ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Fiscal Impact of Tuition Tax Credits in New Mexico
Author: Gottlob, Brian J.
Date: 2005-04-22
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Private Schools,Tax Credits,School Districts,Scholarships,Educational Demand,Program Budgeting,Program Costs,Economic Impact,Educational Finance,Tax Effort,Tuition,State Programs,Audits (Verification),School Choice

Proposals to expand opportunities for children to attend independent schools prompt heated and complex debates. Proponents and opponents bring a number of philosophical and ideological arguments to public policy discussions, while lawmakers often justify their decisions on the basis of the perceived economic and fiscal impacts of the proposals. Evaluating the economic and fiscal impacts of a tuition tax credit proposal is a complex process that involves understanding many variables. This study seeks to inform the debate over a proposal being discussed in New Mexico that would give tax credits for contributions to organizations that provide scholarships to children enrolling in independent or private schools. The researchers use public data on income and charitable contributions in New Mexico, national surveys of the patterns of charitable giving to educational organizations, and the documented experiences of other states that have enacted tuition tax credits to develop estimates of the likely volume of contributions to scholarship-granting organizations and the resulting revenue impact of the tax credits. They construct a model to determine the impact tuition tax credits will have on total state education aid and to calculate the &quot;breakeven&quot; rate of migration, or the number of public school students that would have to migrate from public to independent schools in order to make the tax credit fiscally neutral from the perspective of New Mexico state government. Finally, they use district-level expenditure and enrollment data to estimate the percentage of expenditures that are fixed versus variable across school districts in New Mexico, and compare the revenue and cost impacts of tuition tax credits on school districts to determine the net fiscal impact of tuition tax credits on school districts. (Contains 7 tables, 12 figures and 17 footnotes.) [This study was sponsored by the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation and the Albuquerque Partnership.]
Indiana's New and (Somewhat) Improved K-12 School Finance System. School Choice Issues in the State
Author: Aud, Susan L.
Date: 2005-07-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Funding Formulas,Elementary Secondary Education,Resource Allocation,Expenditure per Student,Educational Finance,Accountability,Public Education,Educational Policy,Educational Equity (Finance),Budgets,At Risk Students,Special Needs Students,Special Education,Vocational Education,English (Second Language),Minority Groups,Low Income Groups,Teacher Student Ratio,Federal Aid,State Aid

Education finance policy has become an urgent concern in many state legislatures. Demands for greater equity and accountability have forced states to review, and in many cases to revise, the method by which schools are funded. This study sheds light on Indiana's financing of public K-12 education by providing a clear explanation of the components of its funding formulas, including the revisions just enacted by the state legislature, and comparing the system's key features to those of school funding systems in neighboring Midwest states. While the recent changes made by the legislature are an improvement on the previous funding formula, Indiana's school finances are still needlessly complex and obscure. During the most recent legislative session, two of the most basic components of the funding formula--the way the state counts students and the way it determines the amount of revenue for each student--were somewhat simplified. Nonetheless, serious problems of transparency, accountability, and equity remain to be addressed. Two appendices are included: (1) Indiana Revised Per-Student Revenue Formula and the Indiana State Budget for Elementary and Secondary Education. (Contains 12 tables and 34 endnotes.)
Using School Choice: Analyzing How Parents Access Educational Freedom. School Choice Issues in Depth
Author: Forster, Greg
Date: 2005-10-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Tax Credits,Eligibility,School Choice,Scholarships,Educational Vouchers,Parent Attitudes,Student Participation,Politics of Education,Research Reports,Program Evaluation,Performance Factors,Barriers

This report provides a summary of the process parents must go through to participate in each of the nation's school choice programs, identifying problem areas in some programs. For the first time in one place, this report collects data on participation in each of the programs in current and previous years. Data are given for the number of students and the estimated percentage of all eligible students who participated each year. Key findings of this report include: (1) The Milwaukee voucher program has unusually extensive participation (21 percent of eligible students); (2) The A+ voucher program in Florida began with relatively strong participation (7 percent in 1999-2000) but has seen a steady decline; (3) The only voucher-type programs with participation greater than Milwaukee's are the century-old town tuitioning programs in Maine and Vermont (43 percent and 52 percent, respectively); (4) Cleveland's voucher program has robust participation (8 percent) even though until this year students had to enroll by third grade or lose eligibility; (5) Voucher programs for disabled students have seen strong growth in participation; (6) Washington D.C.'s voucher program has low participation (2 percent); (7) Programs in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Florida that provide tax-funded scholarships to private schools are quite large; and (8) Programs that provide tax credits or deductions for families' education expenses made private school a little bit easier to afford for about 195,000 families in 2003 in Illinois, 186,000 in 2002 in Minnesota, and 102,000 in 2003 in Iowa. (Contains 23 footnotes.)
Bomb Threat Assessments. Fact Sheet
Author: Tunkel, Ronald F.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Weapons,School Security,Law Enforcement,Terrorism,School Safety,Emergency Programs,Language Usage,Evaluation,Motivation,Violence

