Given international interest in evidence-informed early education policy, we sought to interpret what is often a confusing literature on the performance of early childhood education programs. We explore whether they represent a good return on investment and the factors affecting their transferability. A systematic review was conducted to identify…

Senior Economist Jonathan Rothwell of Gallup, presents data on employment outcomes for college graduates from different types of colleges. He also provides findings from the Gallup-USA Funds Associate Degree Graduates Survey which shows there are a number of student experiences that are highly predictive of overall life-evaluation. He cites the…

In 2008, the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation created the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program, a pilot program to provide families with scholarships to cover the cost of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) programs. Although there is a large body of research about the benefits of preschool specifically and early learning…

In an era of financial stringency and demands for better school performance, it is useful to think about several means of raising school productivity: (1) increase learning effectiveness without increasing costs; (2) reduce costs without diminishing effectiveness; or (3) both, that is, increase effectiveness and simultaneously reduce costs. The…

K12 Inc. enrolls more public school students than any other private education management organization in the U.S. Much has been written about K12 Inc. (referred to in this report simply as "K12") by financial analysts and investigative journalists because it is a large, publicly traded company and is the dominant player in the operation…

This study of the legal services provided for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland has two purposes: (1) to determine the cost-effectiveness and quality of current arrangements; and (2) to present alternative arrangements with estimates of their costs, effectiveness, and acceptability. MCPS budgets significant funds for legal…

This two-report volume was prepared to describe approaches for evaluating individual Office of Telecommunications Policy (OTP) demonstration projects in the future and to aid demonstration project directors in project planning and development. The first report focuses on the role of planning and evaluation activities, stressing their importance in…

A project was conducted from 1980 to 1982 to determine the costs and benefits of OCLC use in 29 small and medium-sized member libraries of the Illinois Valley Library System (IVLS). Academic, school, public, and special libraries participated in the project. Based on written attitude surveys of and interviews with library directors, staff,…

This report examines the adequacy of the standard of need used by the State of Nevada to determine eligibility for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (ADC). Nevada's standard of $285 per month for a family of 3 ranked 49 out of 54 states and political entities. The current standard is reviewed in relation to the present cost of…

Telephone interviews were conducted with key individuals in each of the 50 states to gather information on both the most successful and the least successful technology-based educational projects at the elementary and secondary levels in each state. The survey was designed to elicit information on the following: (1) the instructional needs…

This study of the feasibility of conducting a cost-benefit analysis in the complex environment of the formalities used in the United States as part of its administration of the copyright law focused on the formalities of copyright notice, deposit, registration, and recordation. The U.S. system is also compared with the less centralized copyright…

This report describes a study designed to evaluate and compare the provision of National Technical Information Service (NTIS) documents to users of the McKinney Engineering Library at the University of Texas through Selected Research in Microfiche (SRIM), a standing-order, collection-building service, with the provision of documents through…

Volume 2 comprises the appendices to the study reported in Volume 1. The following textual material is presented: (1) background material for the first regional meeting on reference referral in the state of California; (2) minutes and participation lists from the seven focus group meetings held from March 27 through April 23, 1986; (3) summaries…

The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality (The Center) has conducted a study of the costs of high quality Teacher Preparation on behalf of the Regional Education Laboratory at SERVE and at the request of the Alabama State Department of Education. In light of the recommendations issued by Alabama's Task Force to Improve Educator Preparation and the…

The first of two phases of this study consisted of assessing the need for a more formal library network in Virginia by surveying libraries, conducting site visits, interviews, and regional hearings, and reviewing documentation on existing levels of automation and networking in the commonwealth. Information gathered during this phase supported both…