During the pandemic, a number of states instituted hold-harmless funding policies to protect school district financially from declining enrollments (Center for Public Education, 2021). In addition, some school choice policies have protected traditional public schools financially from declining enrollments. Together, these policies raise the…

While in most countries today women attain higher levels of education than men, on average, they are less likely than men to be employed and they earn less. There are many reasons why these gender gaps open; some are apparent in secondary school. For example, even when they outperform boys academically, girls are less likely than their male peers…

The Federal Pell Grant Program is a critical source of grant aid for many low-and moderate-income college students. Over the past decade, the federal government has expanded the program to serve more students, increasing the maximum level of each award to $5,550 and better ensuring college access and success. However, the House 2012 budget…

As part of its mandate from Congress, the National Science Board oversees the collection of a very broad set of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering and technology, and every 2 years publishes the data and trends in its "Science and Engineering Indicators" ("Indicators") report. On occasion, the data reveal trends that raise…

This report provides a detailed descriptive analysis of the principals who led Illinois public schools from 2001 through 2008. The authors begin with a brief historical review of the research literature on educational administration to provide a foundation for understanding the broader context for this study. Using state administrative records and…

Canada weathered the global economic crisis well, mainly reflecting sustained growth in domestic pending, and the economy is continuing to grow despite the persistence of international turbulence, most recently stemming from the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. In Canada's case, several factors are acting in its favour. Federal fiscal plans are…

When the concept of charter schools was first implemented in California in 1993, the goal was to allow the modification of existing public schools or the creation of wholly new ones that would be less rule-bound than traditional public schools but more accountable for student achievement. For some charter advocates, simply providing such…

Attempts to estimate a critical level of market concentration within the educational sector for Kentucky. The critical Herfindahl was estimated at 0.50. Counties experiencing a Herfindahl index at or above this number can expect, on average, a 1.6 percentage point decrease (or a 3% reduction) in student achievement scores. (MLH)

For seventeen years an underlying rationale for Milwaukee's private school voucher program has been that competition from private schools is needed to bring about improvements in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). However, despite an increased availability of vouchers for more eligible children than ever before, demand during the past school year did…

Estimating increased access provided by higher education institutions is an important policy issue. This paper presents a mathematical model of enrollment demand to help policymakers understand potential attendees' decision making process. In this model, about 20 percent of students attending a new school would not have attended an existing…

Traditionally, the United States higher education system has been the envy of the world for its high quality, accessibility to millions of Americans, ability to train generations of skilled workers, and its contribution to creating the vast American middle class. Today, however, higher education is experiencing new pressures. A new generation of…

The "Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005" created two new grant programs for undergraduates: the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) program and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National SMART) Grant program. The ACG program is intended to encourage students to take challenging courses in high school and thus…

In school finance lawsuits plaintiffs often claim that pay levels are not sufficient to recruit teachers who can deliver constitutionally-mandated levels of educational services. In this paper I consider several ways in which one might bring economic theory and data to bear on that question. I conclude that at present, and at least for the near…