Federal policy recognizes the importance of effective educators, particularly in high-needs schools. Research has shown that the most critical school-related factor that influences student learning and achievement is teacher quality (Hanushek, 2011). The Texas Center for Educator Excellence (TxCEE) aims to address the research-based and…

The study examined the impact of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship on high school students' academic and behavioral outcomes. Depending on how long the student had attended Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS), the scholarship would cover up to 100 percent of tuition and fees for attending any public college or university in the state of Michigan. The…

This cross-site analysis presents findings about the implementation, impact, and outcomes of the Young Adult Capacity Initiative (YACI), at 13 community-based organizations in New York City. These agencies received technical assistance and small incentive grants from the Fund for the City of New York Youth Development Institute (YDI) to build…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) targeted substantial School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to the nation's "persistently lowest achieving" public schools (i.e., up to $2 million per school annually over 3 years) but required schools accepting these awards to implement a federally prescribed school-reform model.…

The Race to the Top Assessment program was authorized as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In September 2010, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) awarded competitive, four-year grants to two consortia of states, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter…

Innovation inducement prizes have been used for centuries. In the United States, a recent federal policy change--the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010--clarified and simplified a path by which all federal agencies can offer innovation inducement prizes, thus intensifying interest in how government agencies can most effectively design…

This article offers an analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of the Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant program and places it in the broader context of the debate over the No Child Left Behind Act and the shifting intergovernmental relations around education. RTTT is fundamentally about two things: creating…

The Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTT) competitive grant program has been heralded for revolutionizing the federal role in education and transforming state school reform efforts. This paper offers an initial analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of RTT. In many ways, RTT is an attempt to circumvent the perceived failings of No…

The District Awards for Teacher Excellence's (D.A.T.E.'s) first year of implementation in 2008-09 occurred at a time when Texas was operating several state-funded performance pay programs. The three-year Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (G.E.E.G.) program was coming to its expected completion, while the Texas Educator Excellence Grant…

While studies have examined the relationship between financial aid and college access, few have evaluated the relationship between financial aid and academic success. Factors that are associated with financial need, such as being low income, are also associated with a lack of academic success, making it difficult to isolate the effect of…

The Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program was state-funded and provided annual grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans during the 2006-07 to 2009-10 school year. This report builds on the previous TEEG evaluation reports, presenting findings from three years of the TEEG program. Overall, the report discusses the…

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) supports projects that are designed to reform teacher and principal compensation. Initially, the Department of Education (the Department) made two rounds of awards, in 2006 and 2007, to a total of 34 grantees. The specific goals of TIF were to reward teachers and principals for improving student achievement,…

The Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program was state-funded and provided annual grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans during the 2006-07 to 2009-10 school year. TEEG was implemented each year (i.e., Cycle) in approximately 1,000 high poverty, high performing Texas public schools. Performance pay for teachers…

The General Accounting Office conducted a comprehensive assessment of the degree to which the section 427 reforms of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 had been carried out, whether they were working, and whether they were still needed. A Senate Subcommittee and House Select Committee requested the assessment in response to…

The "Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998" requires that the Secretary provide the appropriate committees of Congress copies of annual reports received by the department from each eligible agency that receives funds under the Act. Congress has made "accountability for results" a central focus of the…