Productivity in Education Archives

Public Education Missed the Data Revolution. It’s Time to Catch Up

debraabritt2023-02-25T18:16:16+00:00

Data-free schooling means the system can’t learn as it goes and improve on what it does. It means students aren’t getting the full value from the nation’s investment in public schooling, write Marguerite Roza and Chad Aldeman. What can be done to chip away at this data desert?

Public Education Missed the Data Revolution. It’s Time to Catch Updebraabritt2023-02-25T18:16:16+00:00

Articles & Publications Opinion

NAEP scores are down. Funding is up. Wait, wut?

debraabritt2023-02-25T18:17:49+00:00

NAEP scores are going down or flat. People have different takes on why. In this Eduwonk blog, Marguerite Roza takes a look at the question of money.

NAEP scores are down. Funding is up. Wait, wut?debraabritt2023-02-25T18:17:49+00:00

Articles & Publications

The Big Bet on Adding Staff to Improve Schools Is Breaking the Bank

debraabritt2023-02-25T18:21:03+00:00

By going all-in on staffing, we’ve crowded out other potential investments that can positively impact student learning. In this paper, Marguerite Roza writes that competing strategies should be viewed through the lens of which can do the most for students with the limited dollars at hand.

The Big Bet on Adding Staff to Improve Schools Is Breaking the Bankdebraabritt2023-02-25T18:21:03+00:00

Articles & Publications

The “Would You Rather?” Test

debraabritt2023-02-25T18:13:00+00:00

Education spending always involves choices, and smart choices require understanding value for the dollar. This paper uses the "would you rather" exercise to explore tradeoffs in school spending and think through the value of various cost-equivalent investments.

The “Would You Rather?” Testdebraabritt2023-02-25T18:13:00+00:00

Articles & Publications

Equipping School Leaders to Spend Wisely

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:10+00:00

In this article in the National Association of State Boards of Education journal, The Standard, Marguerite Roza writes that financial transparency presents state boards of education with a timely opportunity to turn the tide on local leader training.

Equipping School Leaders to Spend WiselyLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:10+00:00

Articles & Publications

Funding Student Types: How states can mine their own data to guide finance policy on high-needs students

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:15+00:00

To help states design effective funding policies to serve high-needs students, this brief by Marguerite Roza helps states ask the right questions, tap their own data, and analyze funding in relation to student outcomes.

Funding Student Types: How states can mine their own data to guide finance policy on high-needs studentsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:15+00:00

Articles & Publications

Delaware Nevada Minnesota

Webinar: What does the ESSA financial transparency requirement mean for districts?

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:20+00:00

This webinar provides an overview of the financial transparency requirement in the Every Student Succeeds Act, highlight lessons learned from states working toward meeting the requirement, and provide a district lens for thinking about the opportunities this new data can provide.

Webinar: What does the ESSA financial transparency requirement mean for districts?Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:20+00:00

Webinars

Financial Transparency Reporting Requirement: Where to start

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:21+00:00

In this brief we describe our work with 22 state education agencies to identify data readiness to meet the financial transparency reporting requirement under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and outline the inventory processes so other states can identify their own next steps to meet the requirement.

Financial Transparency Reporting Requirement: Where to startLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:21+00:00

Articles & Publications

School-level spending: Financial transparency coming to every community in 2018

debraabritt2023-02-25T18:13:22+00:00

At the Education Writers Association National Seminar on June 2nd, hosted at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Marguerite Roza presented on new school spending reports emerging under the federal ESSA financial transparency requirement.

School-level spending: Financial transparency coming to every community in 2018debraabritt2023-02-25T18:13:22+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

With New Data, School Finance Is Coming Out of the Dark Ages

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:24+00:00

In this blog and podcast, Marguerite Roza explains how a sleeper provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will serve up a motherlode of new school-level financial data, offering an unprecedented opportunity to be better equipped to tackle some of education’s most pressing issues.

