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As the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides to public and private school students and schools wide-ranging academic and educational supports. This paper provides a historical review of: (1) the federal government's role in education; (2) the creation and passage of ESEA; and (3) ESEA's subsequent development and reauthorizations. The authors next describe ESEA's application to parentally placed private school students. The law makes it clear that private school students are to participate equitably in the benefits that ESEA confers. Upon identifying and describing the challenges to this equitable participation that private school students and stakeholders have faced under ESEA's most recent reauthorization (ESSA), the authors conclude by offering concrete recommendations on how ESEA's next reauthorization can effectively address these challenges.

This report focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Kalamazoo Public Schools District in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which closed its doors to students from mid-March 2020 to June 2021. During this time, instruction transitioned from face-to-face to virtual, with students having three options for virtual instruction. In addition to individual KPS student data, the study looks at the NWEA national sample as presented in several publications and technical appendices. The study addresses three basic questions, as well as examining students' race/ethnicity and poverty status, summer learning loss to determine the change in achievement gains, and attendance rates as an example of students not receiving face-to-face instruction. The first question asks whether the pandemic, which began in March of 2020, adversely affected student enrollment. The second question examines how achievement gains based on the NWEA math tests during the 2020-2021 pandemic school year compared to prepandemic and post-school-closure trends. The third question examines the variability of NWEA math test scores during the pandemic compared to the school years before and after the 2020-2021 pandemic school year. We find that student enrollment declined during and after the pandemic school year for at least two years, which is more than appears to be the case in all but the first few years of the century. In addressing the second question, we found that achievement gains rebounded after KPS schools opened, although achievement gains are not as high as in the prepandemic school year. It also appears that the lower grades were more resilient than the upper grades during this period. Regarding the third question, we found that test scores were more variable at the low end of the distribution than at the high end and that variability increased in the year following school closure.

There is empirical evidence of substantial heterogeneity in economic mobility across geographic areas and the efficacy of schools has been suggested as an explanatory factor. Using administrative microdata from seven states covering nearly 3 million students, we explore the potential role of schools in promoting economic mobility by estimating cross-district variation in "academic mobility"--a term we use to describe the extent to which students' ranks in the distribution of academic performance change during their schooling careers. We show that there exists considerable heterogeneity in academic mobility across school districts. However, after aggregating our district-level measures of academic mobility to the commuting-zone level and merging them with geographically matched external estimates of economic mobility, we find little scope for geographic differences in academic mobility to meaningfully account for differences in economic mobility.

In this paper we compare two approaches to measuring the average rate at which students learn in a given school or district. One type of measure--longitudinal growth measures--relies on student-level longitudinal data. A second type--cohort growth measures--relies only on repeated aggregated, cross-sectional data. Because student-level data is often not readily available, cohort growth measures are sometimes the only type available. The estimated school and district learning rates reported in the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), for example, are cohort growth measures based on aggregated data. Understanding how much researchers and policymakers can rely on these cohort growth estimates requires one to know how well, and under what conditions, the estimates obtained from this approach align with those based on longitudinal data. In this report we address these questions. We do so by using longitudinal student data from three states (Massachusetts, Michigan, and Tennessee) to construct both average gain score measures (longitudinal growth) and change-in-average measures (cohort growth) for each public school district and school serving students in any of grades 3-8 in the three states. We then compare the two sets of estimates in order to assess how well the latter replicates the former. We do this separately for districts and schools. We find that the longitudinal and cohort growth measures are generally highly correlated in these three states. On average, the cohort growth measures largely rank schools and districts similarly to longitudinal growth measures. The correlations at the district-level (r=0.87) are somewhat higher than the school-level correlations (r=0.80), which reflects the fact that there is less student mobility among districts than among schools. Additionally, in cases where student mobility in and out of schools or districts is high, the measures are less well aligned. Mobility rates are higher, on average, in small schools and districts, schools with long grade spans, and in charter schools. As a result the alignment of the two measures is weaker in these cases. We conclude that the cohort growth measures are useful proxies for longitudinal growth measures in most, but not all cases. [This work was completed in collaboration with Michigan's Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA).]

