Education Drivers

Equitable Distribution

Data Mining

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The Cost-Effectiveness of Five Policies for Improving Student Achievement

It is important to select interventions that have the greatest impact we can afford. Using Stuart Yeh’s effectiveness cost ratio formula, a rough comparison can be drawn comparing class size reduction with other educational interventions.

Yeh, S. S. (2007). The Cost-Effectiveness of Five Policies for Improving Student Achievement, American Journal of Evaluation, 28(4), 416-436.

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SYNOPSIS
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Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey. First Look.

This report presents selected findings from the school principal data files of the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS).  It provides the following descriptive information on school principals by school type, student characteristics, and other relevant categories: number, race/ethnicity, age, gender, college degrees, salary, hours worked, focus of work, years experience, and tenure at current school.

Battle, D. (2009). Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2007–08 Schools and Staf ng Survey (NCES 2009-323). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

A Powerful Hunger for Evidence-Proven Technology.

Schools in the United States now spend more than $2 billion each year on education technology. But what are schools getting in return for this significant investment in technology learning? Robert Slavin examines the results from five studies designed to answer this question.

Slavin, R. (2019). A Powerful Hunger for Evidence-Proven Technology. Baltimore, MD: Robert Slavin’s Blog. https://robertslavinsblog.wordpress.com/2019/11/14/a-powerful-hunger-for-evidence-proven-technology/.

Speaking of salaries: What it will take to get qualified, effective teachers in all communities

The fact that well-qualified teachers are inequitably distributed to students in the United
States has received growing public attention. By every measure of qualifications—
certification, subject matter background, pedagogical training, selectivity of college attended,
test scores, or experience—less-qualified teachers tend to be found in schools serving
greater numbers of low-income and minority students.

Adamson, F., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2011). Speaking of Salaries: What It Will Take to Get Qualified, Effective Teachers in All Communities. Center for American Progress.

A Closer Look at Title I: Making Education for the Disadvantaged More Student-Centered

This analysis examines whether the current mechanisms for providing federal education funding to disadvantaged children are effective and whether the system works as originally intended.

Aud, S. L. (2007). A Closer Look at Title I: Making Education for the Disadvantaged More Student-Centered. Heritage Special Report. SR-15. Heritage Foundation.

America's Most Financially Disadvantaged School Districts and How They Got That Way

This report explores some of the most financially disadvantaged school districts in the country and identifies a typology of conditions that have created or reinforced their disadvantage. It report lays out a typology of conditions that lead to severe fiscal disadvantage for local public school systems. It then provides examples of states, state policy conditions, and specific local public school districts identified as being severely financially disadvantaged.

Baker, B. (2014). America's Most Financially Disadvantaged School Districts and How They Got That Way. Washington: Center for American Progress.

The Stealth Inequities of School Funding: How State and Local School Finance Systems Perpetuate Inequitable Student Spending

This report begins by identifying those states where combined state and local revenues are systematically lower in higher-poverty districts–that is, states with “regressive” school funding distributions. Based on this analysis, the authors focus on six states–Illinois, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and North Carolina–where children attending school in higher-poverty districts still have substantially less access to state and local revenue than children attending school in lower-poverty districts. With these states in mind, the authors then go beyond recent reports on school funding inequities to uncover some nontraditional causes of these imbalances.

Baker, B. D., & Corcoran, S. P. (2012). The Stealth Inequities of School Funding: How State and Local School Finance Systems Perpetuate Inequitable Student Spending. Center for American Progress.

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: First Edition

The National Report Card is a critique of state school funding systems and the extent to which these systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence or school. The report makes the assumption that "fair" school funding is defined as "a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty."

Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., & Farrie, D. (2010). Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card. Education Law Center.

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Second Edition

The Second Edition of the National Report Card on public school funding, Is School Funding Fair?, shows that far too many states continue to deny public schools the essential resources they need to meet the needs of the nation's 53 million students and to boost academic achievement. The National Report Card rates the 50 states on the basis of four "fairness indicators" - funding level, funding distribution, state fiscal effort, and public school coverage. The Report provides the most in-depth analysis to date of state education finance systems and school funding fairness across the nation.

Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., & Farrie, D. (2012). Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Second Edition. Education Law Center.

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Third Edition

The 3rd Edition of Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card details how the Great Recession and its aftermath have affected school funding in the states. The National Report Card (NRC) examines each state's level of commitment to equal educational opportunity, regardless of a student's background, family income, or where she or he attends school. Providing fair school funding -- at a sufficient level with additional funds to meet needs generated by poverty -- is crucial if all students are to be afforded the opportunity to learn and be successful.

Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., & Farrie, D. (2014). Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card: Third Edition. Education Law Center.

Creating sound policy for digital learning: The costs of online learning

In these pages, we estimate the costs of blendedlearning models and fulltime virtual schools as currently operated in the U.S.

Battaglino, T. B., Haldeman, M., & Laurans, E. (2012). Creating sound policy for digital learning: The costs of online learning. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2012/20120110-the-costs-of-online-learning/20120110-the-costs-of-online-learning.pdf

 
Using Resource and Cost Considerations to Support Educational Evaluation: Six Domains.

The focus of this essay is on which economic methods can complement and enhance impact evaluations. The authors propose the use of six domains to link intervention effectiveness to the best technique needed to determine which practice is the most cost-effective choice.

Belfield, C. R., & Brooks Bowden, A. (2019). Using Resource and Cost Considerations to Support Educational Evaluation: Six Domains. Educational Researcher48(2), 120-127.

Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Summary, First Look

The Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary School Principals in the United States is a subsection of the NCES 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). It provides descriptive statistics on K-12 school principals in areas such as: race, gender, education level, salary, experience, and working conditions.

Bitterman, A., Goldring, R., Gray, L., Broughman, S. (2014).Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States:Results From the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Summary, First Look. IES, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education

Civil rights data show more work is needed to reduce inequities in K–12 schools

Gaps in educational opportunities persist, and more work is needed to make sure that every child has a fair shot at success. Earlier CEA analysis highlights that gaps in learning outcomes have already emerged at the time of school entry, and they persist or even widen as children progress through school. 

Black, S., Giuliano, L., & Narayan, A, (2016, December 9). Civil rights data show more work is needed to reduce inequities in K–12 schools.

Leadership for all students: Planning for more inclusive school practices

Educational policies and leadership practice has evolved to support efforts for inclusive education for students with disabilities. This article focuses on how leaders support and develop inclusive practices for students with disability through engaging institutional norms and inertia; developing inclusive practice as a planned organization-wide reform; making meaning and developing purpose; aligning structures with purpose; supporting a culture of learning as an organizational feature; planning for teacher capacity and professional development; and sustaining commitment to risk, innovation, and learning.

Black, W. R., & Simon, M. D. (2014). Leadership for all students: Planning for more inclusive school practices. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation9(2), 153-172.

Application of Economic Analysis to School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) Programs

The authors discuss how to use economic techniques to evaluate educational programs and show how to apply basic cost analysis to implementation of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS).

Blonigen, B. A., Harbaugh, W. T., Singell, L. D., Horner, R. H., Irvin, L. K., & Smolkowski, K. S. (2008). Application of economic analysis to school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) programs. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 10(1), 5–19. doi: 10.1177/1098300707311366

Alternative teacher certification: Does it work

Many U.S. school districts have difficulty hiring enough qualified teachers to replace those who retire, transfer to other districts, or leave the teaching profession. Some subjects are more difficult to staff and some schools have higher turnover than others, creating recruitment and hiring bottlenecks.

Bos, H., & Gerdeman, D. (2017). Alternative teacher certification: Does it work? Washington, DC: American Institutes of Research

Return on Educational Investment A district-by-district evaluation of U.S. educational productivity

This report examines the efficiency of the nation's public education system

Boser, U. (2011). Return on Educational Investment: A District-by-District Evaluation of US Educational Productivity. Center for American Progress.

