Education has always been the cornerstone of freedom and democracy, and key to economic prosperit... more Education has always been the cornerstone of freedom and democracy, and key to economic prosperity. But never before in our history has education been more crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the individual futures of our young people. Our public schools must strive to provide equality in educational opportunity unlike at any time in the nation's history.
1–Background and Purpose It is widely recognized that educational outcomes and costs are associat... more 1–Background and Purpose It is widely recognized that educational outcomes and costs are associated with student poverty. 1 Indeed, the federal and state governments make wide use of student poverty rates as an indicator of educational need and distribute additional revenues to schools and districts serving high proportions of students from low income families.
Incomplete: How Middle Class Schools Aren't Making the Grade is a new report from Third Way, a Wa... more Incomplete: How Middle Class Schools Aren't Making the Grade is a new report from Third Way, a Washington, DC-based policy think tank. The report aims to convince parents, taxpayers and policymakers that they should be as concerned about middle-class schools not making the grade as they are about the failures of the nation's large, poor, urban school districts. But, the report suffers from egregious methodological flaws invalidating nearly every bold conclusion drawn by its authors.
This review addresses a recent report released by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRP... more This review addresses a recent report released by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) titled “New York State Special Education Enrollment Analysis.” 1 The title is appropriately descriptive: The report summarizes special education enrollment data for charter and host district schools by grade level and location in New York State for the 2011-12 school year.
In this special issue of the Kansas Policy Review, we explore multiple aspects of the recent turm... more In this special issue of the Kansas Policy Review, we explore multiple aspects of the recent turmoil in the State of Kansas over the financing of elementary and secondary public schools. Events appeared to climax this past summer with a State Supreme Court declaration that the Kansas legislature had failed to comply with its January ruling, an order by the court to add another $143 million to public school financing and a first-time-in-decades special legislative session.
Abstract This study provides a side by side comparison of linear regression methodologies used by... more Abstract This study provides a side by side comparison of linear regression methodologies used by the National Center for Education Statistics in preparing projections of educational spending, with relatively new, flexible, non-linear regression methods. These methods have come to be known as Neural Networks because they are designed to mimic the pattern learning processes of a simple brain. Neural Networks have been promoted for their predictive accuracy in both cross-sectional (Buchman et.
I've previously written about the growing number of rigorous peer reviewed and other studies whic... more I've previously written about the growing number of rigorous peer reviewed and other studies which tend to show positive effects of state school finance reforms. But what about all of those accounts to the contrary? The accounts that seem so dominant in the policy conversations on the topic. What is that vast body of research that suggests that school finance reforms don't matter? That it's all money down the rat-hole. That in fact, judicial orders to increase funding for schools actually hurt children?
In April of 2006 the firm of RC Wood & Associates replied to a national request for proposals as ... more In April of 2006 the firm of RC Wood & Associates replied to a national request for proposals as presented by the state of Rhode Island. The firm was selected after review by the Joint Committee on Legislative Services. The firm made numerous visits to the state and conducted numerous in depth analyses to determine the adequacy of the funding for elementary and secondary schools in the state.
This post contains my preliminary thoughts in development for a forthcoming article dealing with ... more This post contains my preliminary thoughts in development for a forthcoming article dealing with the intersection between statistical and measurement issues in teacher evaluation and teachers' constitutional rights where those measures are used for making high stakes decisions.
Abstract The goal of this study is to simultaneously explore resource allocation across schools w... more Abstract The goal of this study is to simultaneously explore resource allocation across schools within large urban school districts and across all schools within major metropolitan areas that include those urban districts in the state of Texas. This study uses a three-year panel, from 2005 to 2007, for Texas elementary schools in the Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio Core Based Statistical Areas. Large city districts evaluated include Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Austin.
Abstract Over the past few decades, a handful of states have chosen to provide state financing of... more Abstract Over the past few decades, a handful of states have chosen to provide state financing of special education programs through a method referred to as" Census-Based" funding—an approach which involves allocated block-grant funding on an assumed basis of uniform distribution of children with disabilities across school districts. The approach has been argued to eliminate financial incentives for classification of marginal—low severity, higher incidence—disabilities.
Abstract The authors construct and respond to several questions about changing administrative cos... more Abstract The authors construct and respond to several questions about changing administrative costs for new Research I Universities, a group of institutions that might be expected to incur new costs as a result of their new status. Using IPEDS data, the study provides mixed support for the claim that universities reaching the pinnacle of research university status experience increase administrative costs as a result of their aspirations and the realities of their new stature.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to explore how the characteristics of the principal... more Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to explore how the characteristics of the principal preparation programs of newly hired elementary school principals might influence school achievement through the development of well-qualified teams of teachers by the school. Of primary interest is whether elementary school principals from preparation programs with certain types of characteristics are more or less likely to build teams of well-qualified teachers who, in turn, positively affect overall student achievement.
