We study the total, market-level effects of charter schools, and their mechanisms, on a national level and across multiple outcomes. Using a generalized difference-in-differences method, we find that increasing the charter market share by 10 percentage points increases math and ELA elementary/middle test scores of the entire geographic district in…

We study the combined effects of charter schools, and their various mechanisms, on a national level and across multiple outcomes. Using difference-in-differences and fixed effects methods, we find that charter entry (above 10 percent market share) increases high school graduation rate in geographic districts by about 2-4 percentage points and…

Retention in higher education has become a focal point for many in higher education institutions in the United States. While many institutions seek out answers, research has given some answers. Tinto (1975) asserted that attrition in higher education results from students' perceptions of their own inability to assimilate into the structure, social…

As school choice options grow, it is helpful to test for indirect effects on non-choosers who are left behind in district-run schools. Can a competitive system built on the principle of choice serve as a rising tide that lifts all boats or will such systems further existing inequities? The largest competitive effects analysis of a voucher program…

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine the extent to which American school board members faced electoral competition, as well as the factors influencing the likelihood of competition. Design/methodology/approach: The authors utilized original national survey data of American school board members linked with school district…

During the past two decades, PhD graduate numbers have increased dramatically with graduates viewed by governments as a means to advance the knowledge economy and international competitiveness. Concurrently, universities have also invested in policies to monitor satisfaction, retention, and timely completion--and researchers have expanded the…

Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are facing many challenges including state funding, competition, and maintaining the best possible graduation rate. This study: (1) examined the strategic plans and strategic planning processes to explore how, and to what extent, these tool are being used to address these challenges; and (2) explored the…

Governmental reforms since the early 1990s have acted as a push factor for starting new schools in Sweden and have created options for pupils to choose a school irrespective of municipal borders. This study highlights the upper secondary school system in small municipalities in northern Sweden since the late 1990s. The analysis shows that the…

All signs indicate that high school graduation rates will continue to drop due to low birth rates, leading to a potential higher education meltdown that is likely to affect all academic institutions, big and small, in the years after 2024. Higher education is facing a new and potentially grave obstacle. For several decades, there have been plenty…

Despite the expansive literature on higher education performance-based funding (PBF) policies, there is an oversaturation of quantitative studies focused on measuring metric performance at the statewide level. These studies have largely found that PBF fails to meet its goal of improving graduation rates and has unintended consequences for…

Over sixty years following Brown vs. Board of Education, racial and socioeconomic segregation and lack of equal access to educational opportunities persist. Across the country, voluntary desegregation busing programs aim to ameliorate these imbalances and disparities. A longstanding Massachusetts program, METCO, buses K-12 students of color from…

Writing a strategic enrollment plan can be overwhelming, but a good plan is essential to any higher education institution. Involving the right people on campus and ensuring that the plan is developed on the basis of facts and relevant data are critical. Once the goals of the plan are determined, building a model for testing various enrollment…

Because funding for many higher education institutions is based on student persistence and graduation rates, and because competition for online student enrollments is fierce among public and private institutions, quality and competitiveness in online course development, instruction, and administration is imperative. Additionally, because distance…

In recent decades, school performance ranking (or 'league table') have become a common feature of many education systems in the world. The ranking is usually published by government and news agencies in an attempt to measure and compare the relative performance of individual schools against a number of criteria, including academic performance.…

This article describes the challenges associated with shepherding accounting students in a small private urban University, many of whom are first-generation, through graduation into their first accounting jobs. These include student support programs that have been successfully implemented to support student needs and the process of leveraging the…