Educational Equity and Effectiveness- The Need for Fiscal Fairness and Fiscal Productivity

This report analyzes two critical, and sometimes competing, issues in school finance reformer: fiscal equity and fiscal efficiency. It makes the case that fiscal equity and fiscal effectiveness are not mutually exclusive, and this nation needs to do more to improve both the fairness and the productivity of public school dollars. In other words, we need to make sure that schools and districts not only get enough money to serve their student populations but also that they then spend those dollars wisely.

Boser, U. (2014). Educational Equity and Effectiveness- The Need for Fiscal Fairness and Fiscal Productivity. Washington: Center for American Progress.

The effects of school facility quality on teacher retention in urban school districts

The attrition of both new and experienced teachers is a great challenge for schools and
school administrators throughout the United States, particularly in large urban districts.
Because of the importance of this issue, there is a large empirical literature that investigates
why teachers quit and how they might be better induced to stay.

Buckley, J., Schneider, M., & Shang, Y. (2004). The Effects of School Facility Quality on Teacher Retention in Urban School Districts. National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.

What Are We Spending on Special Education Services in the United States, 1999-2000? Report. Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP).

This document is one of a series of reports based on the Special Education Expenditure Project, a study of the nation's spending on special education and related services based on analysis of data for the 1999-2000 school year.

Chambers, J. G., Parrish, T. B., & Harr, J. J. (2002). What Are We Spending on Special Education Services in the United States, 1999-2000? Report. Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP).

How much are districts spending to implement teacher evaluation systems: Case studies of Hillsborough County Public Schools, Memphis City Schools, and Pittsburgh Public Schools.

This report presents case studies of the efforts by three school districts, Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), Memphis City Schools (MCS), and Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS), to launch, implement, and operate new teacher evaluation systems as part of a larger reform effort called the Partnership Sites to Empower Effective Teaching. 

Chambers, J., Brodziak de los Reyes, I., & O'Neil, C. (2013). How Much are Districts Spending to Implement Teacher Evaluation Systems?.

Navigating comprehensive school change: A guide for the perplexed

Thorough and comprehensive, this book offers essential information about how to form leadership teams, identify high stakes problems, build commitment, create a school-wide vision and establish school-wide goals, handle setbacks, maintain the vision and sustain change, evaluate and assess comprehensive school change.

Chenoweth, T. G., & Everhart, R. B. (2002). Navigating comprehensive school change: A guide for the perplexed. Eye on Education.

Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Final Report on Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance Across Four Years (Executive Summary)

Research has revealed that effective teachers are critical to improving student achievement. Little evidence exists, however, about the best ways to help teachers be more effective, or about how schools that serve the students in most need can attract and retain the most effective teachers.

Chiang, H., Speroni, C., Herrmann, M., Hallgren, K., Burkander, P., & Wellington, A. Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Final Report on Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance Across Four Years (Executive Summary) (No. 4b317dd18fd94603b46ef0c6825b90d2). Mathematica Policy Research.

K-12 teacher recruitment and retention policies in the Higher Education Act: In brief

One of the more difficult issues involves a debate between observers who are concerned about an overall teacher shortage, and others who see it largely as a distributional problem where some schools have a relative surplus of teachers while other schools struggle with a persistent, unmet demand for qualified teachers.

Congressional Research Service. (2019, September 4). K-12 teacher recruitment and retention policies in the Higher Education Act: In brief.

The cost of teacher turnover in Alaska

The costs associated with teacher turnover in Alaska are considerable, but have never been systematically calculated,1 and this study emerged from interests among Alaska education researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to better understand these costs.

DeFeo, D. J., Tran, T., Hirshberg, D., Cope, D., & Cravez, P. (2017). The cost of teacher turnover in Alaska. Anchorage, AK: Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, University of Alaska Anchorage. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11122/7815/2017-CostTeacher.pdf?sequence=1

How Much More Does a Disadvantaged Student Cost?

