The Education Insights Center produced a series of reports culminating in recommendations for the structure and governance of a preschool through higher education and into the workforce (known as a P20W data system). This brief follows up on that series, with a focus on data quality; the brief was informed by the author's experience using…

The purpose of the state education agency (SEA) is to focus the entire education system on helping students become capable in college and career in an increasingly complex world. One of the most vexing problems facing SEAs today is how to meet increasing demands for performance while adjusting to significant resource reductions. Meeting that…

Public sector reform involving decentralisation and marketisation has led to "soft" indirect forms of governance aimed at steering more fragmented systems. Although based on information and guidance rather than hierarchy and legislation, these new methods of regulating through evaluation and quality control may be as powerful as more…

Digital learning makes possible the "unbundling" of school provisions--that is, it allows children to be served by providers from almost anywhere, in new and more customized ways. At the same time, because it destandardizes and decentralizes educational delivery, digital education is far harder to bring under the yoke of the…

This article demonstrates the value of theoretical ex-ante evaluation of policy programs. We show how a specific policy might not achieve its objectives and illustrate the elements of the policy, which need improvement. These conclusions are based on a reconstruction and evaluation of the theory behind a policy program that aims to increase…

Will the digital-learning movement repeat the mistakes of the charter-school movement? How much more successful might today's charter universe look if yesterday's proponents had focused on the policies and practices needed to ensure its quality, freedom, and resources over the long term? What mistakes might have been avoided? Damaging scandals…

Charter schools offer choice to parents who would otherwise be constrained to having their children attend a residentially assigned traditional public school. The number of charter schools has increased steadily in the last decade, reflecting their popularity with parents and the general public. They vary substantially in their missions, the…

This study assessed how New Jersey's state accountability system encouraged or thwarted charter school success, how effectively performance standards were defined and enacted by authorizing agents, and how individual charter schools were developing accountability processes that made them more or less successful than their charter school…

Examines interconnections between accountability, power, and control within the British education system, focusing on the 5-18 education. Although some of the structures and processes are very similar to those of the U.S. K-12 system, the British national system is highly centralized and highly market-driven, with a strong emphasis on parental…

Explores the consequences of integrated choice/accountability policies for school organization and governance, examining the constitutional context of school authority, identifying historical trends in the exercise of authority by various stakeholders, presenting a model for understanding governance today, describing school choice and performance…

Examines turbulence in U.S. education, explaining how today's changing educational policy environment causes new frustrations. Suggests that federal, state, local, and site- level are current sources of indecision and struggle that have implications for today's choice of direction concerning inquiry and leadership for public education. Discusses…

Examines California's Public School Accountability Act within the K-12 policy and political context, asserting that the new accountability imposes a new regulatory scheme on California's schools that adds to the "regulatory baggage" schools already carry. Suggestes that simply adding one more layer of regulation without reassessing the…

Uses the demand-supply continuum to look at emerging reforms in the Japanese educational system. Data from fieldwork in major urban districts and their prefectures in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo highlight demand-driven reform (higher education restructuring), integrated governance (mediating demand and supply at the K-12 levels), and ongoing…

A national shift toward greater state and district control of the teacher recertification process and a trend toward a reduced role for higher education institutions is reported. Certificate renewal requirements in 36 states and problems of quality control that might arise in locally directed programs are noted. (PP)

Uses data from 39 countries to analyze how various institutional features and policies affected student performance on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Students in countries with centralized exams, little teacher/union influence on budgets, and larger shares of private-school enrollments had significantly higher TIMSS scores.…