In a state as large and complex as California, education financing can become as complicated as rocket science. This two-page Q&A provides a brief, easy-to-understand explanation of California's school finance system and introduces the issues of its adequacy and equity. A list of resources providing additional information is provided.

Despite wide publicity and common usage, the concept of skills shortage has different meaning to different people depending on their perspective. Understanding the different concepts of skills shortages, their measurement and the causes of skill shortages is important if sound policies are to be developed in the areas of employment, education,…

An evaluation approach using the mathematical method of the Hasse diagram technique is applied on 20 environmental and chemical Internet resources. The data for this evaluation procedure are taken out of a metadatabase called DAIN (Metadatabase of Internet Resources for Environmental Chemicals) which is set up by the GSF Research Centre for…

Writing assessment began in Alaska in the 1970s, and the Alaska Writing Assessment (AWA) that was piloted in 1997 built on previous efforts. The 1997 AWA involved more than 20,000 students in grades 5, 7, and 10 from 43 school districts, and the mandatory assessment planned for 1998 will include approximately 28,000 students. This review of the…

Although all public schools could be eligible for federal funds under Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) programs, concerns have been raised about whether charter schools are receiving an equitable share of these federal funds. This report describes: (1) how federal Title I and IDEA funds are…

This report responds to Delaware state legislation requiring the development of proposed revised regulations for the classification of students as learning disabled (LD). The report first describes the current system, noting that in 1997 15 percent of the student population were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and over…

This testimony presents an overview of the budgetary needs of the California Community College system for the fiscal year 2001-2002. Thomas J. Nussbaum, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, makes a case for a requested budget increase of between $750 million and $800 million per year. The request is based in large part on the funding…

This paper discusses a qualitative case study that examined faculty attempts to establish and maintain a faculty council as a means of furthering shared governance between administrators and education faculty at a college of education over a 4-year period (1996-2000). Initial experience in shared governance--faculty members participating in…

This journal issue, which is part of a series of wide-ranging debates on major educational topics in Australia, examines three major points connected to school resourcing. First is the shift of emphasis in the discourse on resources from inputs to outcomes. Second is the extent to which schools ought to be self-managed and the possible conflict…

Part of a series on contemporary school reform and special education, this report discusses how states are building capacity for standards-based reform. An introduction describes seven key areas in which states must build classroom and organizational level capacities, including: (1) teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions; (2) students'…

The aim of these documents is to assist Local Authorities in Britain with asset management planning (AMPs) for schools. AMPs set out the information needed, and the criteria used, to make decisions about spending on school premises which will: raise standards of educational attainment; provide sustainable and energy-efficient buildings that are…

The objective of this biennial enrollment audit is to determine that Texas' community and technical colleges are in compliance with the Coordinating Board rules and regulations, the general provisions of the General Appropriations Act, and the provisions of the Texas Education Code for the purpose of receiving state appropriations. Compliance is…

This study analyzed issues related to estimating indirect medical education costs specific to pediatric discharges. The Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGNE) program was established to support graduate medical education in children's hospitals. This provision authorizes payments for both direct and indirect medical education…

The recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (EASA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), provided broad changes encompassing many areas of public education in the United States. Accountability, expansion of school choice, increased focus on reading skills, and greater flexibility for state…

This book explores a range of conceptual, methodological, and empirical issues concerned with the application of needs-based resource allocation in education via formula funding of schools. The notion of "needs-based formula funding" employed in this discussion refers to the impartial application of an agreed set of explicit rules to…