This paper provides a guide to statistically based methods for estimating the extra costs of educating disadvantaged students, shows how these methods are related, and compares state aid programs that account for these costs in different ways. It shows that large, urban school districts with a high concentration of disadvantaged students would receive far more aid (and rich suburban districts would receive far less aid) if statistically based pupil weights were used instead of the ad hoc weights in existing state aid programs.

Duncombe, W., & Yinger, J. (2005). How much more does a disadvantaged student cost?. Economics of Education Review, 24(5), 513-532.

Promoting teachers’ implementation of culturally and contextually relevant class-wide behavior plans

Research suggests students of differing racial groups are unequally impacted by school disciplinary interventions. This study examines whether teachers who self-assessed their own use of culturally and contextually relevant practices would implement a class-wide behavior plan with high levels of implementation fidelity. Results indicated that teachers who engaged in self-assessment and training did implement the plan with high levels of implementation fidelity, particularly when given performance feedback.

 

Fallon, L. M., Cathcart, S. C., DeFouw, E. R., O’Keeffe, B. V., & Sugai, G. Promoting teachers’ implementation of culturally and contextually relevant class‐wide behavior plans. Psychology in the Schools.

Paying for public education: New evidence on how and why money matters

Allocating resources efficiently and equitably in public primary and secondary schools has been an elusive goal. Among the primary reasons is the surprising scarcity of data appropriate for establishing the relative importance of various schooling inputs.

Ferguson, R. F. (1991). Paying for public education: New evidence on how and why money matters. Harv. J. on Legis.28, 465.

The Every Student Succeeds Act, state efforts to improve access to effective educators, and the importance of school leadership

Our primary purpose is to examine the degree to which state equity plans identify the distribution of principals and principal turnover as factors influencing three leadership mechanisms that affect student access to effective teachers—namely, hiring of teachers, building instructional capacity of teachers, and managing teacher turnover.

Fuller, E. J., Hollingworth, L., & Pendola, A. (2017). The Every Student Succeeds Act, state efforts to improve access to effective educators, and the importance of school leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly53(5), 727-756.

Effects of Funding Incentives on Special Education Enrollment. Civic Report.

The report examines the effect of state funding systems and high stakes testing on special
education enrollment. 

Greene, J. P., & Forster, G. (2002). Effects of Funding Incentives on Special Education Enrollment. Civic Report.

Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools

This report examines the widespread and unjust district budgeting practices and offers Congress a straightforward legislative path: Fix the so-called comparability provisions of Title I.

Hall, D., & Ushomirsky, N. (2010). Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools. K-12 Policy. Education Trust.

Scholarships to recruit the “best and brightest” into teaching: Who is recruited, where do they teach, how effective are they, and how long do they stay?

Is a popular innovation for increasing human capital in the teaching profession—competitive college scholarships for teachers—effective? 

Henry, G. T., Bastian, K. C., & Smith, A. A. (2012). Scholarships to recruit the “best and brightest” into teaching: Who is recruited, where do they teach, how effective are they, and how long do they stay?. Educational Researcher41(3), 83-92.

Trends in Public and Private School Principal Demographics and Qualifications: 1987 - 88 to 2011 - 12

This report provides descriptive information on traditional public, charter, and private school principals over the period of 1987-88 through 2011-12. It includes comparative data on number of principals, gender, race/ethnicity, age, advance degrees, principal experience, teaching experience, salaries, hours worked, focus of work, experience and tenure at current schools, etc.

Hill, J., Ottem, R., & DeRoche, J. (2016). Trends in Public and Private School Principal Demographics and Qualifications: 1987-88 to 2011-12. Stats in Brief. NCES 2016-189. National Center for Education Statistics.

An Analysis of Teacher and Student Absenteeism in Urban Schools: What the Research Says and Recommendations for Educational Leaders

The purpose of this article is to provide prospectus to the problem and develop key recommendations that may be utilized by urban districts to reduce its financial costs and to significantly improve staff and student attendance.

