This article presents the authors' response to a response to their research on Illinois in which the authors analyze the equity, adequacy, and legal issues related to school finance. The Responders' quarrel with that portion of the authors' research that addresses equity and create a "de novo" analysis, by treating unequals equally--an invalid…

This article addresses the design and application of cost adjustments in state school finance policies intended to compensate local public school districts for differences in the costs of recruiting and retaining teachers. Broadly speaking, the state policy objective for including cost adjustments to state aid for such things as teacher cost…

The Illinois Supreme Court has permitted the General Assembly to create a system of public school funding that is widely disparate and disadvantageous to students in school districts with low-property wealth. In this Article, I argue that the court has not adequately considered the nexus between the Uniformity of Taxation provision and the…

John Kenneth Galbraith proposed a test for the "good society" that deals directly with the financing of education. The Arizona Constitution may require that the legislature establish and maintain a "general and uniform" public school system, but, as the author argues in this article, the chronicle of the school funding cases in Arizona is more of…

In this article, the author continues to develop the perspective of the improved school finance, an effort to move beyond the conventional framing of funding and resource issues, presented in the article by Grubb, Huerta, and Goe in this issue. Here, the author presents the results of use of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of the…

In this policy brief, the author contends that there are four other principal causes of the collective poor showing on reaching state equity goals in the United States. These are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the school finance world. The first horseman rides an economic horse, the second a sociological horse, the third a political horse,…

Debate over the proper identification and placement of gifted children in public schools is not new. But the pressure put on public schools by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has brought advocates and opponents of gifted education into starker conflict. This presents a chance to reexamine the foundational premises of the argument in…

Gender discrimination and wage inequity remain problems worldwide. In the United States and Canada, where equal rights and protective legislation have been in place for nearly 40 years, glaring disparities in salaries and job opportunities remain. Similar problems have been studied in the United Kingdom, leading to enactment of the 1975 Sex…

Reviews literature on cost-of-living adjustments. Analyzes advantages and disadvantages of three alternative strategies for updating the Texas Cost-of-Education Index used in its school finance formula: A comparable-wage index, a cost-of-services index, and a cost-of-outcomes index. (Contains 38 references.) (PKP)

Argues that state school-finance reform efforts are focused on equalizing property-tax bases and per-pupil expenditures rather than on improving student performance to meet educational adequacy standards. Uses data from Wisconsin and Texas to measure cost differences, frequently substantial, among school districts. Demonstrates use of…

An active participant in Indiana's and Washington's school-finance-reform process explains why one-size solutions pinch hardest on urban schools and how an issues-driven approach can keep states from being prematurely pushed to the "solution stage" of their deliberations. Child-centered approaches generally trump standards-based regimens. (MLH)

The general nature of cost-effectiveness analysis is discussed, analytical frameworks for conducting cost-effectiveness studies are described, and some of the problems inherent in measuring educational costs and in assessing program effectiveness are addressed. (Author/IRT)

As part of his discussion, the author presents seven criteria that may be used to evaluate the plan a state uses to support the community colleges. (IRT)

The distinctively different fortunes experienced in Canada and the United States by the movement to reform educational finance are due to the distinctively different political values of the two nations' people. Canadians tend to place greater emphasis on equality than do Americans. (Author/IRT)

Examines the finding of the Southern Regional Education Board study in which state-local tax potential (ability) is estimated and compared with actual collections (effort). Also discusses the current and future adequacy and equity of the state-local tax revenue structure. (Author/IRT)