This study is the first to empirically examine how school districts allocate resources in response to capital investment revenue from statewide penny sales taxes (called SAVE funds), and whether SAVE funds affect student outputs (i.e., educational achievement). We found evidence that school districts do not use SAVE funds to increase capital…

School buildings across America are crumbling. According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 54 percent of U.S. school districts need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools. As a result of decades of underfunding school infrastructure, national spending for K-12 school buildings…

Many school systems in the United States face the prospect of renovating existing buildings rather than constructing new facilities because of budgetary limitations and constraints. The least disruption to the educational process when a building is scheduled for renovation is to move the student body to a vacant building. This option is not…

The preschool facility is a critical element of an effective preschool program. The recent economic downturn in the United States makes it difficult for states and individual school districts to consider developing new preschool programs or enhancing current programs or facilities. Yet many Americans still agree that public investment in preschool…

The Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) AISD Survey gathers information about school conditions from the educators working in schools. TELL obtains perceptions on a variety of issues related to student achievement and staff retention. In 2016, 5,309 AISD teachers (91%) and 3,092 other campus employees completed the survey. This full…

In the United States, visits to informal learning environments [ILEs] such as zoos, have historically been considered to be important educational experiences that promote increased student achievement in content-area subjects. Recently, however, funds are more likely to be diverted away from field trip experiences, depriving less-privileged…

The Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) AISD Survey provides information about school conditions from those whose views matter most--educators. The survey addresses a variety of issues related to student achievement and staff retention. This report summarizes results from the 2012-2013 school year.

This report on the state's early education system offers a dark assessment, but not a fatalistic one, especially if leaders can seize and build on reform efforts that have already started in patches throughout the state. There's much more that policymakers, advocates and the state can--and should--be doing to work toward a day when all California…