With New Data, School Finance Is Coming Out of the Dark AgesLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:24+00:00

Articles & Publications Opinion

Productivity Improvements Paper Series

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:24+00:00

These five Rapid Response briefs model the costs of productivity improvements in K-12 education, including changes in staffing ratios, the impact of late-career teacher pay raises on pension debt, and paying the best teachers more to teach more students.

Productivity Improvements Paper SeriesLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:24+00:00

Articles & Publications

New Era of School Finance

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:26+00:00

In 2016 we convened leading authorities to discuss the complexities of education finance in light of the new Every Student Succeeds Act. Watch Marguerite Roza’s research presentation, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s keynote, and an expert panel discussion of the shifting roles in education finance decisions.

New Era of School FinanceLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:13:26+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

Are public universities neglecting in-state students?

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:15+00:00

Marguerite Roza responds to an online “Room for Debate” conversation hosted by the New York Times, arguing that chasing after nonresident students threatens the very nature of public universities as institutions that serve the state.

Are public universities neglecting in-state students?Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:15+00:00

Articles & Publications Opinion

Productivity is sometimes seen as a dirty word in education

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:15+00:00

This article explores how school systems can improve productivity even when so much of what matters—the human variables and relationships in student learning—can’t be centrally managed and scaled across schools.

Productivity is sometimes seen as a dirty word in educationLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:15+00:00

Articles & Publications

The Productivity of Rural Schools

debraabritt2023-02-25T18:11:16+00:00

Remote rural districts are often more expensive and yield lower student outcomes than urban and suburban districts. Yet some rural districts generate higher-than-expected learning results without proportionately higher spending. Based on interviews with leaders in 30 rural remote districts, Marguerite Roza identifies six factors that make some districts “productivity superstars."

The Productivity of Rural Schoolsdebraabritt2023-02-25T18:11:16+00:00

Articles & Publications

Advancing System Productivity Webinar Series

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:17+00:00

Edunomics Lab, in partnership with Council of Chief State School Officers and the Building State Capacity and Productivity Center, convened a Community of Practice to support a group of leaders in all states interested in developing a state-specific framework and strategy set related to the SEA’s role in increasing productivity. This series of five webinars is designed to help Regional Comprehensive Centers support state education agency (SEA) leaders as they explore how they can better support districts and schools to operate in a more productive way.

Advancing System Productivity Webinar SeriesLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:17+00:00

Webinars

Meeting the ESSA Financial Transparency Reporting Requirement

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:18+00:00

On February 9, 2017 nearly 100 state and district leaders representing 36 states met in Washington, D.C. to explore the opportunities and work ahead to meet the financial transparency reporting requirement in ESSA. Available presentations are linked.

Meeting the ESSA Financial Transparency Reporting RequirementLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:18+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

The Smart Money: Designing a school budget to get the most for your school dollar

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:19+00:00

In this hands-on workshop presented at NAIS national conference in March 2017 school leaders dove into the math of school resource allocation. Dr. Roza shared innovative financial strategies and how leaders could apply the concepts to their own school context.

The Smart Money: Designing a school budget to get the most for your school dollarLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:19+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

Highly Productive Rural Districts: What is the Secret Sauce?

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:21+00:00

In this paper we identify some common themes that makes some remote rural districts “productivity superstars” and describe steps states can take to encourage and support district productivity.

Highly Productive Rural Districts: What is the Secret Sauce?Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:21+00:00

Articles & Publications

Promoting Productivity: Lessons from Rural Schools

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:22+00:00

In this essay addresses the assumption that rural districts are less productive than their urban or suburban peers by discussing rural districts can “beat the odds” by increasing student results without increasing per-pupil expenditures.

Promoting Productivity: Lessons from Rural SchoolsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:22+00:00

Articles & Publications

Turning a Benefits Conundrum into a Potential Opportunity for Teachers and Students

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:23+00:00

This analysis shows how a longer work year could increase teachers’ annual salaries and improve student outcomes.

Turning a Benefits Conundrum into a Potential Opportunity for Teachers and StudentsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:23+00:00

Articles & Publications

ALL

Is spending more on education the best way to improve schools and teaching?

