An independent watchdog agency, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), from the U.S. Department of Education, is charged with ferreting out waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars in both K-12 and postsecondary education. OIG's official mission is to "promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the [Education] Department's programs…

Companies have developed a dizzying array of new software tools designed to do everything from assessing and monitoring students' progress to supporting a blended-learning environment to supplying entire curricula, complete with online activities and homework assignments. Educators seem to have developed a taste for these new digital tools,…

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's long and deep immersion in Ohio education policy, particularly in the charter-school realm, includes a half decade of direct experience as "authorizer" of several charters. Initially, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) was chief authorizer of charter schools in the Buckeye State. After the state…

To many education reformers, the passage of the federal government's massive stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), appeared to be a final bright star falling into alignment. The ARRA seemed to complete the constellation: an astounding $100 billion of new federal funds--nearly twice the annual budget of the U.S.…

Describes the results of a 3-year investigation into cheating by school personnel in Chicago and the design of a technique that will help to bring the problem under better control. The goals of the research were to measure the prevalence of cheating by teachers and administrators and to analyze the factors that predict cheating. (MLF)

This study evaluates a subjective performance-evaluation regime in place in the English public school system since the early 1990s. Under this regime, independent inspectors visit schools, assess schools' performance, and disclose their findings on the Internet. Inspectors combine hard metrics, such as test scores, with softer ones, such as…

With the re-election of George W. Bush and the appointment of Margaret Spellings as his new secretary of education, many are wondering whether now is the time to revisit No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The historic law, passed by Congress with broad, bipartisan support and signed by the President in January of 2002, introduced significant new systems…

This article describes the results of a three-year investigation into cheating by school personnel. The goals of this research were to measure the prevalence of cheating by teachers and administrators and to analyze the factors that predict cheating. Using data on test scores and student records from the Chicago Public Schools, the authors…