The decision about how and when to open schools to in-person instruction has been a key question for policymakers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The instructional modality of schools has implications not only for the health and safety of students and staff, but also student learning and the degree to which parents can engage in job activities. We consider the role of instructional modality (in-person, hybrid, or remote instruction) in disease spread among the wider community. Using two-way fixed effect (TWFE) specifications, we find evidence that instructional modality does lead to increases in COVID-19 spread in communities with moderate to high levels of preexisting COVID-19 cases, although the causal effect is small in magnitude. Recent research has indicated that these TWFE estimates could be biased under heterogenous treatment effects, however, we test for parallel pre-trends that suggest our estimates are unlikely to suffer from this type of bias. We further estimate event study models that show, in Michigan, but not in Washington, there is an initial increase in COVID-19 rates in the months after districts begin offering in-person schooling after which effects slowly fade out. Finally, there is little consistent evidence of differential effects in districts with lower or higher percentages of students reported to be in school buildings.

I provide a new, systematic profile of more than 18,000 homeless students in Michigan, utilizing rich administrative data from all test-taking students in grades 3-9 during the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. These data are part of a larger study of school choice and student mobility in that state. Homelessness is a condition found disproportionately away from suburban school districts. African American and Hispanic students are more frequently homeless and homeless students are almost universally impoverished. They are far more mobile between districts and zip codes than their non-homeless peers and are more likely to participate in inter-district school choice and charter schools. Finally, homeless students score far lower on state math and reading tests.

This paper considers the determinants of student participation in Michigan's large inter-district open enrollment system, known as Schools of Choice (SoC). Employing a rich dataset from the Michigan Department of Education, we examine the population of public school students in resident and non-resident school districts between the 2005-06 and 2012-13 academic years. We find substantial evidence that historically disadvantaged students are those most likely to participate in Schools of Choice: African American students and low-income students are more likely than their peers in their resident districts to make an inter-district transfer; they are, however, also the most likely among other Schools of Choice participants to exit the program. In addition, students who are relatively low performing on the state's standardized exam--especially in mathematics--are most likely to both participate in Schools of Choice and, among participants, the most likely to exit. We conclude by noting that these patterns are similar to those found among the determinants of more general forms of student mobility. An appendix provides tabular data showing: (1) Descriptive statistics of students based on enrollment in Schools of Choice (2005-2012); (2) SoC Participation by Students Classified as SoC 2005-2013; (3) District Rates of Student Exit Under SoC; and (4) District Rates of Student Entry Under SoC.

As the City of Detroit emerges from municipal bankruptcy, the imperative for school improvement takes on an urgency rarely witnessed in a U.S. city. If the city is to experience the redevelopment boom that many now anticipate, its public schools must improve. While a variety of different reform strategies are possible, the establishment of a portfolio district in Detroit currently appears to have the greatest political salience. This report is primarily devoted to a detailed analysis of Michigan's Education Achievement Authority (EAA) which was established in 2011 to turn around the state's lowest-performing schools, starting in Detroit. An understanding of the EAA is essential for informed discussion of a Detroit portfolio district for two key reasons. First, portions of Excellent Schools Detroit's plan for a portfolio district were included in the EAA's original design, but they were not effectively implemented. Second, like the EAA, a new administrative authority for a Detroit portfolio district would face basic administrative challenges related to its financial and human resources, oversight of teaching and learning, and public accountability for its operations. It would be unfortunate if policy makers and designers failed to take full measure of the lessons learned from the EAA's experience. The EAA failed to reach its objectives because the policy was hastily and poorly designed. In this report we seek to shift the debate about the EAA from the ideologically polarized question of whether the system is "good" or "bad" to the more fruitful question of how to align policy design with worthy policy goals. This report was written first and foremost for the citizens of Detroit to explain features of state policy so that they may participate effectively in efforts to shape their local public schools. It was also written, however, for citizens of good will throughout Michigan who understand that their own public schools are now powerfully shaped by policy decisions in Lansing, who regret the divisions that have isolated Detroiters for too long, and who will support policies for the children of Detroit that they themselves would want for their own children. This is not simply an ethical issue because, with well-designed policies, the children and grandchildren of residents across Michigan may someday have a choice to live in racially and socially diverse Detroit neighborhoods anchored by excellent public schools. The following are appended: (1) Purpose of the EAA; (2) Powers of the EAA; (3) Implementing the EAS in Detroit; (4) Planned Expansion of the EAA; and (5) Appointment of New EAA Chancellor.

