place significant financial pressures on health and education services. This has led to large investment in intervention in the early years; yet, little is known about…

In this paper, we address the often contentious debate over state and local recycling policy by carefully estimating the social net benefit of curbside recycling. Benefits are estimated using household survey data from over 4,000 households across 40 western U.S. cities. We calibrate household willingness to pay for hypothetical bias using an…

Unexpected interruptions introduced during the execution phase of simple Tower of London problems incurred a time cost when the interrupted goal was retrieved, and this cost was exacerbated the longer the goal was suspended. Furthermore, time taken to retrieve goals was greater following a more complex interruption, indicating the processing…

Incidental counseling occurs when school staff members respond to students in ways strikingly similar to counseling. Incidental counseling is offered as a simple and effective way for school counselors to engage in systemic change. Two case examples from real school settings form the context for a discussion of how school counselors can begin to…

Every dollar counts in today's school libraries, where a resource is evaluated not just by the cost, but also by how many students will utilize it. A recent survey shows that many school librarians rely on their state to help provide (and pay for) databases that their students can access from the school media center or at their public library.…

Noting that Reading Recovery appears to be both effective and fairly non-controversial, this digest discusses aspects of the Reading Recovery program. Elements of the Reading Recovery program and a typical Reading Recovery lesson are described; issues of the importance of teacher education and teacher role in those lessons are addressed; the…

Because school budgets are limited and becoming more so, the wise use of school finances to enhance student learning is imperative. This digest examines the ways public schools are redistributing existing resources and changing policies to increase student academic achievement. Information is provided on the most effective means for allocating…

Several available summaries of research on coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are summarized and their principal findings discussed. Some additional studies, that have been completed since these summaries were reported, are considered and linked to the summaries. The four major meta-analyses considered are those of: (1) Messick and…

On September 30, 1993, Far West Laboratory (FWL) and the California Assessment Collaborative (CAC) sponsored a cost/benefit forum to examine cost-analysis issues associated with the development and implementation of instructionally sound assessment. This report highlights the central ideas addressed at the forum, incorporates the audience…

Application review is the most important part of the Department of Education's funding process and is designed to ensure that projects are worthwhile and that awards are fair and impartial. The critical step in application review is competitive, objective evaluation by reviewers. This workbook was developed by the Department of Education to…