Jacobs, K. D., & Kritsonis, W. A. (2007). An Analysis of Teacher and Student Absenteeism in Urban Schools: What the Research Says and Recommendations for Educational Leaders. Online Submission.

What It Takes to Operate and Maintain Principal Pipelines: Costs and Other Resources.

This report fills an important gap in the literature on school leadership by presenting an approach for understanding the resources and expenditures associated with efforts to prepare, hire, evaluate, develop, and support school leaders and by presenting estimates of those resources and expenditures. 

Kaufman, J. H., Gates, S. M., Harvey, M., Wang, Y., & Barrett, M. (2017). What It Takes to Operate and Maintain Principal Pipelines: Costs and Other Resources. RAND Corporation. PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138.

How Approaches to Stuck-in-the-Mud School Funding Hinder Improvement

This report highlights the lack of innovation, flexibility, and new ideas in state financing of public education. It concludes: many state and education leaders continue to support and employ methods that prevent schools and principals from undertaking the efforts that they think are most needed to improve education in their classrooms. The use of state categorical–funds to school districts with strict limits on their use–exemplifies this lack of innovation in school finance.

Lazarin, M. (2013). How Approaches to Stuck-in-the-Mud School Funding Hinder Improvement. Center for American Progress.

Estimating teacher turnover costs: A case study.

This study created a model and methodology to document turnover costs for the middle and high schools in the Boston Public Schools to test the degree to which it could detect differences in costs for teachers of science, and to explore the feasibility of its implementation by school personnel

Levy, A. J., Joy, L., Ellis, P., Jablonski, E., & Karelitz, T. M. (2012). Estimating teacher turnover costs: A case study. Journal of Education Finance38(2), 102–129.

Reversing the Rising Tide of Inequality: Achieving Educational Equity for Each and Every Child

This report examines the current available state remedies for inequity; examine the Equity and Excellence Commission’s findings regarding the inequities that exist in U.S. educa�tion and its five-part agenda to address them; and conclude with recommendations designed to operationalize that agenda and make equal educational opportunity a reality for each and every child in the United States.

Lewis, T. (2013). Reversing the Rising Tide of Inequality: Achieving Educational Equity for Each and Every Child. The Leadership Conference Education Fund

Ensuring Equal Opportunity in Public Education

This report examines how local school district funding is allocated in a way that hurts poor and minority students. The four papers include: (1) the history of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and its comparability provision, (2) the unexpected consequences of the comparability provision in practice, (3) the ways in which Title I might be fixed, and (4) the ways in which those fixes might be implemented with positive results.

McClure, P., Wiener, R., Roza, M., Hill, M. (2008) Ensuring Equal Opportunity in Public Education The Broad Fouundation

Changing the School Climate Is the First Step to Reform in Many Schools with Federal Improvement Grants

This special CEP report highlights findings about the critical element of school climate from case studies of the first year and half of SIG implementation in Maryland, Michigan, and Idaho.

McMurrer, J. (2012). Changing the School Climate Is the First Step to Reform in Many Schools with Federal Improvement Grants. Center on Education Policy.

A new approach to the cost of teacher turnover.

This research seeks to provide policy makers with some hard information on the costs of teacher turnover. The goal is to develop an average dollar cost per vacancy, which could also be converted to a percent of payroll, in order to compare to the rules of thumb mentioned
above.

Milanowski, A. T., & Odden, A. R. (2007). A new approach to the cost of teacher turnover. Working Paper 13. Seattle, WA: Center on Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/wp_sfrp13_milanowskiodden_aug08_0.pdf

Understanding Student-Weighted Allocation as a Means to Greater School Resource Equity

This study provides evidence that student-weighted allocation can be a means toward greater resource equity among schools within districts. Resource equity is defined here in per-pupil needs-weighted fiscal terms.

Miles, K. H., & Roza, M. (2006). Understanding student-weighted allocation as a means to greater school resource equity. Peabody Journal of Education81(3), 39-62.

