The improvement of low-performing school systems is one potential strategy for mitigating educational inequality. Some evidence suggests districtwide reform may be more effective than school-level change, but limited research examines district-level turnaround. There is also little scholarship examining the effects of turnaround reforms on…

Pursuant to California Education Code Section 84362, each community college district is required to allocate at least 50% of its annual education expenses, as defined by law, to the salaries and benefits of classroom instructors. This requirement ensures a significant portion of educational expenditures directly supports classroom instruction. The…

In many parts of the country, enrollment in traditional public schools has fallen to its lowest point in decades. However, states, cities, and school districts have been slow to respond to the reality of empty desks. This report examines trends in school enrollment, focusing on several of America's most populous cities, as well as the budgetary…

This poll was conducted between October 10-13, 2024 among a sample of 2,253 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. This report highlights findings pertaining to: (1) Views on K-12 Education; (2) Schooling and…

After being sued for inequity and inadequacy in school funding, many states have reformed their education aid policies. Using Connecticut as an example, this paper shows how to design a state education aid formula that can effectively address funding inequity and inadequacy while taking political feasibility into account. It first develops a…

This year's annual report begins with good news from the 2024-25 AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey: Wage growth for full-time faculty members in US higher education exceeded inflation for the second consecutive year, following three consecutive years of declining real (inflation-adjusted) salaries. However, despite the positive trend over the last…

The role of political factors, specifically of public opinion, in the relatively low penetration of charter schools into rural America remains unclear. We use eight years of national survey data to demonstrate that rural residents express less support for charter schools than residents of other locales do. We attribute this gap to differences in…

Since the first charter school law passed in 1991, U.S. charter schools have enjoyed steady and relatively rapid growth, now serving more than three million students nationally. In more than 58 cities, charter schools represent more than 20 percent of all public school enrollment. In seven cities, charter schools enroll more than 40 percent of…

School superintendents from throughout Colorado were asked to participate in a study by completing a confidential questionnaire regarding their perspectives on an array of issues and concerns related to their professional duties and responsibilities. The survey was developed over several months and included focus groups with superintendents held…

Once considered a strategy to support working parents with child care needs, the majority of states now view access to high-quality preschool programs as a critical long-term economic investment in the future workforce. For the third year in a row both Republican and Democratic policymakers made significant investments in state-funded pre-K…

In 2013, the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) published the first-ever report on English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in member districts, reporting on a range of indicators in addition to ELL enrollment and languages spoken by such students. This report updates most of the data presented in the 2013 Council ELL report, shedding light…

This literature review on school choice analyses the impact of choice schemes on students and on school systems focusing on equity. Reviewing the evidence can be difficult, as the literature is often fragmented and inconclusive, and the political importance of this research often results in high-profile attention given to individual studies rather…

The purpose of this annual survey developed and reported by the Friedman Foundation and our partner, Braun Research, Inc., is to measure public opinion on, and in some cases awareness or knowledge of, a range of K-12 education topics and reforms. We report response levels, differences ("margins"), and intensities for the country and a…

The report presents patterns and trends in data on students and staff at UK higher education institutions covering a 10-year period that has seen a transition to new higher education funding systems across a large part of the UK. Patterns in income and expenditure of UK higher education institutions in 2015-16 are considered. For the first time…

The purpose of this article was to present the results of a study that analyzed Pennsylvania local school boards' taxing authority, pre- and post-enactment of Special Session Act 1, "The Taxpayer Relief Act," in 2006, in terms of its percent share of school districts' total budget in order to better understand the impact of the new…