This information provides a brief, summary outline of how investigators should assess anonymous bomb threats at schools. Applying these principles may help administrators and law enforcement personnel accurately assess the viability and credibility of a threat and appropriately gauge their response. Any credible evidence provided by teachers or peers that one or more students are planning a mass homicide of their schoolmates and teachers needs to be assessed with different measures and afforded a graver concern than the more typical anonymous bomb threat. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Educational Spending: Kentucky vs. Other States. School Choice Issues in the State
Author: Hoyt, William H.
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: School Choice,Educational Finance,Educational Change,Rural Urban Differences,Finance Reform,Resource Allocation,Funding Formulas,Trend Analysis,Comparative Analysis,Teacher Student Ratio,State Legislation,State Aid,Expenditures,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators

The passage of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA) in 1990 had a dramatic impact on the funding of primary and secondary education in the state. The amount of money spent on education increased significantly with the passage of KERA with districts in rural areas of the state experiencing the largest growth in spending (Hoyt, 1999). This has led to a decline in the disparity between rural and urban districts in education spending. However, despite the increase in educational spending, Kentucky still lags behind the typical state in the U.S. in spending per student (Troske, 2008). This report is the first in a series of two examining how educational budgets are allocated in Kentucky and whether differences in how money is spent affect educational outcomes. In this report the authors focus on how education dollars are spent in Kentucky, how spending has changed over time, and how spending in Kentucky compares with spending in other states. Findings reveal that while per-pupil spending in Kentucky has risen since the passage of KERA, the main effect of KERA appears to be on differences in education spending across regions of the state and on the sources of educational revenue for districts in different parts of the state. Since 1990 differences in educational spending per pupil between urban and rural areas of the state have all but disappeared. At the same time there is a growing disparity in the sources of funding with urban districts now obtaining over 40% of their funding from local taxes while rural districts obtain only around 20% of their funding from local sources. And while districts in all areas of the Commonwealth tend to devote a similar share of spending to the various functions, it is still possible that the lower level of local control over districts in rural areas of Kentucky could impact educational outcomes in these districts. (Contains 19 tables, 28 figures, and 4 endnotes.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the Bluegrass Institute. This study was released jointly by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions and the Center for Business and Economic Research.]
Lost Opportunity: An Empirical Analysis of How Vouchers Affected Florida Public Schools. School Choice Issues in the State
Author: Forster, Greg
Date: 2008-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Public Schools,School Choice,Program Effectiveness,Educational Vouchers,Educational Improvement,School Restructuring,Educational Change,Program Evaluation,Accountability,Barriers,Court Litigation,Data Analysis,Educational Indicators,Educational Assessment,Achievement Gains

The impact of Florida's &quot;A+&quot; accountability program, which until 2006 included a voucher program for chronically failing schools, on public school performance has been extensively studied. The results have consistently shown a positive effect on academic outcomes in Florida public schools. However, no empirical research has been done on the impact of the program after 2002-03, the first year in which a substantial number of students were eligible for vouchers. This narrow focus has left the public with an incomplete picture of the true role of vouchers in producing the public school improvements associated with the A+ program. This empirical study is the first to analyze the effects of vouchers in the A+ program after 2002-03. It includes a separate analysis for each year from 2001-02 to 2006-07. Thus, it is the first study to analyze how the program's effects were changed by the court-ordered removal of vouchers in January 2006. Moreover, it uses superior-quality data that track the progress of individual students over time, which have not been available to the general public until recently. The study finds that vouchers were a key element driving improvements in public schools from the A+ program. At every step, the academic performance of failing public schools in Florida responded to changes in the status of vouchers in the A+ program. While Florida is still experiencing improvements in student performance, the removal of vouchers from the program reduced the magnitude of these improvements. (Contains 3 figures, 1 table, and 13 endnotes.) [This study was released by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, the Foundation for Excellence in Education and The James Madison Institute.]
The Formula behind Maryland's K-12 Funding. School Choice Issues in the State
Author: Scafidi, Benjamin
Date: 2008-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,School Choice,Educational Finance,Funding Formulas,State Aid,School Restructuring,Finance Reform,Accountability,Change Strategies,Expenditure per Student,State Legislation,Program Descriptions,Early Childhood Education,Educational Change