Leveling the Playing Field: Creating Funding Equity Through Student-Based Budgeting

The authors trace the district's process of moving to a system of student-based budgeting:
funding children rather than staff members and weighting the funding according to schools'
and students' needs.

Miles, K. H., Ware, K., & Roza, M. (2003). Leveling the playing field: Creating funding equity through student-based budgeting. Phi Delta Kappan85(2), 114-119.

A Cost Allocation Model for Shared District Resources: A Means for Comparing Spending Across Schools

This paper addresses one key driver of spending variation between schools: shared district resources.

Miller, L. J., Roza, M., & Swartz, C. (2004). A cost allocation model for shared district resources: A means for comparing spending across schools. Developments in school finance, 69.

Secret Recipes Revealed- Demystifying the Title I, Part A Funding Formulas

This report analyzes funding inequities in the context of four formulas that determine the amounts and destinations of grants under Title I, Part A. States with small populations and low concentrations of poor children receive radically larger grants on a per-poor-child basis than states with larger populations, including those with substantial rural poverty. Children living in concentrated poverty are poorly served by a labyrinthine funding scheme comprising four separate formulas. This paper exposes the technical considerations that should inform a smarter, fairer approach to funding grants under Title I, Part A

Miller, R. (2009). Secret recipes revealed: Demystifying the Title I, Part A funding formulas. Washington: Center for American Progress.

Understanding and improving full-time virtual schools: A study of student characteristics, school finance, and school performance in schools operated by K12

This report provides a new perspective on the nation’s largest virtual school provider through a systematic review and analysis of student characteristics, school finance, and school performance of K12-operated schools.

Miron, G., & Urschel, J. L. (2012). Understanding and improving full-time virtual schools: A study of student characteristics, school finance, and school performance in schools operated by K12, Inc. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED533960.pdf

 
Funding Gaps 2015: Too Many States Still Spend Less on Educating Students Who Need the Most

This analysis provides an overview of funding equity by race and poverty concentration across states the funding disparities across the nation and within states. It finds that nationally, the highest poverty districts receive about $1,200 less per student than the lowest poverty districts. The differences are even larger–roughly $2,000 per student–among districts serving the most and the fewest students of color.

Natasha Ushomirsky and David Williams. (2015). Funding Gaps 2015: Too Many States Still Spend Less on Educating Students Who Need the Most. The Education Trust.

CPRE’s School Finance Research: Fifteen Years of Findings

This paper examines school costs in relationship to student outcomes.

Odden. A. (2008). CPRE’s School Finance Research: Fifteen Years of Findings. Consortium for Policy Research in Education.

Special Education Finance: Past, Present, and Future. Policy Paper Number 8.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of historical trends in the funding of special education programs, to discuss current issues, and to consider alternative directions for the future

Parrish, T. B. (1996). Special Education Finance: Past, Present, and Future. Policy Paper Number 8.

Altruism: A review of recent theory and research

Research in social psychology during the 80’s had a decreased emphasis on situational determinants of helping. Rather, it has focused mainly on the following topics: the existence and nature of the altruistic personality, the debate concerning the nature of the motivation underlying helping behavior, and the nature of the process of the development of altruism in children and adults

Piliavin, J. A., & Charng, H. W. (1990). Altruism: A review of recent theory and research. Annual review of sociology16(1), 27-65.

Hometown disadvantage? It depends on where you’re from.

This article focuses on an overlooked factor in the unequal sorting of teachers across schools: the geographic preferences of teachers. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, the author examines the patterns of geographic mobility of new teachers and compares them to the patterns of other college graduates.

Reininger, M. (2012). Hometown disadvantage? It depends on where you’re from: Teachers’ location preferences and the implications for staffing schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis34(2), 127-145.

Comparable but Unequal- School Funding Disparities

This report analyzes the disparity in funding and resources in K-12 education for children of color and low-income families. It found that millions of students–largely low-income students and students of color–continue to attend segregated and economically isolated schools. State and district school finance systems perpetuate and compound these inequities by providing less money to students with the greatest need.