Abstract An increasing emphasis on educational adequacy has altered the school finance debate—and... more Abstract An increasing emphasis on educational adequacy has altered the school finance debate—and the research that supports it. Where courts, legislators and litigants were previously guided by analyses of educational equity, they are becoming increasingly reliant on studies intended to measure the level of educational funding that can be deemed adequate.
Holding that the new formula provides every New Jersey student a “thorough and efficient educatio... more Holding that the new formula provides every New Jersey student a “thorough and efficient education,” the court lifted remedial requirements for special funding to the state's 31 very-high-poverty urban school systems, the so-called Abbott districts. In doing so, the justices also noted that the litigation has resulted in “measurable educational improvement” for the thousands of low-income and minority students in those districts.
Table 1 provides a summary of the data sources and availability for our indicators. Most data sou... more Table 1 provides a summary of the data sources and availability for our indicators. Most data sources used in the analysis are either US Census sources or National Center for Education Statistics Sources and in most cases the primary sampling unit is the Local Education Agency or School District. In some cases, school level data were aggregated to the school district level. School district characteristics were obtained through the NCES Common Core of Data, Local Education Agency Universe Survey.
This study presents an application of neural network methods for forecasting per pupil expenditur... more This study presents an application of neural network methods for forecasting per pupil expenditures in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Using annual historical data from 1959 through 1990, forecasts were prepared for the period from 1991 through 1995.
The objective of this study is to test, under relatively simple circumstances, whether flexible n... more The objective of this study is to test, under relatively simple circumstances, whether flexible non-linear models—including neural networks and genetic algorithms—can reveal otherwise unexpected patterns of relationship in typical school productivity data. Further, it is my objective to identify useful methods by which “questions raised” by flexible modeling can be explored with respect to our theoretical understandings of educational productivity.
This review provides a critique of a relatively short and seemingly innocuous report titled Spend... more This review provides a critique of a relatively short and seemingly innocuous report titled Spend Smart: Fix Our Broken School Funding System, released by ConnCAN. 2 The report does not identify a specific author on the title page.
Rising administrative costs at colleges and universities around the US have received significant ... more Rising administrative costs at colleges and universities around the US have received significant attention because of the perception that costs incurred for central administrators' salaries necessarily reduce the amount of monies available for instruction and student services.
Education has always been the cornerstone of freedom and democracy, and key to economic prosperit... more Education has always been the cornerstone of freedom and democracy, and key to economic prosperity. But never before in our history has education been more crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the individual futures of our young people. Our public schools must strive to provide equality in educational opportunity unlike at any time in the nation's history.
1–Background and Purpose It is widely recognized that educational outcomes and costs are associat... more 1–Background and Purpose It is widely recognized that educational outcomes and costs are associated with student poverty. 1 Indeed, the federal and state governments make wide use of student poverty rates as an indicator of educational need and distribute additional revenues to schools and districts serving high proportions of students from low income families.
Incomplete: How Middle Class Schools Aren't Making the Grade is a new report from Third Way, a Wa... more Incomplete: How Middle Class Schools Aren't Making the Grade is a new report from Third Way, a Washington, DC-based policy think tank. The report aims to convince parents, taxpayers and policymakers that they should be as concerned about middle-class schools not making the grade as they are about the failures of the nation's large, poor, urban school districts. But, the report suffers from egregious methodological flaws invalidating nearly every bold conclusion drawn by its authors.
This review addresses a recent report released by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRP... more This review addresses a recent report released by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) titled “New York State Special Education Enrollment Analysis.” 1 The title is appropriately descriptive: The report summarizes special education enrollment data for charter and host district schools by grade level and location in New York State for the 2011-12 school year.
In this special issue of the Kansas Policy Review, we explore multiple aspects of the recent turm... more In this special issue of the Kansas Policy Review, we explore multiple aspects of the recent turmoil in the State of Kansas over the financing of elementary and secondary public schools. Events appeared to climax this past summer with a State Supreme Court declaration that the Kansas legislature had failed to comply with its January ruling, an order by the court to add another $143 million to public school financing and a first-time-in-decades special legislative session.
Abstract This study provides a side by side comparison of linear regression methodologies used by... more Abstract This study provides a side by side comparison of linear regression methodologies used by the National Center for Education Statistics in preparing projections of educational spending, with relatively new, flexible, non-linear regression methods. These methods have come to be known as Neural Networks because they are designed to mimic the pattern learning processes of a simple brain. Neural Networks have been promoted for their predictive accuracy in both cross-sectional (Buchman et.