Maryland's school finance system experienced a restructuring in 2002 with the passage of SB 856, the &quot;Bridge to Excellence Act.&quot; The &quot;Bridge&quot; Act set the funding amount for &quot;base&quot; students, brought state funding for kindergarten students on par with students in grades 1-12, and collapsed about 50 school funding programs into eight. The act also increased the state's cigarette tax by 34 cents per pack to fund the increases in school funding to school systems. In exchange for this increased funding, the Bridge Act required the state to hold school systems accountable for meeting student achievement benchmarks, including sanctions for low school performance. This report describes Maryland's current system of school finance, provides data describing large increases in funding for K-12 education that have occurred since the passage of the 2002 Bridge Act, and offers the recommendation to make Maryland's system of school finance more transparent to parents, educators, and other taxpayers. This report makes two recommendations. The first would provide greater transparency in public school funding. The second would allow parents to direct the taxpayer resources devoted to their child's education to the traditional public, charter public, or private school of their choice. This change would further increase parental control and involvement within Maryland's education system. (Contains 10 tables and 1 endnote.) [This study was released jointly by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and the Maryland Public Policy Institute.]
The High Cost of Maryland's Dropout Rate. School Choice Issues in the State
Author: Hauke, Justin P.
Date: 2008-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Urban Schools,High Schools,Private Schools,Taxes,Low Income Groups,At Risk Students,Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,School Choice,Dropouts,Graduation,High School Students,Suburban Schools,Economic Impact,Social Services,Institutionalized Persons,Crime,Competition,Public Schools,Income,Public Health,Educational Attainment,Unemployment,Racial Differences,African Americans,Whites,Hispanic Americans,Employment Level,Males

There is a divide in Maryland's schools. Although the state's high school graduation rate is above the national average, its urban school districts have suffered from years of decline. In 2007, the Baltimore city school district's graduation rate was only 35 percent, compared to 81.5 percent in Baltimore's suburbs and 76 percent statewide. The divide between urban and suburban graduation rates in Maryland is the highest in the nation. Among the nation's 100 largest school districts, Baltimore has the 98th-lowest graduation rate. This study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in Maryland. The author and his colleagues examine how Maryland's decreasing graduation rates are materially affecting the state's finances through reduced tax revenues, increased Medicaid costs and higher incarceration rates. This study examines how increased competition from private schools could raise public school graduation rates and save Maryland taxpayers millions of dollars each year. This research suggests that expanding school choice programs in Maryland would significantly improve public high school graduation rates in a cost-effective way. Introducing educational competition would have a profound impact on reducing the costs associated with high school dropouts. Most importantly, school choice programs would provide meaningful choices for low-income families and would provide large public benefits equal to or greater than those realized by the students themselves. (Contains 10 figures, 7 tables, and 34 endnotes.) [This study was released jointly by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and the Maryland Public Policy Institute.]
The High Cost of High School Failure in New Jersey. School Choice Issues in the State
Author: Gottlob, Brian J.
Date: 2008-01-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Public Schools,Private Schools,Taxes,Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,Economic Impact,High School Students,Social Services,Institutionalized Persons,Correctional Institutions,School Districts,Enrollment Trends,Competition,State Government,Income,Educational Attainment,Unemployment,Employment Level,Racial Differences,Males,Whites,African Americans,At Risk Students,Hispanic Americans

State and local education officials in New Jersey tout the state's high school graduation rate as the highest in the nation. At the same time, independent research indicates that 40 percent of students in Newark drop out and only half of African-American students in urban districts graduate. Meanwhile, there is increasing concern in New Jersey over the meaning of a high school diploma as a sign of academic achievement in a state where nearly 20 percent of students are unable to pass the mandatory High School Proficiency Assessment required for graduation, but still receive a diploma by passing the Special Review Assessment, raising concerns that this may provide a &quot;back door&quot; to a diploma for students who have not been adequately educated. This study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in New Jersey. It calculates the annual cost of New Jersey dropouts caused by reduced tax revenue, increased Medicaid costs and increased incarceration costs. It also documents the employment impact that dropouts have on the New Jersey economy. It examines objective evidence from the labor market to assess whether employers value a high school diploma as highly in New Jersey as in other states. Finally, the study examines how competition from private schools raises public school graduation rates, and it calculates the dollar value of the public benefits that would follow from increasing New Jersey's public school graduation rates by enacting even a modest school choice program. (Contains 10 figures, 7 tables and 33 endnotes.) [This study was released jointly by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, Excellent Education for Everyone and the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey.]
Successful Education Research: Guidelines for Getting Going, Getting Funded and Getting Published
Author: Deacon, Roger
Date: 2009-03-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Teacher Education,Research and Development,Distance Education,Educational Change,Guidelines,Foreign Countries,Consortia,Educational Improvement,Literature Reviews,Models,Research Methodology,Research Projects,Surveys,Educational Policy,Higher Education