Building a stronger teacher workforce requires the thoughtful orchestration of multiple processes working together in a human capital system. This white paper presents a framework that can be used to take stock of current efforts to enhance the teacher workforce in school districts or educational organizations, as well as their underlying theories of how the teacher workforce improves over time. The paper refines and provides evidentiary support for a human capital system framework composed of four subsystems that ideally work together to build a stronger teacher workforce: (1) getting the right teachers in the right positions on time (Acquire); (2) supporting professional growth in school-based learning communities (Develop); (3) nurturing, rewarding, and challenging high-performing teachers (Sustain); and (4) informing evidence-based personnel decisions (Evaluate). Attention to this framework will engender a corps of teachers with the capacity and expertise to collectively facilitate enhanced educational outcomes.

Michigan's Local Government and School District Accountability Act of 2011 empowers the governor to appoint emergency managers (EMs) in financially-troubled school districts. EMs assume all powers of the superintendent and school board. They can reshape academic programs, nullify labor contracts, and open and close schools. This paper analyzes the law's political origins and early implementation. Relative to prevailing accountability mechanisms applicable to all school districts, in what respects are EM districts are more accountable, and in what respects are they less accountable? Our analysis reveals that although the law concentrates control over school operations, it weakens most standard dimensions of district accountability. (Contains 15 footnotes. Work for this article was supported in part by the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University.)

School district consolidation enjoys a unique status among strategies to reduce education costs. It promises to cut spending, without lowering service quality, by improving the efficiency of service delivery. In contrast to strategies aimed at lowering employee salaries or benefits--which are hard to avoid when cutting spending in any labor intensive service--consolidation's savings are often presented as essentially free, with no obvious losers. School district consolidation is not new. Indeed Michigan (and the United States) experienced a great wave of school consolidation after World War II. In fact, the number of school districts fell by about 85 percent between 1940 and 1970; the pace of consolidation has since slowed considerably. In this paper, the author offers some observations intended to inform the discussion of school consolidation in Michigan. He will start by reviewing the very limited evidence on the magnitude of potential consolidation savings in Michigan. Next, he will suggest factors that policymakers ought to consider when assessing whether consolidation is appropriate. He will argue that, while there are untapped consolidation savings, the magnitude of those savings is surely smaller than commonly imagined and some are concentrated in unexpected places. Finally, he will turn from economic to political considerations and ask who should decide where consolidation takes place. (Contains 16 footnotes.) [For its related report, "Reaction to "Observations on School District and Service Consolidation in Michigan. Working Paper #17". Working Paper #18," see ED537162.]

As Duncomb and Yinger (2001) have stated, "School consolidation represents the most dramatic change in education governance and management in the United States in the twentieth century. Over 100,000 school districts have been eliminated through consolidation since 1938, a drop of almost 90 percent (NCES 1999, Table 90). This longstanding trend continues throughout the country, largely because consolidation is widely regarded as a way for school districts to cut costs" (p. 1). The study described in the present paper applies Duncomb and Yinger's methods to Michigan data, looking as possible to financial consequences of consolidation of school districts at the county level. Research data sets for 10 counties in Michigan are used to estimate cost-saving effects of consolidation, as in the Duncombe and Yinger study. It appears that significant savings can be achieved in consolidating school districts at the county level. The coordination of services also produces cost savings for the districts assuming participation in a county level (ISD) coordination of services. These findings are consistent with other research studies in New York and Indiana. However, consolidation studies conducted in Arizona and New Jersey indicated that the fiscal savings hoped for did not materialize to the extent expected. Overall, consolidation seems to make fiscal sense, particularly in rural and small districts. The coordination of services seems more palatable to Michigan communities and also produces significant reduction in cost of services such as transportation and operation. The results of this study should be of interest to state and local elected officials, to state education agency staff, and to public school administrators. The Future of School Districts Consolidation in Michigan is provided in an addendum. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This study was funded by the Booth Newspapers of Michigan.]

There is widespread concern that administration consumes too much of the educational dollar in traditional public schools, diverting needed resources from classroom instruction and hampering efforts to improve student outcomes. By contrast, charter schools are predicted to have leaner administration and allocate resources more intensively to instruction. This study analyzes resource allocation in charter and district schools in Michigan, where charter and tradition public schools receive approximately the same operational funding. Holding constant other determinants of school resource allocation, we find that compared to traditional public schools, charter schools on average spend nearly $800 more per pupil per year on administration and $1100 less on instruction. (Contains 5 tables and 6 footnotes.)