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:24+00:00

Marguerite Roza's response to the NY Times Room for Debate question ~ Is spending more on education the best way to improve schools and teaching?

Is spending more on education the best way to improve schools and teaching?Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:24+00:00

Opinion

Title I: Time to Get It Right

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:25+00:00

In this brief on the landmark federal law’s 50th anniversary, we offer five key principles to help policymakers revise Title I so that it fulfills its promise of augmenting funding for poor students.

Title I: Time to Get It RightLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:25+00:00

Articles & Publications

Paying the Best Teachers More to Teach More Students

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:26+00:00

In this analysis we find how allowing our best teachers to teach more students in lieu of hiring additional staff could offer significant teacher bonuses. Findings are modeled state-by-state.

Paying the Best Teachers More to Teach More StudentsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:26+00:00

Articles & Publications

Innovation Amid Financial Scarcity: The Opportunity in Rural Schools

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:27+00:00

In this paper we explore spending and outcomes data of rural schools and highlight policy implications for states seeking improved outcomes for all their districts in the context of limited resources.

Innovation Amid Financial Scarcity: The Opportunity in Rural SchoolsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:27+00:00

Articles & Publications

The Phantom Menace: Policies that Protect Districts from Declining or Low Enrollments, Drive Up Spending and Inhibit Adaptation

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:27+00:00

This paper examines the practice of states funding school districts for students who do not attend school there. Aimed at “protecting” districts from enrollment fluctuations, the practice drives up spending and inhibits adaptation.

The Phantom Menace: Policies that Protect Districts from Declining or Low Enrollments, Drive Up Spending and Inhibit AdaptationLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:27+00:00

Articles & Publications

The Real Deal on K-12 Staffing

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:30+00:00

This analysis finds that staffing ratios across K-12 education have risen precipitously over several decades and, despite the impact of the Great Recession, remain at 2004 levels. A state-by-state comparison reveals large disparities across states.

The Real Deal on K-12 StaffingLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:30+00:00

Articles & Publications

Building SEA Productivity

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:31+00:00

In this presentation state education chiefs heard about a basic framework for leading the productivity challenge that includes building a productivity data infrastructure, prioritizing flexibility, aligning funds with students, incentivizing innovation, and leading the change.

Building SEA ProductivityLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:31+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

A State Information System to Support Improvements in Productivity

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:34+00:00

In this paper, we discuss how states can (and why they should) track and share school-level outcomes relative to school-level spending in their online information systems. Some schools are far more productive than others—getting better student results for less money—yet states are not yet routinely identifying such schools.

A State Information System to Support Improvements in ProductivityLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:34+00:00

Articles & Publications

SEA of the Future: Building the Productivity Infrastructure

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:35+00:00

This publication introduces the “productivity infrastructure" the building blocks for an SEA committed to supporting productivity, innovation, and performance—from the state chief to the classroom.

SEA of the Future: Building the Productivity InfrastructureLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:35+00:00

Articles & Publications

Webinar: Training Principals for Budgeting at the School Level

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:36+00:00

In this webinar and presentation, we share seven key steps for principals to customize their use of resources based on student outcomes goals and needs. This includes concrete budget strategies and hands-on exercises to help principals understand and weigh cost and tradeoff scenarios.

Webinar: Training Principals for Budgeting at the School LevelLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:36+00:00

Webinars

Civic Vitality and Public Education Productivity: The Harbormaster Mayor

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:38+00:00

In this brief, we argue that mayors, as the person responsible for a municipality’s overall well-being, are uniquely positioned to identify and promote productive school models and advocate for all students, regardless of what type of school they attend.

Civic Vitality and Public Education Productivity: The Harbormaster MayorLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:38+00:00

Articles & Publications

Webinar: Building a State Information System to Support Improvements in Productivity

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:38+00:00

On February 26, 2016 Marguerite Roza conducted a webinar for state education agency leaders. This webinar explored how SEAs can build an information system designed to drive productivity – what data are needed, how to compile the data into useful resources for leaders at every level of education and how these stakeholders can use the data to drive decision making and advance productivity.

