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The concentration of broad-based merit aid adoption in the southeastern United States has been well noted in the literature. However, there are states that have adopted broad-based merit aid programs outside of the Southeast. Guided by multiple theoretical frameworks, including innovation diffusion theory (e.g., Gray, 1973, 1994; Rogers, 2003), Roberts and King's (1991) typology of public entrepreneurs, and Anderson's (2003) stages of the policymaking process, this qualitative study sought to answer the following questions. First, in the absence of regional diffusion pressures, what internal determinants are reported as accounting for the diffusion of broad-based merit aid programs outside of the Southeastern US? What types of public entrepreneurs were identified as playing key roles in establishing merit aid in states outside the southeastern US? During which stages of the policymaking process were they active? We found that merit aid was a means of addressing an array of public problems, including low college going rates at in-state public colleges and universities, and weak K-12 accountability. Consistent factors reported as facilitating merit aid creation included a strong, vocal public advocate (governors and a university system president) and a desire to strengthen state economies and diversify workforces. A full range of public entrepreneurs played key roles in developing merit aid in the sampled states. Political and executive entrepreneurs were in the forefront of merit aid efforts, but our data suggest that a cast of supporting public entrepreneurs were integral to the eventual adoption of broad-based merit aid in the sampled states.

Guided by Honig and Hatch's conceptualization of bridging and buffering, we analyzed the first teacher collective bargaining agreements negotiated after the enactment of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System to understand how state law has shaped provisions for teacher evaluation, compensation, reductions in force (RIF), transfers, and contract renewal. We found surprising variation in provisions across districts. Most notable was how districts defined comparable evaluations in making RIF decisions. Bridging districts provided the greatest protections for the most accomplished teachers, regardless of seniority. In contrast, buffering districts have RIF provisions based on seniority.

Using logistic regression, this study sought to understand the relationship between district characteristics, district finances, levy characteristics, and campaign expenditures with new operating levy outcomes. We found that employee benefits as a percentage of the district's budget were negatively associated with levy outcomes, while salaries were positively associated with levy outcomes, suggesting that voters may be more sensitive to retirement and healthcare benefits than salaries when voting. While campaign spending was related to levy success, types of expenditures were largely insignificant. School district personnel must be cognizant of the local conditions in crafting campaigns and recruiting community stakeholders. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure, and 6 notes.)

Background: In Ohio, levy campaigns are a burdensome task for district administrators and stakeholders alike. To date, there is little research on the districts' role in crafting school budget referenda campaigns. Purpose: This study asked three research questions: How did the macropolitical contexts shape stakeholders' decision making in terms of campaign strategizing and participation? How did the micropolitical contexts shape stakeholder decision making in terms of campaign strategizing and participation? How did successful districts differ in political strategies from districts that were not successful? Research Design: Qualitative case studies. Data Collection: Twenty-three informants from five Ohio school districts with levies on the November 2008 ballot. Using a snowball sampling technique, initial informants (i.e., superintendent, treasurer) were asked to identify additional stakeholders who participated in the campaigns. Data Analysis: Coding was initially guided by multiple theoretical frameworks, including macro/micropolitics, Johnson's 21 campaign strategies and Anderson's framework of "authentic" participation. After coding, an iterative team memo-writing process was used. Findings: This study offers important insight into the complexities of the environments and strategies used in levy campaigns. Four macropolitical themes were identified--state campaign policies, state education finance policy, the high-profile nature of the Presidential election, and the state of the economy. Despite a small sample, districts varied greatly in strategies used and community involvement. Districts that heavily engaged community members and created a sense of urgency yielded greater success at the polls than "central office campaigns." Adequate message training for campaign participants was also integral to success. (Contains 7 notes and 4 tables.)

This case study examines issues related to teacher hiring and accountability policies, including the adequate yearly progress and highly qualified teacher provisions of the "No Child Left Behind" act. The focus of the case study is the nexus among findings from the teacher-quality research, realities of teacher labor markets, and accountability policies. Opportunities for discussion of leadership decisions at the school and district levels are provided. The details described in this case study are developed for use in personnel/instructional supervision courses. (Contains 1 table.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine whether teachers with high value-added scores (as a measure of teacher quality) stay or left test grades and subjects in a medium-sized school district. Design/methodology/approach: Panel data for this paper encompass teachers providing math and reading instruction and link to individual students in grades 3-10 from a single Florida school district (2000-2001 to 2004-2005). Value-added modeling is used to estimate a measure of teacher quality, which is entered into binomial logistic regression models. Findings: This paper finds a negative relationship between reading teachers' value-added scores and attrition (p less than 0.05): a finding consistent with the few that have examined the relationship between value added and teacher attrition. A significant relationship is not found between math value added and attrition. There is also no significant relationship between value added and transferring. Secondary and alternatively certified teachers are more likely to exit tested grades/subjects. Classroom percentages of students enrolled in the free/reduced lunch program (a proxy for poverty) are associated with leaving among math and reading teachers. Practical implications: Not all turnover is negative. Evidence from this paper suggests that schools are not losing the best teachers from tested subjects and grades: those in which schools and school leaders are held accountable. While there are costs associated with turnover, it can serve as an important matching function between workers and employers. Originality/value: Only, a few published studies have utilized value-added scores as the measure of teacher quality and tested their relationship with teacher attrition. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure and 8 notes.)