This paper uses the charter-school legislation of three states-Arizona, California, and Michigan--as a lens to understand the policy values embodied in school--choice reforms. It questions the prevailing rubrics of the Center for Education Reform and the American Federation of Teachers. Briefly stated, the former ranks laws as either "strong" or "weak," and the latter identifies laws as either "good" or "bad." This paper examines the legislation in light of an alternative framework. Specifically, it considers how the laws incorporate choice, productive efficiency, equity, and social cohesion. It also considers what policy tools-such as finance, information, and regulation-are provided in the legislation to achieve these values. The paper finds this framework more comprehensive than current normative frameworks that pervade charter-school research. Although the paper emphasizes the need for continued research at the local charter-school level to understand the connection between legislation and implementation, this framework enables observers to move beyond value-laden descriptors of charter-school laws. Further development of this framework will combine an analysis of political values in the laws with a look at the political context of education reform in each state, as well as implementation of the laws at the local charter-school level. (Contains 42 references.) (Author/WFA)

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted the functioning of U.S. public schools, potentially changing the relative appeal of alternatives such as homeschooling and private schools. Using longitudinal student-level administrative data from Michigan and nationally representative data from the Census Household Pulse Survey, we show how the pandemic affected families' choices of school sector. We document four central facts. First, public school enrollment declined noticeably in fall 2020, with about 3 percent of Michigan students and 10 percent of kindergartners using other options. Second, most of this was driven by homeschooling rates jumping substantially, driven largely by families with children in elementary school. Third, homeschooling increased more where schools provided in-person instruction while private schooling increased more where instruction was remote, suggesting heterogeneity in parental concerns about children's physical health and instructional quality. Fourth, kindergarten declines were highest among low income and Black families while declines in other grades were highest among higher income and White families, highlighting important heterogeneity by students' existing attachment to public schools. Our results shed light on how families make schooling decisions and imply potential longer-run disruptions to public schools in the form of decreased enrollment and funding, changed composition of the student body, and increased size of the next kindergarten cohort.

This paper examines school choice reforms in one key state, within the broader context of public education and privatization. Choice advocates describe the public nature of charter schools in terms of access, funding, choice, and effects. Critics see charter schools as precursors to more market-based reforms such as vouchers. In reviewing the strategies and agendas of Michigan choice proponents, this analysis distinguishes between two competing views of "public" education. While institutionalists focus on organizational arrangements such as ownership, processes, and governance, instrumentalists point to the service that agencies provide in imparting academic skills as part of a mass education system. In this case, policymakers promoting the reforms embraced the instrumentalist approach in advancing charter schools as an initial step toward a voucher-style system. They attacked state provision, portraying charters as apolitical alternatives that blur popularly held public-private distinctions in reconfiguring the concept of public schooling to include any agency serving an academic mission. This analysis concludes by discussing the implications of this instrumentalist view, noting that schools are not privatized in form, but in essence. The purposes driving education are "commodified" as private goods for those pursuing education services, albeit in a nominally public system. (Contains 132 references.) (Author/RT)

This paper is a report on a study of the effect of charter schools on both students attending them and students in neighboring public schools in Michigan. Using school-level data from Michigan's standardized testing program, the study compared changes in tests scores between charter and public school students. The data included annual math and reading tests for 4th- and 7th-graders, science and writing tests for 5th- and 8th-graders, and a high school proficiency exam for 11th-graders. The paper begins by evaluating the effects of Michigan charter schools on students attending them. The results suggest that charter schools did not have strong effects on the academic achievement of students attending them. The paper then looks at the effects of Michigan charter schools on neighboring public schools. The study used exogenous variation created by Michigan's charter law to identify the effects. The results suggest that charter schools have had little or no effect on test scores in neighboring public schools. (Contains 9 tables of analyzed data and 19 references.) (Author/WFA)