Robert Hanna, Max Marchitello, Catherine Brown (2015). Comparable but Unequal- School Funding Disparities. Center for American Progress.

California School District Revenue and Student Poverty: Moving Toward a Weighted Pupil Funding Formula

Governor Brown has proposed a new funding system–known as a weighted pupil formula–that would direct more revenue to California school districts serving many economically disadvantaged students. This report examines the relationship between funding and student disadvantage and addresses questions about converting the current school finance system to a weighted pupil formula.

Rose, H., & Weston, M. (2013). California School District Revenue and Student Poverty Moving Toward a Weighted Pupil Funding Formula.

Growing Great Teachers: How School System Leaders Can Use Existing Resources to Better Develop, Support, and Retain New Teachers--and Improve Student Outcomes

The authors use research-based "impact modeling" to show how a strategic approach to recruiting and supporting rookie teachers could yield as much as 4.2 extra months of student learning. We provide 5 recommendations for school systems to leverage their investment in structures that provide rookie teachers with both shelter and development.

Rosenberg, D., & Miles, K.H. (2018). Growing Great Teachers: How School System Leaders Can Use Existing Resources to Better Develop, Support, and Retain New Teachers--and Improve Student Outcomes. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593368.pdf

A New Look at Inequities in School Funding: A Presentation on the Resource Variations within Districts.

This document presents the first results of a series of studies on within-district spending patterns. It provides an overview of some early analysis of variations in spending among schools within three unnamed school districts.

Roza, M. (2002). A New Look at Inequities in School Funding: A Presentation on the Resource Variations within Districts.

How Within-District Spending Inequities Help Some Schools to Fail

This paper focuses on one aspect of district spending ambiguity, namely, differences in per-pupil spending masked by teacher salary cost averaging. 

Roza, M., Hill, P. T., Sclafani, S., & Speakman, S. (2004). How within-district spending inequities help some schools to fail. Brookings papers on education policy, (7), 201-227.

Using Staff and Student Time Engaged in Disciplinary Procedures to Evaluate the Impact of School-Wide PBS

This article presents an example of how school time was monitored to facilitate a cost analysis of school-wide systems of positive behavior support (PBS). 

Scott, T. M., & Barrett, S. B. (2004). Using staff and student time engaged in disciplinary procedures to evaluate the impact of school-wide PBS. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions6(1), 21-27.

Unequal Education: Federal Loophole Enables Lower Spending on Students of Color

This paper examines the issue of education equity by analyzing per-pupil state and local education spending. Using U.S. Department of Education school-level expenditure data that includes real teacher salaries, the paper concludes: (1) Students of color are being shortchanged across the country when compared to their white peers. (2) The traditional explanation–that variation in schools’ per-pupil spending stems almost entirely from different property-tax bases between school districts–is inaccurate as approximately 40 percent of variation in per-pupil spending occurs within school districts. (3) Changing a particular provision of federal education law–closing the so-called comparability loophole–would result in districts making more equitable expenditures on students of color.

Spatig-Amerikaner, A. (2012). Unequal Education: Federal Loophole Enables Lower Spending on Students of Color. Center for American Progress.

What are the Economic Costs of Implementing SWPBIS in Comparison to the Benefits from Reducing Suspensions?

This research brief provide an introductory overview of the cost of implementation of SWPBIS, as a school-wide approach to reduce suspensions, compared to the cost of school dropout.

Swain-Bradway, J., Lindstrom Johnson, S., Bradshaw, C., & McIntosh, K. (2017). What are the economic costs of implementing SWPBIS in comparison to the benefits from reducing suspensions. PBIS evaluation brief). Eugene, OR: OSEP TA Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.

Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look

The National Teacher and Principal Survey is completed every four years soliciting descriptive information from principals and teachers across the 50 states. A few highlights include: Sixty percent of school principals have been at their schools for three years or less. 

Taie, S., and Goldring, R. (2017). Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 201516 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2017-070). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved [date] from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017070.