I've previously written about the growing number of rigorous peer reviewed and other studies whic... more I've previously written about the growing number of rigorous peer reviewed and other studies which tend to show positive effects of state school finance reforms. But what about all of those accounts to the contrary? The accounts that seem so dominant in the policy conversations on the topic. What is that vast body of research that suggests that school finance reforms don't matter? That it's all money down the rat-hole. That in fact, judicial orders to increase funding for schools actually hurt children?
In April of 2006 the firm of RC Wood & Associates replied to a national request for proposals as ... more In April of 2006 the firm of RC Wood & Associates replied to a national request for proposals as presented by the state of Rhode Island. The firm was selected after review by the Joint Committee on Legislative Services. The firm made numerous visits to the state and conducted numerous in depth analyses to determine the adequacy of the funding for elementary and secondary schools in the state.
This post contains my preliminary thoughts in development for a forthcoming article dealing with ... more This post contains my preliminary thoughts in development for a forthcoming article dealing with the intersection between statistical and measurement issues in teacher evaluation and teachers' constitutional rights where those measures are used for making high stakes decisions.
Abstract The goal of this study is to simultaneously explore resource allocation across schools w... more Abstract The goal of this study is to simultaneously explore resource allocation across schools within large urban school districts and across all schools within major metropolitan areas that include those urban districts in the state of Texas. This study uses a three-year panel, from 2005 to 2007, for Texas elementary schools in the Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio Core Based Statistical Areas. Large city districts evaluated include Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Austin.
Abstract Over the past few decades, a handful of states have chosen to provide state financing of... more Abstract Over the past few decades, a handful of states have chosen to provide state financing of special education programs through a method referred to as" Census-Based" funding—an approach which involves allocated block-grant funding on an assumed basis of uniform distribution of children with disabilities across school districts. The approach has been argued to eliminate financial incentives for classification of marginal—low severity, higher incidence—disabilities.
Abstract The authors construct and respond to several questions about changing administrative cos... more Abstract The authors construct and respond to several questions about changing administrative costs for new Research I Universities, a group of institutions that might be expected to incur new costs as a result of their new status. Using IPEDS data, the study provides mixed support for the claim that universities reaching the pinnacle of research university status experience increase administrative costs as a result of their aspirations and the realities of their new stature.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to explore how the characteristics of the principal... more Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to explore how the characteristics of the principal preparation programs of newly hired elementary school principals might influence school achievement through the development of well-qualified teams of teachers by the school. Of primary interest is whether elementary school principals from preparation programs with certain types of characteristics are more or less likely to build teams of well-qualified teachers who, in turn, positively affect overall student achievement.
Abstract An increasing emphasis on educational adequacy has altered the school finance debate—and... more Abstract An increasing emphasis on educational adequacy has altered the school finance debate—and the research that supports it. Where courts, legislators and litigants were previously guided by analyses of educational equity, they are becoming increasingly reliant on studies intended to measure the level of educational funding that can be deemed adequate.
Holding that the new formula provides every New Jersey student a “thorough and efficient educatio... more Holding that the new formula provides every New Jersey student a “thorough and efficient education,” the court lifted remedial requirements for special funding to the state's 31 very-high-poverty urban school systems, the so-called Abbott districts. In doing so, the justices also noted that the litigation has resulted in “measurable educational improvement” for the thousands of low-income and minority students in those districts.
Table 1 provides a summary of the data sources and availability for our indicators. Most data sou... more Table 1 provides a summary of the data sources and availability for our indicators. Most data sources used in the analysis are either US Census sources or National Center for Education Statistics Sources and in most cases the primary sampling unit is the Local Education Agency or School District. In some cases, school level data were aggregated to the school district level. School district characteristics were obtained through the NCES Common Core of Data, Local Education Agency Universe Survey.
This study presents an application of neural network methods for forecasting per pupil expenditur... more This study presents an application of neural network methods for forecasting per pupil expenditures in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Using annual historical data from 1959 through 1990, forecasts were prepared for the period from 1991 through 1995.
The objective of this study is to test, under relatively simple circumstances, whether flexible n... more The objective of this study is to test, under relatively simple circumstances, whether flexible non-linear models—including neural networks and genetic algorithms—can reveal otherwise unexpected patterns of relationship in typical school productivity data. Further, it is my objective to identify useful methods by which “questions raised” by flexible modeling can be explored with respect to our theoretical understandings of educational productivity.
This review provides a critique of a relatively short and seemingly innocuous report titled Spend... more This review provides a critique of a relatively short and seemingly innocuous report titled Spend Smart: Fix Our Broken School Funding System, released by ConnCAN. 2 The report does not identify a specific author on the title page.
Rising administrative costs at colleges and universities around the US have received significant ... more Rising administrative costs at colleges and universities around the US have received significant attention because of the perception that costs incurred for central administrators' salaries necessarily reduce the amount of monies available for instruction and student services.
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