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The relative deficiencies of U.S. public schools are a serious
concern to parents and policymakers. But they should be of concern
to all Americans, as a globalizing world introduces new competition
for talent, markets, capital, and opportunity. In Endangering
Prosperity, a trio of experts on international education policy
compares the performance of American schools against that of other
nations. The net result is a mixed but largely disappointing
picture that clearly shows where improvement is most needed. The
authors' objective is not to explain the deep causes of past
failures but to document how dramatically the U.S. school system
has failed its students and its citizens. It is a wake-up call for
structural reform. To move forward to a different and better future
requires that we understand just how serious a situation America
faces today. For example, the authors consider the Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA), an international
mathematics examination. America is stuck in the middle of average
scores, barely beating out European countries whose national
economies are in the red zone. U.S. performance as measured against
stronger economies is even weaker - in total, 32 nations
outperformed the United States. The authors also delve into
comparative reading scores. A mere 31 percent of U.S. students in
the class of 2011 could perform at the "proficient" level as
measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
program, compared with South Korea's result of 47 percent. And
while some observers may downplay the significance of cross-globe
comparisons, they should note that Canadian students are
dramatically outpacing their U.S. counterparts as well. Clearly
something is wrong with this picture, and this book clearly
explicates the costs of inaction. The time for incremental tweaking
the system is long past - wider, deeper, and more courageous steps
are needed, as this book amply demonstrates with accessible prose,
supported with hard data that simply cannot be ignored.
This authoritative two-volume collection brings together the most
important published papers on the economics of schooling and school
quality, issues which are at the heart of current intellectual and
policy debates. Volume I presents articles on labor markets,
distribution, including the structure of wages and wage inequality
and the effects of schooling on economic growth. Volume II includes
papers on efficiency, competition and finance and policy. The
mixture of classic papers and cutting edge research provides an
invaluable reference source for both students, researchers and
professionals.
Educational reform is a big business in the United States. Parents,
educators, and policymakers generally agree that something must be
done to improve schools, but the consensus ends there. The myriad
of reform documents and policy discussions that have appeared over
the past decade have not helped to pinpoint exactly what should be
done. The case for investment in education is an economic one:
schooling improves the productivity and earnings of individuals and
promotes stronger economic growth and better functioning of
society. Recent trends in schooling have, however, lessened the
value of society's investments as costs have risen dramatically
while student performance has stayed flat or even fallen. The task
is to improve performance while controlling costs. This book is the
culmination of extensive discussions among a panel of economists
led by Eric Hanushek. They conclude that economic considerations
have been entirely absent from the development of educational
policies and that economic reality is sorely needed in discussions
of new policies. The book outlines an improvement plan that
emphasizes changing incentives in schools and gathering information
about effective approaches. Available research and analysis
demonstrates that current central decisionmaking has worked poorly.
Concentrating on inputs such as pupil-teacher ratios or teacher
graduate degrees appears quite inferior to systems that directly
reward performance. Nonetheless, since experience with such
alternatives is very limited, a program of extensive evaluation
appears to be in order. Attempts to institute radical change on the
basis of currently available information involve substantial risks
of failure. Many peopletoday find proposals such as charter
schools, expanded use of merit pay, or educational vouchers to be
appealing. Yet there is little evidence of their effectiveness, and
widespread adoption of these proposals is sure to run into
substantial problems of implementation. Instead of choosing the "
right" approach, this book advocates a more systematic approach of
experimentation, evaluation, and change. In addition to Hanushek,
the contributors are Charles S. Benson, University of California,
Berkeley; Richard B. Freeman, Harvard University; Dean T. Jamison,
UCLA: Henry M. Levin, Stanford University; Rebecca A. Maynard,
University of Pennsylvania; Richard J. Murnane, Harvard University;
Steven G. Rivkin, Amherst College; Richard H. Sabot, Williams
College; Lewis C. Solmon, Milken Institute for Job and Capital
Formation; Anita A. Summers, University of Pennsylvania; Finis
Welch, Texas A&M University; and Barbara L. Wolfe, University
of Wisconsin.
The aspects of this text which we believe are novel, at least in
degree, include: an effort to motivate different sections with
practical examples and an empirical orientation; an effort to
intersperse several easily motivated examples throughout the book
and to maintain some continuity in these examples; and the
extensive use of Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate particular
aspects of the problems and estimators being considered. In terms
of material being presented, the unique aspects include the first
chapter which attempts to address the use of empirical methods in
the social sciences, the seventh chapter which considers models
with discrete dependent variables and unobserved variables. Clearly
these last two topics in particular are quite advanced--more
advanced than material that is currently available on the subject.
These last two topics are also currently experiencing rapid
development and are not adequately described in most other texts.
