Education
Congressional Newsletter
A series of periodic updates to Congress on RAND's work in education

FEBRUARY 2008 HOT TOPIC

How Well Do Post-Secondary Education Opportunities Align with Qatar's Social and Economic Goals?

Doha, Qatar

Qatar's future depends on citizens whose education and training prepare them to be full participants in economic, social, and political life. Qatar's Supreme Education Council asked the RAND Corporation to help articulate priorities for developing post-secondary educational opportunities in Qatar and to assess whether current post-secondary education opportunities (besides study-abroad opportunities financed through existing scholarship programs) are aligned with the nation's social and economic goals.

The study determined that, for men, occupational demands are in the professional, technical, and sales and service occupations, while for women, they are in the professional and clerical occupations. Overall, the pattern of demand favors individuals with some post-secondary education, but education and career choices—especially for men—are somewhat misaligned with demand. The post-secondary offerings at the undergraduate level to prepare Qataris for work in high-demand fields do not meet all needs; this is especially true for graduate studies.

Recommendations to address these gaps included the following. First, address the limited opportunities for Qataris who need further course work before going on to university studies; consider establishing a government-sponsored community college. Second, address the limited choices in four-year degrees for high-achieving students beyond the degrees offered in Education City, consider recruiting a top liberal arts college or developing an honors program at Qatar University. And third, address the lack of master's degrees offered in fields essential to Qatar's social and economic progress, consider expanding Education City's offerings or restructuring Qatar University programs. The study also recommended starting a financial-aid program for adults and developing an overarching strategy of investment for post-secondary education before any investments are made. Finally, although not addressed by this study, Qatar must also improve incentives in the labor market to attract more Qataris into highly productive jobs.

READ THE RESEARCH BRIEF:
Identifying Priorities for Post-Secondary Education in Qatar

California Needs to Put Better Student Tracking System in Place

Students in classroom

Currently, 22 states can track individual students from kindergarten through post-secondary level (K–20) using a student unit record (SUR) system, but California is not one of them, despite the clear intent of the California legislature to change the current legislation. A RAND study identifies the issues and challenges involved in developing such a system in the state.

The study finds that the state has the infrastructure in place to build and maintain a SUR data system but must overcome political and financial barriers. Political barriers include eliminating the protective mindset of the state's four education segments. In addition, policymakers would need to build a consensus that such a system is desirable and determine who would develop the system, who would have access to it, and who would be responsible for operating it.

Financially, the study notes that, given the state's budgetary problems, funding could be a roadblock, though the amount needed to build and run the system would be minimal compared to the billions of dollars California spends on education annually.

The study recommends that the state (1) complete the design and implementation of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, scheduled to be operational in 2010; (2) identify and engage a “champion” to advocate for a SUR system; (3) obtain legislative authority to enable the state to determine who holds decisionmaking authority, who owns the system, and who has access to the data; (4) build the K–20 SUR system incrementally over a course of four to five years; and (5) develop and adequately fund an “objective” analytical capability that is either within or independent of the organization operating the K–20 system to evaluate and improve the system and distill the results.

READ THE REPORT:
Toward a K-20 Student Unit Record Data System for California

Panel Discussion on No Child Left Behind

On January 9, RAND held a special panel discussion on Capitol Hill to discuss important topics related to accountability under NCLB, such as the likelihood of full student proficiency by 2014, narrowing of the curriculum, teacher and school leadership perspectives, parental choice, growth models for measuring adequate yearly progress, and recommendations for strengthening the NCLB law through reauthorization.

The panelists were John Deasy, superintendent of Prince George's County Schools; Laura Hamilton, RAND senior behavioral scientist; Michelle Rhee, chancellor of Washington, D.C., Public Schools; Brian Stecher, RAND senior social scientist; Georges Vernez, RAND senior social scientist; and moderator Lindsey Kozberg, RAND vice president for external affairs.

The event drew a diverse audience, including staff from Capitol Hill, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, several media outlets, and other organizations such as the Center on Education Policy.

audio Listen to the Audio Recording

RESEARCHER PROFILE

Francisco (Paco) Martorell

Francisco (Paco) Martorell

Francisco (Paco) Martorell (Ph.D., Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 2005) is an Associate Economist at RAND. He has worked on both domestic and international education policy issues. His dissertation research used administrative data from Texas to examine the impact of high school exit exams on student outcomes. His current projects cover a broad range of topics in education, health, aging, labor, and military personnel policy. He is PI or Co-PI on several grants from the NIH and U.S. Department of Education.

Read more work by Dr.Martorell »

RAND CONGRESSIONAL RESOURCES STAFF

Lindsey Kozberg
Vice President, Office of External Affairs

Shirley Ruhe
Director, Office of Congressional Relations

Carmen Ferro
Education Legislative Analyst

RAND Office of Congressional Relations
(703) 413-1100 x5395

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