Introduces a special issue on educational program adequacy--the cost of raising poor children's outcomes to functional levels through improved systems of finance, governance, organization, implementation, and educational practice. Essays raise numerous problems, including a weak knowledge base, low educational productivity, political resistance,…

A true adequacy model is emerging, a system of school finance that links resources and outcomes to ensure that all students receive an adequate education. Implementing true adequacy would require school districts to adopt high minimum goals, identify necessary resources, and have a long-range investment plan for deploying resources and developing…

Traditional school-finance systems need dramatic change to make them more supportive of the goals and strategies of standards. The shortcomings of current structures are reviewed, and suggestions are provided for changing finance structures, including a shift from fiscal equity toward educational adequacy. Elements to enhance a new system are…

Presents a theoretical framework of institutional choice and argues that the theory predicts and clarifies significant issues in educational policy. (RB)

Transcript data were analyzed to determine changes in course taking among graduates of high schools including mostly lower achieving students in California, Florida, Missouri, and Pennsylvania, which adopted high graduation requirements in the 1980s. Average credits per student increased in all academic subjects, as did the courses' difficulty…

It is argued that the basic means-ends analysis of systemic educational policy may be mistaken in the current national context. The author agrees with the basic premises of systemic educational policy but thinks that a mandatory system of strong instructional guidance from the state has basic problems, as discussed. (SLD)