Recent Education Publications

Federal Policy Options for Improving the Education of Low-Income Students: Volume II, Commentaries, Iris C. Rotberg, ed., RAND/MR-210-LE,1993, 307 pp., Ref., $15.00.

Federal Policy Options for Improving the Education of Low-Income Students: Volume III, Countering Inequity in School Finance, Stephen M. Barro, RAND/MR-211-LE, 1994, 48 pp., Bibliog., $15.00.

The United States faces the difficult challenge of improving the education of students from low-income families who have greater needs than those from more affluent families yet attend schools with fewer resources. Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 directs $6.1 billion toward assisting "disadvantaged" children in primary and secondary schools. Volume I of this study reviews the accomplishments of the Chapter 1 program, assesses its status today, and argues that it needs to be fundamentally reshaped to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Volume II provides invited commentaries by 91 policymakers, researchers and educators describing their perceptions of the strengths and shortcomings of Chapter 1. Volume III examines federal options for providing supplemental funding that would put disadvantaged children throughout the United States on a more equal footing with their advantaged peers. There now exists a tremendous disparity in school finance--for example, education expenditures for 1989-1990 ranged from $2,600 per pupil in Pike County, Kentucky, to $3,900 per pupil in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to $7,300 per pupil in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The Effects of the California Voucher Initiative on Public Expenditures for Education, Michael A. Shires, Cathy S. Krop, C. Peter Rydell, Stephen J. Carroll, RAND/MR-364-LE, 1994, 105 pp., ISBN 0-8330-1490-0, $15.00

The Effects of the California Voucher Initiative on Public Expenditures for Education: Executive Summary, Michael A. Shires, Cathy S. Krop, C. Peter Rydell, Stephen J. Carroll, RAND/MR-364/1-LE, 1993, 7 pp., $6.50.

In California's 1993 elections, proponents argued that school vouchers would reduce public expenditures and drive school reform; opponents claimed that they would reduce public-school quality without saving money at all. Written to help voters sort out the competing claims, this report highlights the relative costs of using vouchers as outlined in that proposition. The findings--based on a complex simulation analysis of student enrollment, tax revenues and other trends over the next decade--may shed light on future voucher proposals and other school reform initiatives.

Global Preparedness and Human Resources: College and Corporate Perspectives, Tora K. Bikson, S. A. Law, RAND/MR-326-CPC, 1994, 84 pp., Bibliog., ISBN 0-8330-1569-9, $13.00.

Developed nations are moving rapidly toward a more global, interlinked economy, a trend that is expected to result in profound organizational and social changes. Using case studies of 16 corporate and 16 academic institutions, this research explores the ways in which U.S. corporations and institutions of higher learning understand globalism, their perceptions of its human-resource implications, their responses to these implications, and ways in which they might respond more effectively. The findings of the study suggest that (1) corporations must do a better job of developing and supporting their employees if they are to compete successfully; (2) colleges should (a) make better use of the cultural diversity of their students to cultivate crosscultural competence, (b) provide incentives to faculty to develop new courses or adapt existing ones to address the challenges of globalism, and (c) seek closer relationships with corporations; and (3) students who intend to enter global fields should strive to develop not only their knowledge in a given domain but also their generic skills and crosscultural competence.

Preventing Drug Use Among Youth Through Community Outreach: The Military's Pilot Programs, Jonathan P. Caulkins, Nora Fitzgerald, Karyn E. Model, H. Lamar Willis, RAND/MR-536-OSD RAND/MR-536-OSD, 1994, 138 pp., Ref., $13.00.

Congress directed the military to establish community-based pilot outreach programs to reduce the demand for illegal drugs among youth. This report examines the potential suitability of the military for such roles, the pilot programs that were implemented, their effectiveness, how the programs affected the military, and some desirable attributes of military-run prevention programs for youth. The study concluded that programs that give youth a chance to interact directly with military personnel play to the military's strong suit. Analysis of the pilot programs suggests that six program attributes should be considered in establishing or expanding such programs: rely on volunteers, keep individual programs to a modest size, design programs locally, provide central leadership, target programs toward youth at high risk for drug abuse (but not the most troubled youth) and do not rule out short-term programs.

Can Portfolios Assess Student Performance and Influence Instruction? The 1991-92 Vermont Experience, Daniel Koretz, Brian Stecher, Stephen Klein, Daniel McCaffrey, Edward Deibert, RAND/RP-259 RAND/RP-259, 1994, 145 pp., Bibliog., free.

Vermont's student performance evaluation differs from many current large-scale performance assessment programs: It uses unstandardized portfolios for which the guidelines and rubrics are established by volunteer committees of teachers (rather than state Department of Education experts or outside contractors). This report's assessment of the Vermont program can help provide guidance for design of performance assessment nationwide. The authors discuss expectations for quality of measurement and for the effect on educational practice. They delineate the trade-offs that must be made in this or any assessment of this type.

Can Portfolios Assess Student Performance and Influence Instruction? Interim Report: The Reliability of Vermont Portfolio Scores in the 1992-93 School Year, Daniel Koretz, Stephen Klein, Daniel McCaffrey, Brian Stecher, RAND/RP-260 RAND/RP-260, 1994, 17 pp., free.

This report on RAND's evaluation of the second year of the Vermont assessment program (1992-93) discusses the quality of the assessment data. The authors found that there was progress in scoring mathematics portfolios, but that additional training may be needed to improve the reliability of ratings, it may be necessary to refine or simplify the scoring rubrics, and further restrictions may be needed on the types of tasks considered acceptable for inclusion in portfolios to permit more consistent application of the scoring criteria. Regarding the writing portfolio assessment, the authors believe that the data support their hypothesis that weaknesses in the design and operations of the Vermont program underlie much of the low-reliability problem.

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