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Sector Spotlight
Report Release: Reforming Teacher Pensions for a Changing Work Force
New Education Sector report examines teacher pensions and details the problems facing current state pension programs.
Sport or Not? A Question for the Courts
Senior Policy Analyst Elena Silva interviewed by the New York Times on Title IX.
Teachers Unions as Agents of Reform
Brad Jupp, an architect of Denver's landmark performance-based teacher pay system, ProComp, is an outspoken advocate of both labor organizing and quality education for disadvantaged kids. In this interview, Jupp talks about ProComp, his views on teacher unionism, and the future of the teaching profession.
Education Sector Welcomes Three New Board Members
Education Sector's board of directors names three prominent leaders in the fields of education and journalism to the board: David W. Breneman, Richard Lee Colvin, and Peter McWalters.
For-profit colleges: Do they shortchange students?
Policy Director Kevin Carey comments on a recent Senate HELP Committee hearing on for-profit colleges.
Issues
Education Finance
Best of Education Finance
School Funding's Tragic Flaw
In this report from Education Sector and the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), Kevin Carey and Marguerite Roza examine funding disparities between two seemingly similar schools in Virginia and North Carolina. Carey and Roza find that the federal, state, and local policies designed to distribute education funds systematically provide more money to higher-income students and wealthier schools.
Hidden Details: A Closer Look at Student Loan Default Rates
Policy Analyst Erin Dillon reveals that the U.S. Department of Education's reporting of overall student loan default rates masks much higher default rates for specific groups of students.
Frozen Assets: Rethinking Teacher Contracts Could Free Billions for School Reform
In an era of limited resources, public school districts under intense pressure to boost student achievement will have to be creative in looking for ways to fund improvements. One often overlooked source of funds: common provisions in teacher contracts.
Money Matters
Eric Hanushek's work has been widely interpreted to suggest that money isn't a significant ingredient of school quality or school reform. Kevin Carey challenges Hanushek on his controversial beliefs and discusses the researcher's recent work on teacher quality in an Education Sector Interview.
More about Education Finance
Research and Reports
The Pangloss Index: How States Game the No Child Left Behind Act
When policymakers wrote the No Child Left Behind Act, their goal was to steadily raise the bar for academic achievement. But many states have undermined the spirit of the law by lowering achievement goals every year, a finding that a new NCES report confirms. In this 2007 report, Kevin Carey explains how these states are gaming NCLB's accountability system—and doing so with the full approval of the U.S. Department of Education.
Leading Lady: Sallie Mae and the Origins of Today's Student Loan Controversy
Over the past 40 years, the student loan industry has evolved from a relatively small, government-sponsored program into an $85-billion-a-year industry with thousands of lenders and industry-related companies. But, in recent months, the industry—and its biggest player Sallie Mae—have been at the center of controversy and calls for reform.
Teaching Fishing or Giving Away Fish? Education Grantmaking For Research, Policy and Advocacy
A chapter from With Best Intentions. Essays from the book examine how philanthropic giving has become so important to contemporary school reform and is shaping education policy.
Analysis and Perspectives
Student Borrowers Tired of Being Gamed by the System
In USA Today, Erin Dillon weighs in on Sallie Mae and the steps being taken to increase oversight of the student loan industry.
Enough Already? School Funding and the Courts
Education Sector's Kevin Carey reviews Courting Failure, the latest compendium of complaints about school finance lawsuits.
Flatline: President Bush's Lifeless Effort on No Child Left Behind
Andrew J. Rotherham and Kevin Carey explain what the president's budget means for education and why it's neither big enough nor bold enough to increase the likelihood of NCLB reauthorization.
Does This Spending Help Students?
In The Providence Journal, Nonresident Senior Fellow Marguerite Roza explains how the "frozen assets" in teacher contract provisions could be changed to support both teachers and better student learning.
In Education Debate, Congress Must Talk Money
In a commentary on National Public Radio, Education Sector Co-director Andrew J. Rotherham explains why we need to continue the conversation about repurposing existing funds for schools.
"65 Percent Solution" Doesn't Add Up
The Florida Legislature is considering enacting the controversial "65 percent solution" to regulate district expenditures. In the Orlando Sentinel, Kevin Carey explains why that's a bad idea.
Old Policies, New Ways to Fund Preschool
State policymakers can use state school finance systems and charter school policies to expand access to high-quality preschool.
The New $4.5 Billion Federal School Funding Program Nobody Knows
While the No Child Left Behind funding debate has focused largely on total spending, Congress and the President have received too little credit for putting billions of additional dollars into never-before-utilized funding formulas that help the nation's highest-poverty school districts.
Is There a Heyday on the Horizon? A Counterintuitive View of State Budgets and Education Planning
Do you have a big, expensive idea to improve public education? If you have pricey aspirations, then get ready—your once-a-decade window of opportunity for state spending is starting to open.
65-Percent Plan Fails Basic Math
To meet the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law, educators need the resources necessary to teach all children to high standards and the flexibility to spend that money in a way that makes sense for their local schools. Unfortunately, some are trying to turn back the clock with a simplistic idea called the "65-cent solution."
Though some vigorously argue otherwise, the last 30 years were not a miserly time for public schools. From 1970 until now, spending for public schools increased, in today's dollars, from $3,500 a year per pupil to more than $8,000.
Profiles
Policy Director
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Consultant
Professor of Education, Stanford University
Research Associate Professor, University of Washington's College of Education and Senior Fellow, Center on Reinventing Public Education
Non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Business and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University