What Savings are Produced by Moving to a Four-Day School Week? PDF - Because of the economic downturn more districts than ever are moving to a four-day school week, but the question still exists — what cost savings, if any, will this move produce? Making use of national and local spending data, this report shows what savings a district might realistically expect to realize when moving to a four-day week. (Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, May 2011)...

A Promise Unfulfilled: How Title I funding is broken and what could be done about it PDF - This issue of The Progress of Education Reform examines inequities in how Title I funds are distributed, and proposes changes that address three key factors. (Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, May 2011)...

An Update on: Estimating the Impact of the EduJobs Proposal on States PDF - H.R. 1586 has recently passed the United States Senate and is awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives. This bill would establish a program, commonly referred to as EduJobs, which would provide $10 billion to states to create or save education positions in K-12 public schools. This ECS Alert covers some of the details of the legislation....

An Update on: Estimating the Impact of the EduJobs Proposal on States MS Word PDF - This ECS StateNote updates information on the proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives would create an "education jobs fund" which many are calling the EduJobs program. This program would provide $22.47 billion to states to create or save education positions in K-12 public schools. (Mike Griffith, Education Commission of the States, July 2010)...

International School Finance MS Word PDF - Public interest has put significant focus on how the United States education system compares with those around the world. This ECS StateNote uses data collected and published by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to show how America's school funding system compares with other developed countries’ systems from around the world. (Mike Griffith, Education Commission of the States, April 2010)...

Value of an Education: What educational and student factors impact later earnings? - Access related research titles from the ECS Research Studies Database. Links embedded in titles will take you to each study's major findings and recommendations....

Maximizing Education Reform in the Stimulus Bill: Building State Innovation Funds PDF - As states prepare for the disbursement of billions of dollars from the stimulus’ stabilization fund, many state officials are grappling with how to best simultaneously shore up district budget deficits and maximize the opportunity to reform policies and practices that impede student achievement. Education Commission of the States (ECS) and Teach for America (TFA) have produced an idea paper for states to consider as each begins this important work. (Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, March 2009)...

Return on Investment: Where should leaders invest? - Access related research titles from the ECS Research Studies Database. Links embedded in titles will take you to each study's major findings and recommendations....

Constructing New Finance Models that Balance Equity, Adequacy and Efficiency with Responsiveness MS Word - An ECS classic. This paper is third of three in the series: Education Finance in the States: Its Past, Present and Future. As America enters what technically will be the first school year of the new millennium, a policy issue looms that is almost as fundamental as that resulting from Brown v. Board of Education. Dramatic enrollment growth, ensuring financial “adequacy,” maintaining gains in distributional equality, coping with intensified needs for classroom teachers, incorporating electronic technology into instruction, satisfying public preferences for greater diversity in schools and programs, devising performance incentives and “accountability” procedures – these are all likely to pose major challenges for policymakers wrestling with education finance. (James W. Guthrie, Education Commission of the States, July 2001) ...

How Americans Would Slim Down Public Education - According to a nationally representative survey of American adults, many Americans support dramatic changes to how school districts do business. From cutting central-office staff to reforming retirement benefits, this report outlines how voters think spending should be reduced—and what programs must be protected. (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, August 2012)...

Public-Employee Retirement Systems State- and Locally-Administered Pensions Summary Report: 2010 - This report is part of a continuing series designed to provide information on the structure, function, employment, and finances of the United States’ nearly 90,000 state and local governments. This publication presents data on state- and locally-administered public pension systems based on information collected from the 2010 Annual Survey of Public-Employee Retirement Systems. The data collected from these systems are for defined benefit plans only and do not include data for defined contribution plans or other postemployment benefit plans. (United States Census Bureau, April 2012)...

Does Money Buy Strong Performance in PISA? - In this brief, the authors find that the success of a country’s education system depends more on how educational resources are invested than on the volume of investment, especially among high-wealth countries. Findings indicate that the strongest performers among high-income countries and economies tend to invest more in teachers and in high expectations for all of their students....

Making Education Dollars Work: Issue Briefs - Issue briefs prepared for the 2011 Governors Education Symposium. Sessions addressed include "Advancing Education Reform with Limited Resources", "Improving Postsecondary Completion and Productivity", "Preparing Career- and College-Ready Students", and "Measuring and Evaluating Effective Teaching." Included in the briefs are promising practices and ideas for action. (NGA Center for Best Practices, 2011)...

Funding Student Learning: How to Align Education Resources with Student Learning Goals - This report explores the problems with state finance systems and offers solutions on how to align resources with student learning goals. It is a product from a five-year, in-depth study of K-12 school finances in the United States. The researchers found school finance systems need to be transformed, not tinkered with; to meet today’s student achievement goals. Elements of fixing school finance systems include: allowing federal, state and local dollars to follow students; integrating resource decisions with instructional plans and then measuring and analyzing results of the expenditures; defining and funding research and development that investigates resource use; make resources use and student achievement central to financial reporting practices; and using funding contingencies to create fair and meaningful accountability. (School Finance Design Program, Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2008)...

Current Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2003-04 - This report presents current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education for the 2003-04 school year (or fiscal year 2004). Total current expenditures represent the amounts expended for the day-to-day operation of schools and school districts. The majority of these expenditures go towards salaries and benefits for school staff; however, they also include purchased services and supplies. (Frank Johnson, National Center for Education Statistics, July 2006) ...