The Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF)--housed in the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and one of several research centers funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education--provides policymakers and administrators at all governmental levels with data, analyses, expertise, and opportunities to…

Of all the factors that schools control, teacher quality is the one that most affects student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000). In fact, researcher Eric Hanushek (2002) found the difference in annual student achievement growth between a student taught by an effective teacher and one taught by an ineffective teacher can be as much as one…

This paper discusses the work of the Education Trust and other teams of researchers and school leaders. If focuses on one symposium on and five research studies of high-performing, high-poverty schools. The six studies provided information about best practices in school leadership, organization, and instruction. Building on scholarship from the…

The Recession, Retrenchment, and Recovery Project examined the effects of recessions on financial access to college during the 25-year period 1979-2004, identified states that have been relatively successful in maintaining financial access, and collected policy strategies used by these states. This study examined the similarities and differences…

Over the past two decades, America has embarked on a campaign to improve public schools for all our nation's children. Educators have turned their focus to the outcomes of schooling. The Committee for Economic Development (CED) has urged such reforms, and this report concentrates on the need to link the way schools are funded and managed to the…

The maturity of CD-ROM technology now shows a dramatic change in the way librarians and teachers do their jobs. Among their biggest challenges are deciding on equipment requirements and managing the disk collection. This manual is a step-by-step guide to making the most of CD-ROM technology in schools and libraries--from the acquisition of…

A study assessed the formulas used to distribute funds to the states under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) 1998. It identified mismatches that might exist between the formulas and WIA's program goals and populations served and identified where the formulas are most vulnerable to wide fluctuations in funding levels from year to year. Issues…

Madagascar is a poor, primarily rural country in which three-quarters of the population has subsisted below the poverty line for at least two decades. In view of the important role of education in the government's poverty reduction agenda, this report documents the current status of educational development in Madagascar and the key constraints on…

This study, conducted for the Mayor's Advisory Task Force on the City University of New York (CUNY) in 1998 and 1999, was charged with reviewing and making recommendations regarding: (1) the uses of city funding by CUNY; (2) the effects of open admissions and remedial education on CUNY's capacity to provide high-level college courses; (3)…

This paper analyzes efficiency and equity issues in public expenditures on education and health in Ghana during the 1990s. Data were drawn from reports of the ministries of education and health and from household surveys conducted 1988-98. In the late 1990s, Ghana's public expenditures on education decreased. Basic education enrollment was…

This report by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) ad hoc Committee on Federal Support for Agricultural Research, Extension and Education suggests solutions to major challenges in agricultural research. Three new realities provide a powerful rationale for major new investment in agriculture: dramatic…

In an interview, Lloyd Hackney, Chairman of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), responds to questions about black higher education and the role of HBCUs, including HBCUs' public image, the effects of Dr. Hackney's own educational experience on his views, the Clinton Administration's actions,…

Discussion of academic medical centers (AMCs) looks at: change due to heavy federal funding in recent decades; adverse consequences, including deemphasis on education in favor of research and clinical service delivery, and discrepancies between AMC internal and external labor markets; and challenges to medical education in research, education, and…

Argues that new patterns of trade and production combined with an emphasis on a knowledge-based economy/society make it imperative that Canada upgrade its educational system. Specifically notes that several growing and dominant industries (microelectronics, biotechnology, telecommunications) require a high-tech skilled labor force. (MJP)

Reviews recent theoretical advances in political geography, particularly those that stress the political conflict behind the production of space. Discusses how this has impacted the study of environmental phenomena such as hazards, human-land relationships, development, and international environmental governance. Suggests ways that political…