This document represents the first of two volumes presented in "Study of the Impact of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program" (Norman L. Webb and Iris R. Weiss). In an effort to evaluate the impact of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSIs) on student achievement and the lessons that could be learned from the National Science Foundation's effort to reform mathematics and science education on a statewide basis, research studies identified the technical strategies, the political strategies, and the interactions with funders that were critical factors in the attempt to effect significant change in student learning over large populations. Documents were received on 21 of the 26 SSIs. More intensive data were collected via telephone interviews of key personnel in seven of these states and during site visits in six other states. Among a number of lessons learned were the following: It was vital to incorporate enough flexibility within the design so that information produced by research, evaluation, and monitoring could be effectively used (technical lesson); the creation of partnerships with policy organizations significantly advanced policy work (political lesson); and, SSI leaders and funders needed to develop a shared, in-depth understanding of the reform strategies as these fit the local context (interaction with funders). The following are appended: (1) SRI International Evaluation Reports; (2) Abt Associates Inc. Monitoring Reports; (3) Coding Scheme: Chronology and Components; (4) Coding Scheme: Strategic Planning, Decision-Making, and Thinking; (5) Coding Scheme: Key Challenges; (6) Interview Protocol for Telephone Interviews and Site Visits; (7) Case Report: Arkansas Statewide Systemic Initiative; (8) Case Report: Maine Statewide Systemic Initiative; (9) Case Report: Michigan Statewide Systemic Initiative; (10) Case Report: Nebraska Statewide Systemic Initiative; (11) Case Report: Puerto Rico Statewide Systemic Initiative; and (12) Case Report: Vermont Statewide Systemic Initiative. [For Volume II of this report, see ED497577.]

A Michigan State University policy analysis class explored migrant education in Michigan through literature reviews and interviews with policymakers, teachers, and migrant children and their families. They identified four areas that need attention. First, people who understand the learning needs of migrant students should be recruited as teachers. Teachers who have the dispositions and ability to teach Latinos and other minority groups should be selected. Quality professional development should be available to teachers and aides instructing migrant children, and these teachers and aides should have knowledge of Spanish and English as well as pedagogies that allow self-regulated learning and critical thinking without devaluing diverse cultures. Second, family-school relationships can be strengthened through a "students as ambassador program" to facilitate teacher-parent communication. Third, technologies used in schools should be evaluated for cost-effectiveness, appropriateness for migrant students, and contributions to equitable access to quality education, higher achievement rates, and lower dropout rates. Finally, the allocation of resources should be studied to see how migrant students can gain real access to school personnel and facilities, how qualified teachers and aides can be hired and developed, how students can get technology they can use and "take with them," how to develop funding formulas that are more equitable to small rural schools, and how to deliver the most help at the elementary school level. An appendix presents two articles about educational initiatives in Colombia and the Dominican Republic. (Contains 55 references.) (TD)

While previous research has documented how the Kalamazoo Promise, the most prominent and generous place-based college scholarship program, increased enrollment in Kalamazoo Public Schools, this paper qualifies and quantifies the characteristics of students who were induced to enter--or stay--in the district. In particular, it analyzes the origins and destinations, socioeconomic composition, and school-level sorting behavior associated with student flows around the time of the Promise announcement. These dimensions are more subtle than changes in the volume of students or measures of their individual success, but they are equally important to understand for communities exploring the feasibility of place-based scholarships as a local economic development tool. The findings suggest considerable economic benefits not just for the school district but for the broader metropolitan area. Tables and figures are appended.

This paper focuses on student achievement in charter schools in Michigan. The analyses suggest that students attending charter schools in Michigan are not reaching the same levels of achievement as students in traditional public schools in the same districts. Using several different models to estimate the differences between test score levels of students attending charter schools and those from traditional public schools in the same districts, the analyses indicate that students attending a charter school scored around 2% to 4% lower on the state's mandatory fourth grade reading and mathematics assessment. Fifth grade students in charter schools scored about 4% lower on the science test and about 6% to 9% lower on the writing test. The model controls for student, building, and district characteristics. The results are robust to several different specifications. However, many caveats are in order. Test scores are imperfect indicators of achievement. Furthermore, while the test scores of individual students are examined, researchers are able to control for student and teacher characteristics only in a limited way, and some of the explanatory variables are based on aggregate-building level and district-level information. Nevertheless, analyses suggest that despite the fact that charter schools have the ability to introduce competition and innovations in the provision of education, the evidence from this study implies that they will need to make up considerable ground as they become more established in order to overtake the test score levels and gains of students at traditional public schools. (Contains 15 notes, 8 tables, and 5 references.) (SLD)

Michigan's response to the call for educational improvement is described. Included are a discussion of the historical background; a review of the state's response to reform demands; an explanation of pending and enacted proposals; a summary of reform activities across the country; and an analysis of the effectiveness of the reform efforts. A detailed description of pending school improvement legislation in Michigan is contained in the appendix (half of the document). Legislation covers such topics as school improvement, school accreditation, schools of choice, hiring noncertificated teachers, reducing class size, and employability skills testing. (15 references) (LMI)