Webinar: Building a State Information System to Support Improvements in ProductivityLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:11:38+00:00

Webinars

Options for NY State in an Era of Constrained Resources

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:08+00:00

At a public symposium of the NY Education Reform Commission, Marguerite Roza presented on "Maximizing Resources for Student and School Success."

Options for NY State in an Era of Constrained ResourcesLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:08+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

New York

The SEA of the Future: Prioritizing Productivity

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:08+00:00

In this volume of The SEA of the Future, Marguerite Roza co-authored two essays examining how state leaders, challenged with having to make decisions on how to use limited resources, are faced with an uneasy zero-sum game: every dollar they put into one program is a dollar not spent in another.

The SEA of the Future: Prioritizing ProductivityLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:08+00:00

Articles & Publications

Teacher Retirement Benefits: Defining a More Active Role for SEAs and Their Chiefs

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:09+00:00

In this essay from The SEA of the Future Volume 2, Marguerite Roza and Michael Podgursky look in depth at the startling long-term costs of educator pension systems and the counterproductive employment incentives embedded in these systems.

Teacher Retirement Benefits: Defining a More Active Role for SEAs and Their ChiefsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:09+00:00

Articles & Publications

Leveraging Productivity for Progress: An Imperative for States

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:10+00:00

In this essay published in The SEA of the Future Volume 2, Marguerite Roza makes the case for why productivity is essential to improving outcomes for students.

Leveraging Productivity for Progress: An Imperative for StatesLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:10+00:00

Articles & Publications

Funding Phantom Students

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:14+00:00

This brief describes a common practice that inhibits both efficiency and productivity: funding students who do not actually attend school in funded districts and how this is often overlooked by state leaders.

Funding Phantom StudentsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:14+00:00

Articles & Publications

How Current Education Governance Distorts Financial Decisionmaking

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:14+00:00

In this chapter, Roza assesses the strengths and weaknesses of what remains of the old in education governance, scrutinizes how traditional governance forms are changing, and suggests how governing arrangements might be further altered to produce better educational outcomes for children.

How Current Education Governance Distorts Financial DecisionmakingLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:14+00:00

Articles & Publications

Innovating Toward Sustainability: How Computer Labs Can Enable New Staffing Structures, and New Savings

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:16+00:00

Using wage and staffing data from states, authors project the financial and staffing implications of one innovative school model (the Rocketship lab rotation) to highlight potential impacts on the schooling workforce and total per-student spending.

Innovating Toward Sustainability: How Computer Labs Can Enable New Staffing Structures, and New SavingsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:16+00:00

Articles & Publications

The Opportunity Cost of Smaller Classes: A State-By-State Spending Analysis

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:18+00:00

This brief provides a state-by-state context by computing the dollars at stake in marginally raising the number of students per class.

The Opportunity Cost of Smaller Classes: A State-By-State Spending AnalysisLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:18+00:00

Articles & Publications

All

The Sheepskin Effect and Student Achievement: De-emphasizing the Role of Master’s Degrees in Teacher Compensation

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:20+00:00

This brief dissects the nation’s sizable investment in master’s bumps as a means of highlighting policy obstacles to a more smartly differentiated compensation approach.

The Sheepskin Effect and Student Achievement: De-emphasizing the Role of Master’s Degrees in Teacher CompensationLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:20+00:00

Articles & Publications

All

Rethinking State Education Finance Toward Greater Productivity

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:21+00:00

This presentation framed how state legislators might think differently about their investment in education to maximize scarce state dollars and improve student achievement.

Rethinking State Education Finance Toward Greater ProductivityLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:21+00:00

Presentations & Meetings

Stretching the School Dollar: A Brief for State Policymakers

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:22+00:00

This policy brief lists fifteen concrete ways that states can “stretch the school dollar” in these difficult financial times.

Stretching the School Dollar: A Brief for State PolicymakersLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:22+00:00

Articles & Publications

Washington State High Schools Pay Less for Math and Science Teachers than for Teachers in Other Subjects

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:24+00:00

This paper examines the reasons why math and science teachers struggle to reach the same salaries as others, concluding that the state-wide salary schedule is in part to blame.

