Examined performance funding, specifically one common performance measure--student persistence--at three institutions within a single state: a flagship university, a historically black university, and a regional, comprehensive institution. Sought to determine if the outcomes were those intended by policy makers. Uncovered variables that affected…

American society has long realized the importance of education as a tool for social and economic mobility and therefore has supported free public education with taxpayer dollars. Understanding that every child is entitled to an education appropriate to his or her needs, to varying extents state legislatures have recognized the importance of…

Public spending for MR/DD services grew rapidly during FYs 2000-2002. This rapid growth was followed by reductions in spending for MR/DD services as the nation's economy declined during 2002-2004. However, convergent factors stimulating future expansion of funding and services for persons with MR/DD include rapidly expanding cohorts of aging…

Many states (18 of 39) use revenue generated by lotteries to help fund higher education. The revenue is generated as a regressive tax disproportionately collected. As such, do state lotteries contribute toward facilitation of equal access to higher education for low-income and minority citizens? Given population trends, college enrollment, and…

Subsidies to higher education in the United States have long been guided by the belief that policy should encourage college attendance. In principle, if not always in practice, policy has for some time sought to accomplish this by addressing college affordability. General subsidies that keep tuition at public institutions low are coupled with…

After a district has determined it's using its resources for professional development efficiently, it may look for outside funding. Before asking for support from external funders, potential grant writers should examine their own level of commitment and then follow some simple procedures to maximize the possibility for success.

After a decade or so spent largely on setting academic standards against which to hold schools accountable, states are themselves being held accountable for helping schools figure out how to meet them. The result is a huge leadership challenge. With few or no added resources, state education agencies are retooling to provide more technical support…

Context: Founded in 1971 with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota, the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has graduated 1,175 students. Third-year medical students are assigned to primary care physicians in rural communities for 9 months where they experience the realities of rural practice with…

Funded through Title II-D of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Massachusetts Department of Education's Technology Enhancement Competitive grant program (fund code 170) supports school districts in the development of two-year sustainable projects that use technology to: (1) Improve student academic achievement; (2) Assist every student in becoming…

Higher education plays an increasingly important role in helping individuals attain social and economic success. Yet, despite decades of financial aid policy, substantial gaps in college access remain by income level and race. One major impediment to increasing college enrollment among low-income students is the lack of information about financial…

Cross-sectional studies find a positive relationship between a state's welfare benefits and single motherhood. But is this evidence of a "welfare effect" or rather of cross state differences in social attitudes that influence both policy and behavior? This paper demonstrates that the spatial variation in welfare policy long preceded the…

U.S. educators and policymakers are concerned about the poor performance of the public schools, particularly schools that serve students from low-income families. Although education is primarily a state function, the federal government also has a longstanding interest in improving education for disadvantaged students, and it targets funding to…

This report presents the results of an annual survey (1989-90) of states with general programs of scholarship or grant assistance for undergraduate study. Section I presents highlights and a summary of the survey's results. Section II offers comparative program statistics for 1988-89 and 1989-90 with some data from earlier years. Section III…

This study examined the extent to which federal and state funding compensates for the excess cost of educating students under Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The literature is supports of the contention that the high costs of educating a handicapped child were well known prior to passage of P.L. 94-142, which…

This booklet presents the 3-year plan for Minnesota's management of developmental disabilities services and related issues for the period between October 1986 and September 1989. Section 1 presents definitions of developmental disabilities; estimates of general incidence; and effects on individuals, families, and communities. Section 2 describes…