Research findings from a study of collective bargaining in New York and Michigan school districts indicate that collective bargaining does have a significant impact on the allocation of resources in ways that affect student learning. These findings support hypotheses based on the theory that collective bargaining will make a difference in resource allocation when the preferences of teachers and management do not coincide. The hypotheses state that, without collective bargaining, management responds to the preferences of marginal teachers (those mobile enough to quit if dissatisfied) because inframarginal teachers (those less mobile) pose less of a threat to district stability. Moreover, inframarginal preferences are more effectively represented when teachers are unionized, and strong unions can significantly alter the outcomes of contract negotiations, affecting teacher control over instructional spending. The research examines relationships among the following factors: union affiliation, district characteristics, kinds of contract provisions, and numbers of contract provisions. Special attention is paid to the impact of enrollment decline on union intersts in collective bargaining. The study found that the stronger the union, the more items covered in the contract, the more resources allocated to instruction, and the more control exercised by teachers in district decision-making. (Author/PGD)

This study examines the organization and operations of local education foundations in Michigan and the fiscal programmatic impact of nonprofit education foundations on Michigan public schools. It also compares the socioeconomic characteristics of foundation and nonfoundation districts and tests the hypothesis that residents of local districts with education foundations differ from residents of nonfoundation districts in terms of preferences for public schooling. Section 1 summarizes national trends in K-12 public school spending. Section 2 summarizes recent trends in Michigan, including the state's fundamental reforms in 1994. Section 3 discusses the rise of local education foundations in Michigan. This section outlines key findings from a survey of local education foundations and local district superintendents and compares foundation and nonfoundation districts on selected socioeconomic and educational variables. Section 4 presents a model of local education demand to test for behavioral differences between residents in foundation and nonfoundation districts, along with data for estimation of the model. Section 5 present empirical results. Section 6 includes a summary and a conclusion, based on the findings of the study, that the rise of local education foundations in Michigan has not measurably negated the state's efforts to reduce interdistrict disparities through the reform of public funding mechanisms. The author cautions, however, that the results could change as the state funding reform continues to constrain per-pupil revenue growth in historically high-spending and high-income districts and such districts seek additional revenue from nontraditional sources. (PKP)

In March 1994, Michigan voters approved a ballot proposal that used a mixture of state and local taxes to fund the K-12 educational system. This document presents a comprehensive review of the issues affected by the reform. The enacted K-12 school-finance reform package made a major change in the way state aid was distributed to local school districts. The tax-effort equalization formula was eliminated and replaced with a new foundation-allowance approach to school funding. While some categorical payments will continue for programs such as special education, most district revenue will come from the foundation allowance. The first section reviews the overall financial components of the package, including tax reform issues, K-12 revenue, and the impact on the state budget. The second section specifically describes the constitutional and statutory provisions of the school-finance reform package, including state and local revenues and homestead and agricultural property exemptions. The third section describes the foundation allowance, how it is determined and how it is funded, and the major appropriations of the fiscal year 1994-95 School Aid Act. The fourth section compares education-improvement issues prior to and after the enactment of recent reform. A total of 13 tables are included. (LMI)

In 2010, unprecedented levels of resources began to flow through state education agencies (SEAs) to support dramatic change in persistently low-performing schools under the expanded federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. The challenge for states is to leverage the federal investment to drive dramatic and sustainable change efforts in low-performing schools in a coherent manner that does not simultaneously undermine established support networks designed to benefit all schools. Driven by the broader goal of culling lessons related to states playing a substantive role in dramatic school-improvement efforts, this monograph and practice guide examines the early implementation of the revised SIG program in select states (AL, AK, ID, IL, LA, MI, MT, OK, and VA) to identify: (1) how states are integrating the expanded grant program into existing school improvement efforts; and (2) emerging lessons for states interested in fully leveraging their roles to drive turnaround efforts relevant to the future rounds of SIG awards. The monograph examines nine states' initial approaches to supporting dramatic school improvement initiatives by strategically allocating state resources, building district and school capacity to support change, and monitoring districts' turnaround efforts. Three appendices provide supplemental tables and the data collection instrument. A list of references and resources is included.

