This year's "Quality Counts" report, the 15th edition of this annual report produced through the joint efforts of the "Education Week" newsroom and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, arrives at a time of continued fiscal anxiety and education policy ferment in the wake of what has been widely described as the "Great Recession" of 2007-2009. Economists have officially declared the national downturn to be over. But concerns persist about the recovery's pace and stability even as states and school districts seek to rebuild ravaged budgets--and as they cope with an end to massive one-time federal aid to education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic-stimulus measure passed two years ago. In keeping with the long-standing dual mission of "Quality Counts," the report leverages the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center's detailed, state-level data collection and analysis to inform this year's special theme: education and the economy. The research and the accompanying journalism probe the impact of the recession on the nation's schools in policy, personnel, and programs, and outline the challenges--and opportunities for innovation--in store for state and local officials as they move forward. This year's report includes updated letter grades for the states and the nation overall in four specific categories: (1) the Chance-for-Success Index; (2) the K-12 Achievement Index; (3) school finance; and (4) policies to facilitate transitions and alignment across various segments of the educational pipeline. In addition, the states and the nation each receive an overall, summative grade that reflects the most recently available information from the six categories that make up the full "Quality Counts" policy-and-performance framework. They include the four updated categories, as well as results for the teaching profession and the standards, assessments, and accountability sections that are drawn from last year's report. This special issue of "Education Week" includes the following articles: (1) Educators Regroup in Recession's Aftermath (Sean Cavanagh); (2) Recession's Toll on Education Budgets Proves Both Widespread and Uneven (Alyson Klein); (3) New Technology May Offer Fresh Vistas for Savings and for Educational Benefits (Ian Quillen); (4) Pre-K Advocates Feel Fiscal Jitters, but Stay Hopeful (Maureen Kelleher); (5) Personnel Costs Are Huge Hurdle in Checking Spending Growth (Sean Cavanagh); (6) Finding Efficiencies in Special Education Programs (Christina A. Samuels); (7) Districts Turn Introspective in Quest for Operational Savings (Sean Cavanagh); (8) Thin Coffers, Ambitious Education Agendas Put Newly Elected Leaders on Spot (Alyson Klein); (9) State Performance and Policymaking: Weighing In, Measuring Up (Amy M. Hightower); (10) Methodology; and (11) Sources and Notes. Individual articles contain references, tables, and figures.