
Community and Economic Development, Education and Literacy, Parenting and Families
Based on focus groups with parents, explores why school turnaround options such as closing failing schools and replacing principals and staff provoke community opposition. Outlines ways for leaders to build trust, address concerns, and engage parents.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States

Education and Literacy, Government Reform
Outlines early findings about the the revamped School Improvement Grant program's impact on states and three approaches to evaluating district and school grant applications, including the use of external reviewers and cutoff scores. Makes recommendations.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Illinois, North America-United States (Southern)-Louisiana, North America-United States (Northeastern)-Vermont

Political leaders hope to act soon to renew and fix the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, also known as No Child Left Behind). In this important paper, Thomas B. Fordham Institute President Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Executive Vice President Michael J. Petrilli identify 10 big issues that must be resolved in order to get a bill across the finish line, and explore the major options under consideration for each one. Should states be required to adopt academic standards tied to college and career readiness? Should the new law provide greater flexibility to states and districts? These are just a few of the areas discussed. Finn and Petrilli also present their own bold yet "reform realist" solutions for ESEA.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States

Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
When it comes to public-sector pensions, writes lead author Michael B. Lafferty in this report, "A major public-policy (and public-finance) problem has been defined and measured, debated and deliberated, but not yet solved. Except where it has been." As recounted in "Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century", these exceptions turn out to be revealing -- and encouraging.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-Utah, North America-United States (Western)-Alaska, North America-United States (Midwestern)-Michigan, North America-United States (Midwestern)-Missouri

Is it time for Ohio to take bolder steps toward turning around its most troubled schools and districts? If so, what might the alternatives look like? Options for rebooting these troubled schools have come in the form of mayoral control, state takeovers, market competition through charter schools and other choice programs, as well as millions of federal dollars spent on "school turnaround", yet it seems that it might be time to try something new in Ohio. In looking for alternatives to simply doing more of the same, Ohio policymakers are looking to the experiences of other states. Among the boldest and most interesting of these is Louisiana's Recovery School District (RSD), which is accomplishing both significant gains in student achievement and consequential impacts on district-level standards. In this recent report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute author Nelson Smith asks if and how the RSD concept might be a model for Ohio.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Ohio, North America-United States (Southern)-Louisiana

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics represent a sea change in standards-based reform and their implementation is the movement's next -- and greatest -- challenge. Yet, while most states have now set forth implementation plans, these tomes seldom address the crucial matter of cost. Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost? estimates the implementation cost for each of the forty-five states (and the District of Columbia) that have adopted the Common Core State Standards and shows that costs naturally depend on how states approach implementation. Authors Patrick J. Murphy of the University of San Francisco and Elliot Regenstein of EducationCounsel LLC illustrate this with three models:
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States

Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
In this "Ed Short" from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Amanda Olberg and Michael Podgursky examine how public charter schools handle pensions for their teachers. Some states give these schools the freedom to opt out of the traditional teacher-pension system; when given that option, how many charter schools take it? Olberg and Podgursky examine data from six charter-heavy states and find that charter participation rates in traditional pension systems vary greatly -- from over 90 percent in California to less than one out of every four charters in Florida. As for what happens when schools choose not to participate in state pension plans, the authors find that they most often provide their teachers with defined-contribution plans (401(k) or 403(b)) with employer matches similar to those for private-sector professionals. But some opt-out charters offer no alternative retirement plans for their teachers (18 percent in Florida, 24 percent in Arizona).
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States

Education and Literacy;Immigration
Probing the changing makeup of American college campuses, this report by the Public Education Institute at The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. of Malden, MA, offers unparalleled insight into the journeys of today's graduate students born to immigrant entrepreneur parents.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Southern) / District of Columbia / Washington;North America / United States (Western) / California;North America / United States (Northeastern) / Massachusetts;North America / United States (Northeastern) / Pennsylvania / Philadelphia County / Philadelphia