This report reviews policies, practices, and strategies that state departments of education are using to infuse equity and excellence into their ongoing science, mathematics, and technology systemic reform efforts. Lessons learned and discussed are primarily from state departments of education in Florida, Michigan, and South Dakota. In addition, some information is gathered from other states that are participating in the National Science Foundation Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI). some of the reform-related materials from Florida and South Dakota are appended. (DDR)

Concepts and methods of geography are applied to the study of school desegregation in this paper. Beginning with a spatial/temporal view of desegregation, the key legal events which have charted the course of desegregation are reviewed, and geographic patterns over time are examined. This discussion is followed by an investigation of the determinants of these patterns, especially in the southern United States. Desegregation is viewed as a spatial diffusion process in which certain factors have strengthened white resistance, thereby functioning as barriers to the diffusion. Brief case studies of the desegregation and busing experiences in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, Pontiac, Michigan, and Boston, Massachusetts are presented. The case studies are followed by an examination of the relationships between urban spatial organization, particularly residential segregation, and the school desegregation issue. Desegregation techniques are reviewed, including the applicability of spatial allocation models in the design of school integration plans. In conclusion, some far reaching political and demographic impacts of desegregation and busing are examined. Suggestions are offered for using this paper in geography or social studies classrooms. (Author/GC)

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the issue of statewide tax and expenditure limitations (TELs). Through the use of public opinion surveys and case studies of the campaigns, the author explains the politics of the TEL issue. Chapter 1 uses a multivariate analysis to determine whether or not differences exist in the voting behavior of the public across various types of TEL proposals. Chapter 2 uses a bivariate approach to discover the relationship between the statewide context of political opinion and the vote on the initiatives in the states of Michigan and Colorado. Finally, chapter 3 examines the impact of the campaigns on TEL elections in the states of Oregon and Idaho. The findings indicate that the "tax revolt" is not a monolithic movement that is sweeping the country. According to the paper, voters are interested in the TEL issue and are relatively sophisticated in their views. (Author/LD)

The three papers in this volume describe exploratory efforts to adjust state aid to local school districts so as to reflect differences in local costs unrelated to school program content. Each study is limited to an analysis of relevant data for one of the three states considered--Michigan, California, and Florida. The underlying assumption is that one dollar in state aid or other revenue does not purchase the same amount of educational service throughout a state because of differences in local prices. The problem addressed is, can states adjust educational aid for local cost differences? The studies are technical as they center around theoretical and statistical analysis for selecting the most reliable variables for which data are available and which are associated with interdistrict differences, primarily teacher salaries. One major problem is in determining which district features are supply-related variables and which are demand-related. Another problem concerns the amount of variation in prices paid that can be traced to features or variables included in the analyses. (Author/IRT)

The author describes the Content, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model as it was implemented in the Saginaw Public Schools in Michigan. As school superintendent in Saginaw, he describes how the CIPP model provided information to administrators for answering four basic questions: (1) what should we do? (2) how should we do it? (3) are we doing it as planned? and (4) did the program work? The roles of context, input, process, and product evaluations, in planning, structuring, implementing, and recycling decisions are discussed. In addition, the organization of Saginaw's evaluation department is outlined in terms of mandated evaluation, needs assessment, non-mandated evaluation, and proposal development activities. The author stresses the need for cooperation between the administrator and evaluator, and holds that a system of rational educational management can be achieved through program evaluation. He concludes that evaluation is a promising tool to be used in improving educational practices, programs, and products. (JAC)

This "Equity by Design" brief highlights equity issues that arise in the process of reopening schools during a global pandemic. The authors examine state plans and guidance for reopening schools across states in the Midwest & Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP EAC) region which includes the 13 states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The purpose of this paper is to provide explicit consideration of equity issues in the context of reopening schools and generate discussion about the topics addressed. The following topics are covered: (1) time spent in face-to-face instruction vs. virtual or hybrid learning environments and any calendar changes; (2) screening and reporting of COVID-19 symptoms and exposure; (3) social distancing, face masks and classroom set up; (4) ensuring more equitable learning for students with dis/abilities and multilingual learners; (5) access to technology; (6) opportunities and challenges in online learning, (7) communication with parent/caregivers; (8) addressing learning loss; (9) guidance on Social Emotional Learning (SEL); and (10) guidance on field trips and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Throughout this brief, the authors highlight equity issues that inevitably arise in the context of schooling where conditions of access are likely exacerbated by the pandemic and how one might approach and consider these issues in planning and policy. As school and district leaders review and revise policy implementation, the guidance outlined in this paper can inform the way that policy is implemented and can help highlight issues around equity that district and school personnel may not have considered in planning for reopening.