The GE Foundation's Foray into Urban School Improvement - Hear Robert Corcoran talk about the tremendous resources the GE Foundation has committed to education over the past several years. He was speaking at the 2011 ECS National Forum on Education Policy....

Using American Community Survey Data to Expand Access to the School Meals Program: Panel on Estimating Children Eligible for School Nutrition Programs Using the American Com - This is a brief summary of a larger report presenting a panel's analysis, findings and recommendations on how to determine, on an annual basis, the number of students eligible for free and reduced lunches and USDA reimbursements to districts. A panel of experts investigated the technical and operational feasibility of using data from the continuous American Community Survey (ACS) to estimate students eligible for free and reduced-price meals for schools and school districts. The panel presents a new ACS Eligibility Option (AEO) and recommendations for implementation of the AEO, as well as ways to improve the accuracy of ACS estimates of eligibility for the school meals programs. If implemented, the authors posit that the AEO would provide an opportunity to expand access to free meals for the nation's schoolchildren and reduce administrative burden on schools and families. (National Academies Press, May 2012)...

Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Local Education Agencies From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2010-11- First Look - This First Look presents selected findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary local education agencies (LEAs) in the United States and the territories in the 2010-11 school year, using data from the Local Education Agency Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. (National Center for Education Statistics, April 2012)...

Statutory Options for School District Mergers: Report addressing House Resolution 30, 2011 - In reviewing Tennessee laws related to school district consolidations, two paths emerge: elimination of special school districts, with the resulting transfer of students to the local county district, and consolidation of all districts within a county into a unified county school district, using a planning commission. This report highlights the inconsistencies and conflicts resulting from these two separate paths for school district governance changes. The report also addresses potential issues raised by a new legislative provision allowing counties meeting certain criteria to establish new municipal or special districts. (Offices of Research and Education Accountability, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, March 2012)...

Sustained Positive Effects on Graduation Rates Produced by New York City's Small Public High Schools of Choice - This policy brief is a follow-up to a study that evaluated the effects that small public high schools of choice had on improving academic progress and graduation rates for disadvantaged students in NYC. The original study followed one cohort of students through four years of high school and the results indicated that the small schools of choice increased student progress toward graduation during their first three years of high school and increased students' four-year graduation rates. This brief extends the analysis by one year and finds that the positive effects are sustainable behind the initial cohort. (MDRC, Jan 2012)...

Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations and Teacher Assignments - Authors Brian Jacob of University of Michigan and Jonah Rockoff of Columbia Business School present the evidence on several organizational changes that could provide significant “bang for the buck” in student achievement. While simple, these changes have the potential to substantially improve K–12 student performance. Suggestions include: (1) changing the start time for school days for middle and high school students; (2) taking measures to address the difficult transition from elementary to middle school; and (3) assigning teachers to grades and subjects to increase the gains from specialization. (Hamilton Project, September 2011)...

Consolidation of Schools and Districts: What the Research Says and What It Means - This policy brief provides a review of the research that has been done on school and district consolidation and finds that consolidation will generally not save money nor will it improve education outcomes, particularly for minority and poor students. Policymakers are urged to make decisions about consolidation on a case-by-case basis with local input. Further, for very large school districts, deconsolidation may be a means of improving fiscal efficiency and learning outcomes. (National Education Policy Center, February 2011)...

Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Local Education Agencies From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2007-08--Selected Findings 2007-08 School Year - This report presents findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary local education agencies in the United States and other jurisdictions in the 2007-08 school year, using data from the Local Education Agency Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. The CCD is an annual collection of data that are reported by state education agencies to the National Center for Education Statistics through the U.S. Department of Education's EDFacts data collection system. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010)...

Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008-09 - First Look - This report presents findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States and other jurisdictions in the 2008-09 school year, using data from the Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. (Chen-Su Chen, National Center for Education Statistics, July 2010)...

Advantages and Disadvantages of Multiage Classrooms in the Era of NCLB Accountability - In addition to exploring the advantages and disadvantages of multiage classrooms, this policy brief highlights some state programs using a multiage model in order to deepen understanding about, and advance effective implementation of multiage education programs. (Ruiting Song, Terry E. Spradlin and Jonathan A. Plucker, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Education Policy Brief, January 2009)...

Facilities for Early Care & Education Programs - Even though well-designed early education facilities are critical to high-quality teaching and learning, they are often in short supply, especially in low-income communities. A brief from the Opportunity Finance Network discusses the financial and technical challenges that early education providers face in developing such facilities and the role that nonprofit "community development financial institutions" can play to overcome these barriers. (Amy Gillman, Dave Raynor and Marie Young, Opportunity Finance Network, 2008)...

Should Sixth Grade be in Elementary or Middle School? An Analysis of Grade Configuration and Student Behavior - This paper examines data from public schools in North Carolina to determine the best grade configuration for schools that serve early adolescents, particularly 6th graders. The authors find that 6th grade students attending middle schools were much more likely to be cited for discipline problems than those attending elementary school, even after adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The effects were found to persist at least through 9th grade. (Phillip J. Cook, Robert MacCoun, Clara Muschkin and Jacob Vigdor, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University, February 2007) ...

Assessing the Policy Environment for School Corporation Collaboration, Cooperation and Consolidation in Indiana - This policy brief examines the research regarding efforts to consolidate school corporations or form cooperative agreements for shared services. Next, the brief examines more thoroughly those policy levers which are contributing to the elevated discussion concerning consolidation and shared services in Indiana. Finally, the brief presents recommendations to advance the dialogue on consolidation, collaboration and cooperation. (Jonathan Plucker, Terry Spradlin, Marshall Magaro, Rosanne Chien and Jason Zapf, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, 2007)...

Fifty Years of Supporting Children’s Learning: A History of Public School Libraries and Federal Legislation from 1953 to 2000 - This report contains a wealth of data on the history of public school libraries at the national, regional, school and state levels. All tables in the report comprise several variables, including the number of public schools, the number of pupils and use of library media centers, among others. Also available is a booklet – America's Public School Libraries: 1953-2000 – based on information in this report. (Joan S. Michie and Barbara A. Holton, National Center for Education Statistics, March 2005)...

Small School Districts and Economies of Scale MS Word - Among the findings of this report are there is no universal agreement on the ideal size for schools or districts, and the states with the largest schools and school districts have the worst achievement and social outcomes. (Louisiana Department of Education, May 2003)...

Census 2000 School District Demographics - This Web site allows users to find information – based on Census 2000 data – on school district demographics from across the country. The site includes a tool that generates state- and district-level maps customized by selected demographics, including gender, age, average household size and race....

A Brief Profile of America's Public Schools - This report provides a national perspective on a variety of areas of interest, including school demographics, safety measures in use, principal work experience, teacher workloads, perceptions of school crime levels, and school libraries. (Barbara Holton, National Center for Education Statistics, June 2003)...

Review of Research on School District Size - This article reviews the research on school district size, covering 44 journal articles, books or reports that address the issue of school district size. (Sibyll Carnochan, University of California, Los Angeles, Winter, 1997)...