A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Meeting the Information Needs of Education Policymakers - August 1997

Executive Summary

State and local policymakers and education leaders make complex decisions that affect billions of public dollars and millions of school children. Policymakers today want high-quality, objective research to help guide their decisions.

Policymakers and leaders have identified the following four broad areas where they felt additional research would be beneficial; within each area, they cited several key research questions.

I. Issues related to the inputs and outcomes of education.

What are some innovative models for financing public education?
What is the relationship between education funding and student performance? Which investments and reform strategies have the greatest impact on learning, and what are their comparative costs?
What does research say about designing and implementing new assessment systems tied to standards?
Which kinds of incentives, sanctions, or other consequences are most effective in motivating students, teachers, and administrators to perform at their best?
What are some appropriate forms of state intervention or takeovers of local school systems that have failed to make progress?

II. Issues related to the structure and process of education.

How can states increase local flexibility while continuing to exercise meaningful accountability for educational quality and equity?
How can states monitor operations and measure quality of charter schools and choice schools?
How can policies be instructive to the individuals who must carry them out? How can examples of good practice be infused into state and local policies?
How can states and school districts translate the rhetoric of standards into policies that lead to genuine changes in teaching and learning? Which state and local policies can help build district and school capacity to implement standards-based reform?

III. Issues related to the core of teaching and learning.

What can states and school districts do to better prepare and maintain a high-quality teaching force?
Which kinds of professional development do teachers need to implement standards-based reform, teach diverse students to high standards, and apply new technology in their classrooms?

IV. Issues related to the broader context of education.

How can policymakers build public consensus for long-term reforms that may entail difficult or uncomfortable changes?
Which specific policies can decisionmakers adopt that can help build public confidence in public education?
What are the governance, finance, and management implications of the demographic changes shaping education?
How can education agencies develop more effective partnerships with public, private, and community entities to address the range of human service needs?
What is the impact of welfare reform on schools and preschools? On demands for social services?

-###-

[Preface]

[Introduction]