As part of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP), a project focusing on &quot;Stimulation of practice-based teacher education research&quot;, was undertaken by Dr. Roger Deacon and Dr. Ben Parker, in conjunction with the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD). As part of the project, a set of research guidelines entitled, Successful Education Research, guidelines for getting going, getting funded and getting published, have been developed. Recognising the vital role of the teacher education system to South Africa's development and the large number of bottlenecks preventing its effective functioning, five organisations formed a consortium in 2005 to implement a Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The consortium initially consisted of the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD), the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) based at the Faculty of Education of the University of Pretoria, the Education Foundation Trust, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), and the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). The consortium of partnering agencies brought considerable expertise and experience in the field of teacher education. The central problem addressed by the consortium related to the ongoing challenge of the poor quality of teaching and learning in South African schools through sustained investigation of the processes, practices and outcomes of teacher education. TEP thus examined the capacity of the teacher education system to support quality teaching and also looked to the education system as evidenced by learner performance and teacher practices to support an understanding of what is needed in teacher education to improve education in schools. TEP 2005-09 had as its overall goal to contribute to the knowledge and information base for policy formulation and implementation regarding organisation and practice of teacher education, with a particular emphasis on initial teacher education (both pre-service and upgrading), as well as the professional development of school leaders and managers through a blend of research and development projects. Three addendums are included: (1) Sample journal submissions policy and referencing style; (2) Sample covering letter; and (3) Sample journal referee sheet. [These Guidelines were written in conjunction with the Centre for Education Policy Development. They were produced as part of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The development and production of the Guidelines was funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Pretoria, South Africa.
Prevalence and Implications of Overweight and Obesity in Children's Health and Learning Behavior: The Case of Kinondoni and Njombe Districts in Tanzania
Author: Kafyulilo, Ayoub Cherd
Date: 2008-09-00
Type: Dissertations/Theses
Subjects: Obesity,Body Composition,Incidence,Focus Groups,Interviews,Foreign Countries,Child Health,Elementary School Students,Etiology,Social Influences,Student Behavior,Body Weight,Body Height,Questionnaires,Socioeconomic Influences,Family Structure,Nutrition,Physical Activity Level,Life Style,Correlation,Hypertension,Bullying,Peer Relationship,Rejection (Psychology),Low Achievement,Mass Media,Teaching Methods,Public Health,Consciousness Raising

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which overweight and obesity are challenges among primary school children in Kinondoni and Njombe districts. The study sought to investigate those aspects in terms of prevalence, causes and impacts on social, health as well as children learning behaviours and outcomes. Systematic random sampling was used to select schools while stratified sampling and simple random sampling were used in selecting pupils and teachers. Measurement of weights and height were done to determine Body Mass Index (BMI), measurements of skinfolds were also done to determine body fat percentage. Questionnaires, semi-structured interview schedule and focus group discussion guides were also used. Findings revealed an average of 13.5% children, were overweight and obese. Economy status, household occupations, nutrition and inactivity were significant causes of overweight and obesity. Hypertension, excessive sweating, teasing and peer rejection were common to obese children. In addition, overweight and obese children were reported to underperform in academic and physical activities. The study revealed that overweight and obesity were not friendly healthy conditions to children, thus a need to work it out. The study suggests for establishment of education programs through mass Medias, to raise people's awareness on implications of obesity in children's health, social, and learning behaviours and outcomes. Seven appendixes are included: (1) Pupils' Questionnaires; (2) Pupils' Focus Group Discussion Guide; (3) Teachers' Interviews; (4) Number of Children and their Weight Status in both Rural and Urban Settings (BMI Results); (5) Percentage of Children According to their Weight Status and Performance Grades in the Classroom; (6) Factors Causing Overweight and Obesity among School Children and their Level of Significance; and (7) A Map of Kinondoni and Njombe Showing the Surveyed Schools.  (Contains 12 tables and 11 figures.) [Funding for this study was provided by the Dar es Salaam University College of Education.]