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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.
Related Materials
Illinois Score Card
Illinois, the fifth most populous state, does not rank on either extreme in the educational attainment of its population. Both the portion of adults without an eighth-grade education and the portion with a graduate degree are above average, but neither ranks as one of the top 10 best or worst states.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) was established in 1961 in response to rapidly increasing enrollments. IBHE is a coordinating board in charge of overseeing all sectors of higher education in the state. It is responsible for planning and policy development, budgeting, program review, and information systems. Over 200,000 students are enrolled in an Illinois public four-year institution, including the state's flagship, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Illinois' higher education accountability system's strengths are:
- Gathering information on a wide breadth of performance measures.
Illinois' higher education accountability system needs work in:
- Comparing data across time and/or against peers.
- Aligning state priorities with concrete goals for achievement.
- Formally linking budgetary decisions to the performance of state postsecondary institutions.
- Proactively informing prospective students, parents, and the general public about the performance of state colleges and universities.