Washington State High Schools Pay Less for Math and Science Teachers than for Teachers in Other SubjectsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T18:08:24+00:00

Articles & Publications

Washington

Curing Baumol’s Disease: In Search of Productivity Gains in Public Education

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:46:37+00:00

The authors discuss several areas in which labor-intensive businesses have improved productivity, but are absent in education. They conclude with a five-step agenda for finding the cure for Baumol’s disease in public education.

Curing Baumol’s Disease: In Search of Productivity Gains in Public EducationLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:46:37+00:00

Articles & Publications

Breaking Down School Budgets: Following the Dollars into the Classroom

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:46:03+00:00

This analysis examines ways in which per-pupil spending in high schools varies by subject and course level, and demonstrates how isolating spending on discrete services can have a variety of benefits.

Breaking Down School Budgets: Following the Dollars into the ClassroomLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:46:03+00:00

Articles & Publications

The Disproportionate Impact of Seniority-Based Layoffs on Poor, Minority Students

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:45:52+00:00

A study of California's 15 largest districts indicates that "last in, first out" policies disproportionately affect the programs and students in their poorer and more minority schools than in their wealthier, less minority counterparts.

The Disproportionate Impact of Seniority-Based Layoffs on Poor, Minority StudentsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:45:52+00:00

Articles & Publications

California

Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go?

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:45:43+00:00

This book explains how varied funding streams can prevent schools from delivering academic services that mesh with their stated priorities and offers concrete prescriptions for reform.

Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go?Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:45:43+00:00

Articles & Publications

K–12 Job Trends Amidst Stimulus Funds: Early Findings

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:45:33+00:00

This brief explores trends in K–12 education jobs—those funded through the stimulus and by other means—to answer the question of what role ARRA played in overall education employment.

K–12 Job Trends Amidst Stimulus Funds: Early FindingsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:45:33+00:00

Articles & Publications

all

Have States Disproportionately Cut Education Budgets During ARRA? Early Findings

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:56+00:00

This analysis explores how state education spending has changed or will change given the application of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, a policy intended to stabilize state budgets and avert cuts to education.

Have States Disproportionately Cut Education Budgets During ARRA? Early FindingsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:56+00:00

Articles & Publications

Now is a Great Time to Compute the Per-Unit Cost of Everything in Education

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:48+00:00

This paper examines how calculating the per unit costs of what schools or districts can deliver can provide the best insight into the implications of all that spending.

Now is a Great Time to Compute the Per-Unit Cost of Everything in EducationLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:48+00:00

Articles & Publications

Seniority-Based Layoffs Will Exacerbate Job Loss in Public Education

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:23+00:00

This brief details why K-12 school districts that lay off personnel according to seniority cause disproportionate damage to their programs and students than if layoffs were determined on a seniority-neutral basis.

Seniority-Based Layoffs Will Exacerbate Job Loss in Public EducationLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:23+00:00

Articles & Publications

What is the Sum of the Parts? How Federal, State, and District Funding Streams Confound Efforts to Address Different Student Types

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:14+00:00

The authors demonstrate in greater detail than ever before how America’s methods of school finance work against a single-minded focus on student learning.

What is the Sum of the Parts? How Federal, State, and District Funding Streams Confound Efforts to Address Different Student TypesLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:44:14+00:00

Articles & Publications

Washington Ohio North Carolina Texas

A Cost Allocation Model for Shared District Resources: A Means for Comparing Spending Across Schools

Laura Anderson2023-02-25T17:43:32+00:00

It can be difficult to assess how resources are distributed between schools, and whether every school is afforded the same opportunities to meet its educational goals. This paper addresses one key driver of spending variation between schools: shared district resources.

A Cost Allocation Model for Shared District Resources: A Means for Comparing Spending Across SchoolsLaura Anderson2023-02-25T17:43:32+00:00

Articles & Publications

K-12 Financial Landscape

Student-Based Allocation

School-by-School Spending