What is the value of an education? Volume 4 of the Handbooks in
the Economics of Education combines recent data with new
methodologies to examine this and related questions from diverse
perspectives. School choice and school competition, educator
incentives, the college premium, and other considerations help make
sense of the investments and returns associated with education.
Volume editors Eric A. Hanushek (Stanford), Stephen Machin
(University College London) and Ludger Woessmann (Ifo Institute for
Economic Research, Munich) draw clear lines between newly emerging
research on the economics of education and prior work. In
conjunction with Volume 3, they measure our current understanding
of educational acquisition and its economic and social
effects.
Winner of a 2011 PROSE Award Honorable Mention in Economics from
the Association of American PublishersDemonstrates how new
methodologies are yielding fresh perspectives in education
economicsPresents topics and authors whose data and conclusions
attest to the globalization of research Complements the policy and
social outcomes themes of volume 3
The volume of research into the economics of education has grown
rapidly in recent years. In this comprehensive new Handbook,
editors Eric Hanushek, Stephen Machin, and Ludger Woessmann
assemble original contributions from leading researchers,
addressing contemporary advances in the field. Each chapter
illuminates major methodological and theoretical developments and
directs the reader to productive new lines of research. As a
result, these concise overviews of the existing literature offer an
essential 'jumpstart' for both students and researchers alike.
Improving public schools through performance-based funding Spurred
by court rulings requiring states to increase public-school
funding, the United States now spends more per student on K-12
education than almost any other country. Yet American students
still achieve less than their foreign counterparts, their
performance has been flat for decades, millions of them are
failing, and poor and minority students remain far behind their
more advantaged peers. In this book, Eric Hanushek and Alfred
Lindseth trace the history of reform efforts and conclude that the
principal focus of both courts and legislatures on ever-increasing
funding has done little to improve student achievement. Instead,
Hanushek and Lindseth propose a new approach: a performance-based
system that directly links funding to success in raising student
achievement. This system would empower and motivate educators to
make better, more cost-effective decisions about how to run their
schools, ultimately leading to improved student performance.
Hanushek and Lindseth have been important participants in the
school funding debate for three decades. Here, they draw on their
experience, as well as the best available research and data, to
show why improving schools will require overhauling the way
financing, incentives, and accountability work in public education.
The Handbooks in Economics series continues to provide the various
branches of economics with handbooks which are definitive reference
sources, suitable for use by professional researchers, advanced
graduate students, or by those seeking a teaching supplement.
With contributions from leading researchers, each Handbook presents
an accurate, self-contained survey of the current state of the
topic under examination. These surveys summarize the most recent
discussions in journals, and elucidate new developments.
Although original material is also included, the main aim of this
series is the provision of comprehensive and accessible surveys
*Every volume contains contributions from leading researchers
*Each Handbook presents an accurate, self-contained survey of a
particular topic
*The series provides comprehensive and accessible surveys
Spurred by court rulings requiring states to increase
public-school funding, the United States now spends more per
student on K-12 education than almost any other country. Yet
American students still achieve less than their foreign
counterparts, their performance has been flat for decades, millions
of them are failing, and poor and minority students remain far
behind their more advantaged peers. In this book, Eric Hanushek and
Alfred Lindseth trace the history of reform efforts and conclude
that the principal focus of both courts and legislatures on
ever-increasing funding has done little to improve student
achievement. Instead, Hanushek and Lindseth propose a new approach:
a performance-based system that directly links funding to success
in raising student achievement. This system would empower and
motivate educators to make better, more cost-effective decisions
about how to run their schools, ultimately leading to improved
student performance. Hanushek and Lindseth have been important
participants in the school funding debate for three decades. Here,
they draw on their experience, as well as the best available
research and data, to show why improving schools will require
overhauling the way financing, incentives, and accountability work
in public education.
How does education affect economic and social outcomes, and how
can it inform public policy? Volume 3 of theHandbooks in the
Economics of Education uses newly available high quality data from
around the world to address these and other core questions. With
the help ofnew methodological approaches, contributors cover
econometric methods and international test score data. They examine
the determinants of educational outcomes andissues surrounding
teacher salaries and licensure. And reflecting government
demandsfor more evidence-based policies, they take new looks at
institutional feaures of school systems. Volumeeditors Eric A.
Hanushek(Stanford), Stephen Machin (University College London) and
Ludger Woessmann (Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich) draw
clear lines between newly emergingresearch on the economics of
education and prior work. In conjunction with Volume 4,
theymeasureour current understanding of educationalacquisition and
its economic and socialeffects.
Uses rich data to study issues of high contemporary policy
relevanceDemonstrates how education serves as an
importantdeterminant of economic and social outcomesBenefits
fromthe globalization of research in the economics of
education"
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