Finance reforms aim to improve equity
CPRE studies of statewide reform efforts were the first to look at the equity effect of finance reform by analyzing the structural reasons for inequity and ways to improve equity. Let's renovate our school finance systems
Current district-based school finance structures require significant modification, if not a complete overhaul, to produce a system that fairly and adequately responds to fiscal and curricular goals. Link funding to standards reform
Teachers could teach students to higher standards if schools, rather than districts, had the power to determine how to best use the dollars in the education system. Myths cloud nature of school funding
The amounts and uses of education funding must be better understood before attention can focus on the more complex topic of how to restructure the use of resources to produce higher student adchievement. Teacher Compensation Remains a Challenge
Figuring out the best way to compensate K-12 teachers has occupied the best minds in education research for a long time. The system of paying teachers simply according to how long they’ve been on the job does not account for how effective they are, that is to say, how well their students achieve. Making Better Use of Limited Resources, Part II
This is the second of a four-part series covering highlights from CPRE research. This article covers reallocating dollars at the school level and by educational strategy; documenting best practices in school finance adequacy; and using resources to double student performance. Approaches to Alternative Teacher Compensation
About 95 percent of public school districts use a uniform salary schedule. But merit pay and performance-based pay programs are attracting the attention of policymakers and educators across the nation. Comparing Adequacy Across 50 States
Until now, no one has tried to estimate the costs of educational adequacy across all 50 states using a common method applied in a consistent manner. UW-Madison education professor Allan Odden and colleagues have realized that goal. In a recent report, Odden, Lawrence Picus, and Michael Goetz provide state-by-state estimates of the cost of the evidence-based model. The evidence-based model relies primarily on research evidence when making programmatic recommendations. The evidence-based approach starts with a set of recommendations based on a distillation of research and best practices. As implementation unfolds, teams of state policymakers, education leaders, and practitioners review, modify, and tailor those core recommendations to the context of their state’s situation. Odden’s report compares those estimates to each state’s current spending. | 
