This article uses case studies to explore how district administrators' conceptions of equity relate to finance reform implementation. The authors identify two conceptions of equity: greater resources for students with greater needs, and equal distribution of resources for all students. These beliefs were reflected in resource allocation decisions and were informed by districts' student demographics, organizational identities, and perceptions of adequacy.

This study examines how high-quality professional development can promote the diffusion of effective teaching strategies among teachers through collaboration. Drawing on longitudinal and sociometric data from a study of writing professional development in 39 schools, this study shows that teachers’ participation in professional development is associated with providing more help to colleagues on instructional matters. Further, the influence of professional development on participants’ instructional practice diffuses through the network of helping. These findings suggest that in addition to...

This study examines patterns of sorting across classrooms within schools in three large urban school districts. Students are sorted across classrooms by race, poverty status, and prior achievement. Sorting is smaller within schools than across schools, but is still significant, particularly at middle and high school levels. Lower achieving students tend to have more poor and minority peers and less experienced teachers, exacerbating inequalities.

This study examines teacher sorting within schools in a large urban district. It finds that less experienced, minority, and female teachers are assigned lower-achieving students than their more experienced, white, and male colleagues. The authors discuss the implications for achievement gaps, teacher turnover, and teacher value-added estimation.

Effective professional development is essential for achieving ambitious student achievement goals in standards-based education reforms. While research has identified key features of effective programs, many districts still offer unfocused and ineffective professional development that wastes limited resources. To deploy effective strategies, districts must first know how much they cost. This article aims to develop an analytical framework for organizing professional development costs and providing a common language for discussing programs.

This article discusses how teacher recruitment and retention affect the quality of teaching in schools. The supply and demand model, including wages and non-pecuniary job attributes, influences the supply of potential and current teachers. The demand for teachers depends on factors such as student enrollment and institutional constraints such as hiring authorities' skill and efficiency. The article identifies common policy approaches to improve recruitment and retention and summarizes current research on their effectiveness.

Policymakers aim to improve student outcomes through the hiring of highly qualified teachers, but there is little consensus on what qualities make a teacher "good." Research on teacher characteristics that impact student achievement is inconclusive. This article examines recent empirical evidence on teacher quality in education production.

Getting Down to Facts is an extensive investigation of CA's public education system commissioned by a bipartisan group of CA leaders. The project aimed to describe California's school finance and governance systems, identify obstacles hindering resource utilization, and estimate costs to achieve student outcome goals. The project resulted in 23 reports by scholars, which highlight that the current school finance and governance systems fail to help students achieve state performance goals, particularly those from low-income families. The reports provide a framework for assessing reform options.

This article discusses the evolution of union-management discussions in education over the past two decades, and the emergence of professional unionism. However, in recent years, professional unionism has declined due to management's reluctance to partner with unions, politicians' lack of recognition of union efforts, and unions' reluctance to take on additional responsibilities. The article recommends labor law changes that require unions and management to negotiate student achievement goals as a means of addressing these issues.

Michigan State University's College of Education has established the nonpartisan Education Policy Center to provide lawmakers and educational leaders with accurate, research-based information to improve the state's educational system. With the support of the university's resources, the center aims to play an important role in deepening the policy debate and bringing about improvements in the system. The center was established due to a lack of systematic communication between researchers and policymakers in Michigan.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides an opportunity to reconsider the federal role in teacher professional development. The largest federal professional development fund is the Eisenhower program. Lessons from Eisenhower and contemporary research suggest that federal funds should be focused exclusively on subject matter knowledge and pedagogy and accountability should be based on assessment of student learning. The purpose is to generate discussion on how to more effectively use federal dollars to improve student achievement.

Intergovernmental relations in education policy are dominated by regulations, programs, and technical assistance. A metaphor called "ecology of games" captures how each level of government maximizes its influence, affecting state and local policy-making. Classroom practice is limitedly influenced by intergovernmental policy, as local demands, taxes, and needs also play a role. State policies are easier to influence administrators than to change teaching. Each level of government tries to maximize its sphere of influence.

Many new teachers leave the profession due to low salaries, which have only slightly increased despite requiring similar preparation to other professions. A possible solution is extended contracts made possible by year-round school schedules, which could raise salaries within restricted budgets. This study examines the effects of extended-year contracts on teacher satisfaction and burnout.

The US faces critical challenges in education, such as incorporating disadvantaged students and preparing them for a competitive, tech-driven work environment. To meet these challenges, reform efforts are underway. Despite claims that educational research has produced few applicable findings, it has contributed by changing how policymakers and practitioners think about problems. The National Academy of Education argues that implementing broad-based reforms without adequate research will fail. Research must play an important role in meeting these challenges.

American education reform stresses the importance of principals as instructional leaders, but most are not effective in this role. Research suggests that innovative administrator training is needed to transform the role of site administrators. Content and process criteria have been identified, and several state-sponsored training programs have been established to meet them. One such program is the California School Leadership Academy, which provides a three-year program for aspiring and practicing site administrators with an emphasis on instructional leadership.

This article contends that school-linked services and education reform efforts are integrally related. Successful implementation of school-linked services requires new roles and responsibilities for all levels of school personnel. Drawing on general experience and citing specific examples from the New Beginnings experi­ence in San Diego, the article outlines these new roles and responsibilities for school superintendents, board members, principals, and teachers. It describes the plan­ning process involved, a process that includes an initial feasibility study and commu­nity needs assessment; a...

Traditionally, educational evaluation has focused on measuring student achievement and program performance. However, education reforms are now linking schooling to economic development, leading to a shift towards managerial expectations and politicization of the field. This article explains the human capital imperative and its relation to education, summarizes the history of educational evaluation, and outlines an alternative model for educational appraisal in the context of government-led education system reforms aimed at enhancing national economic growth.

This article discusses the criticism of alternative routes to teaching, which are seen as inadequate and leading to declining instructional quality, but are attempting to address the shortage of qualified teachers in urban and high demand subject areas. Supporters argue that they are effective in recruiting competent teachers for hard-to-staff schools and replacing the emergency credential system with rigorous training. The article highlights the impact of teacher shortages on inner city and minority students who are currently being educated by marginally qualified teachers.

An inventory of 30 California districts reveals their policy stance on teacher professional development, which primarily consists of skill acquisition through district-led programs. Other sources, such as universities or professional communities, are less visible. The districts are the dominant providers of development opportunities, with expenditures reflecting a ready marketplace of predetermined programs. Alternative routes to professional growth are less evident.

This article addresses two conflicting trends in U.S. education. On one hand, there is a considerable expansion of statewide controls of education, including new statewide accountability schemes. On the other, there is a resurgence of interest in the professionalization of teaching. These trends are conflicting—at least for the moment­—because state accountability has tended to bureaucratize education and not pay sufficient attention to its impact on the professional dimension of teaching.

The California State Department of Education is creating a multipurpose data system on California education, including the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) which collects information on staff and students. The data is used for reports, planning, and management. Disclosure of certain CBEDS data is restricted and released only to authorized agencies or persons with a bona fide need. The system has inherent problems, with error control being the most pervasive.

Teacher shortages in certain subjects and geographic areas may undermine educational improvements. Without changes, an annual shortfall of 4,000 to 7,000 teachers is expected over five years, with the greatest shortages in bilingual education and secondary math and science. Strong incentives will be needed to recruit enough qualified teachers.