Comparison of Recommendations from Selected Education Reform Reports

Recommendations from selected reform reports show common themes

Rural Research Brief: Rural Schools Under Scrutiny

Historically, rural schools have been geographically and politically isolated to the extent that some might say that they have been the victims of, or beneficiaries from, an unstated government policy of benign neglect. Recently, conditions and relationships have changed with the enactment of state and federal accountability legislation and legal challenges to the constitutionality of state funding systems for schools. Federal concerns about the quality of teachers and the progress of students are accompanied by state standards, proficiency tests for high school graduation, and school report cards. Most of these requirements are unfunded or under-funded mandates. However, rural schools likely will benefit from the recent shift in school finance litigation from a single emphasis on equity to a dual interest in equity and adequacy. If education is a state responsibility, then in an era of state-mandated standards and assessments, the state has an inherent responsibility to ensure that students have access to the human and material resources required for them to meet standards and pass state proficiency examinations

Metropolitan School Desegregation

Interest in desegregating schools throughout multi-district metropolitan areas has increased as a result of litigation in the Federal courts concerning cross-district integration of students in Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, and W Wilmington metropolitan areas. Experience with school desegregation efforts involving a central city school district and its suburban independent school districts is very limited. Throughout the Southeast, school districts generally cover larger geographical areas than in other regions of the Nation. In these districts, various examples can be found of school desegregation efforts involving a central city and its surrounding suburbs; however, these areas have involved only one school district

Merit Pay for Elementary and Secondary School Teachers: Background Discussion and Analysis of Issues

Considerable national interest has centered on merit pay for elementary and secondary school teachers since the recent release of the educational reform reports. This merit pay paper contains a background discussion, description of alternatives, summary of current and proposed programs, and analysis of evaluation and implementation implications

Looking Back, Looking Forward: How the Economic Downturn Continues to Impact School Districts

This study is the fourth in a series of studies conducted by the American Association of School Administrators on the impact of the economic downturn on schools. Collectively, the findings of the AASA Economic Impact Study series demonstrate that school districts in every part of the country are subject to the realities of the economic downturn. While this benchmark data cannot predict a trend, it is difficult to deny that the financial crisis is increasingly threatening the progress schools have obtained and the stability they have enjoyed in the past. This latest study, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: How the Economic Downturn Continues to Impact School Districts,” is based on a study of school administrators conducted in February and March 2009. This survey asked many of the same questions as the “AASA Study of the Impact of the Economic Downturn on Schools,” conducted in October 2008. Therefore, it is possible to compare and contrast key findings from the two studies

Impact of the Economic Downturn on Schools

In Fall 2008, in response to the recent economic downturn, as evidenced in state budget shortfalls, federal buy‐outs and interventions, and a series of additional events characterizing a slowing, stagnant economy, AASA examined the impact on school districts across the nation. While there are regional differences, the findings of AASA’s Economic Impact Survey, presented here, demonstrate that superintendents in every part of the country are subject to the realities of the economic downturn. While this benchmark data cannot predict a trend, it is difficult to deny that superintendents, in increasing numbers, are confronted by the looming financial crisis that threatens the progress schools have obtained and the stability they have enjoyed in the past