Does School Spending Matter? The New Literature on an Old Question.

This paper of American United States school finances finds evidence to support the importance of providing equitable funding across school districts. These results have important policy implications and suggest areas for future research.

This paper of American United States school finances finds evidence to support the importance of providing equitable funding across school districts. These results have important policy implications and suggest areas for future research.

Fund the Child: Tackling Inequity & Antiquity in School Finance

This report analyzes the inequities of the current school finance models and proposes adoption of a model called Weighted Student Funding. It is a system of school funding based on five principles: (1) Funding should follow the child, on a per-student basis, to the public school that he/she attends; (2) Per-student funding should vary according to the child's need and other relevant circumstances; (3) It should arrive at the school as real dollars (4) These principles for allocating money to schools should apply to all levels; and (5) Funding systems should be simplified and made transparent.

Thomas, B. (2009). Fordham Institute. 2006. Fund the child: Tackling inequity and antiquity in school finance.

The cost of replacing South Carolina high school principals.

The purpose of this study is to examine the costs of replacing high school principals. 

Tran, H., McCormick, J., & Nguyen, T. T. (2018). The cost of replacing South Carolina high school principals. Management in Education32(3), 109–118. 

Teacher recruitment and retention: It’s complicated

In certain states and districts, and in particular specialties like special education or foreign
languages, teacher shortages are a recurring fact of life. An Education Week analysis of
federal data finds that all 50 states and most territories reported experiencing statewide
shortages in one teaching area or another for either the 2016-17 school year, the current
one, or both.

Viadero, D. (2018). Teacher recruitment and retention: It’s complicated. Education Week37(18), 4-5.

Is mentoring worth the money? A benefit-cost analysis and five-year rate of return of a comprehensive mentoring program for beginning teachers.

This study describes a benefit-cost analysis of a comprehensive mentoring program for beginning teachers conducted in a medium-sized California school district.

Villar, A., & Strong, M. (2007). Is mentoring worth the money? A benefit-cost analysis and fiveyear rate of return of a comprehensive mentoring program for beginning teachers. ERS Spectrum25(3), 1-17.

The impact of replacing principals on student achievement in DC public schools.

The authors measure the impact of replacing these principals on school-wide student achievement by measuring the changes in achievement that occurred when principals were replaced, and comparing these changes to achievement in comparison schools within DCPS that kept the same principal

Walsh, E., & Dotter, D. (2019). The impact of replacing principals on student achievement in DC public schools. Education Finance and Policy, 1–53.

The High Cost of Leaving: An Analysis of the Cost of Teacher Turnover

The cost of teacher turnover to schools and school districts has only recently been studied. This research reveals that when high-quality teachers leave the classroom, the effect on both student performance and school and district fiscal operations is significant and deleterious.

Watlington, E., Shockley, R., Guglielmino, P., & Felsher, R. (2010). The cost of leaving: An analysis of the cost of teacher turnover. Journal of Education Finance, 36(1), 22–37.

Cross-Country Evidence on Teacher Performance Pay

This international study examines the impact of teacher performance pay on student math, science, and reading achievement.

Woessmann, L. (2011). Cross-country evidence on teacher performance pay. Economics of Education Review, 30(3), 404-418.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Five Policies for Improving Student Achievement

This study compares the effect size and return on investment for rapid assessment, between, increased spending, voucher programs, charter schools, and increased accountability.

Yeh, S. S. (2007). The cost-effectiveness of five policies for improving student achievement. American Journal of Evaluation, 28(4), 416-436.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Five Policies for Improving Student Achievement

This article compares the relative cost-effectiveness of the five policies, using best-evidence estimates drawn from available data regarding the effectiveness and costs of rapid assessment, increased spending, voucher programs, charter schools, and accountability, using a conservative methodology for calculating the relative effectiveness of the rapid assessment.

Yeh, S. S. (2007). The cost-effectiveness of five policies for improving student achievement. American Journal of Evaluation28(4), 416-436.

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