This quote, taken from a piece written by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) nearly 30 years ago, demonstrates that researchers have long recognized the relationship between quality education reform and the structure of a state's school funding system. However, many policymakers continue to view their state's school funding formula not as a tool for reform but as a barrier to change. Policymakers tend to view the way that their state funds schools as a byzantine system of rules, regulations, and formulas that is only comprehendible to a handful of people. This perception scares many policymakers away from even trying to grasp how their funding formula works. When policymakers don't understand the basics of their state's funding system, it is difficult for them to determine what changes are needed to encourage innovation. This issue of "The Progress of Education Reform" sets out to ease some of the confusion by helping readers better understand these complex systems, with the hope that this knowledge will be used to help support education reform in the states. (Contains 4 endnotes.)