Drawing from state administrative data and surveys of superintendents in Ohio, this mixed methods study examined factors associated with voters' approval of local school levies. Utilizing binomial logistic regression, this study found that new levies and poverty rates were significantly associated with a decrease in the likelihood of passage. Implementing more campaign strategies and higher levels of commercial/industrial property increased the likelihood of levy passage. Specific campaign tactics were identified as predictors of levy passage (e.g., 6-week campaign, targeting yes voters). Qualitative analysis suggests that "levy fatigue" and the uncertain state of the economy were factors in the election. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table, and 1 note.)

Many political scientists maintain that public policies diffuse across states and that proximate states, in particular, influence one another's policy activities. Using state-funded merit aid for college as its case, this article takes a new approach to the study of the diffusion phenomenon, leaving behind conventional techniques used by generations of innovation/diffusion scholars, and asks policy makers themselves to what they attribute state policy adoption. The authors' findings suggest that merit aid programs diffuse as a function of competition among neighboring states not only for students but also for revenue and ideas. Close policy communities and personal contacts among state policy makers and agency staff also condition policy adoption by spreading information about, and assessments of, educational innovations. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 4 notes.)

We now have ample evidence that public policies diffuse across the American states; that is, policy adoption is due at least in part to the emulation of policies enacted in nearby states. But, policy adoption is the result of a complex process, a process that often takes years and sometimes decades to complete. According to the "stage" or "step" approach, the lawmaking process begins with the identification of a public problem for which redress by governments is sought and ends when programmes are implemented and effects are evaluated. Using the tertiary education system in the USA as a case, this study considers at what stage(s) in the policymaking process pressures created from neighbouring states are brought to bear. Analysis of data from state policymakers reveals that the experiences of neighbours are most pronounced during the agenda-setting and proposal formulation stages and least during adoption. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 4 notes.)

Having been adopted by legislatures in over a dozen states, postsecondary merit aid programs are largely concentrated in the southeastern United States. The observed clustering pattern seems to support previous evidence that policies spread between proximate states, a phenomenon referred to by political scientists as policy diffusion. Often, however, policy diffusion is not complete, and one or more states in a region fail to adopt. By interviewing policymakers throughout the southeastern United States--including actors in the three states in the region without merit aid--the study addresses the following question: Why do diffusion pressures lead to adoption in some states but not in others? Studying state 'hold-outs' promises not only to uncover the reasons for failed legislation in specific state contexts but also to better our understanding of the limits of diffusion theory. KEY WORDS: political analysis, innovation, diffusion, policy process, Introduction Research supports that public policies diffuse across the American states (Berry & Baybeck, 2005; Berry & Berry, 1990; Mooney & Lee, 1995). That is to say, policies seem to [...]

Guided by Honig and Hatch’s conceptualization of bridging and buffering, we analyzed the first teacher collective bargaining agreements negotiated after the enactment of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System to understand how state law has shaped provisions for teacher evaluation, compensation, reductions in force (RIF), transfers, and contract renewal. We found surprising variation in provisions across districts. Most notable was how districts defined comparable evaluations in making RIF decisions. Bridging districts provided the greatest protections for the most accomplished teachers, regardless of seniority. In contrast, buffering districts have RIF provisions based on seniority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines issues related to teacher hiring and accountability policies, including the adequate yearly progress and highly qualified teacher provisions of the No Child Left Behind act. The focus of the case study is the nexus among findings from the teacher-quality research, realities of teacher labor markets, and accountability policies. Opportunities for discussion of leadership decisions at the school and district levels are provided. The details described in this case study are developed for use in personnel/instructional supervision courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which investigates the whether high quality will leave or stay in the test grades in school district in the U.S. The method used in the study is explained, along with analysis of the result and the implications of the result. The result showed a negative correlation between the reading value-added scores of teachers and attrition, as well as value-added and transferring of teachers. It notes that the results imply that schools are not losing competent teachers from tested subjects and grades.

Many political scientists maintain that public policies diffuse across states and that proximate states, in particular, influence one another's policy activities. Using state-funded merit aid for college as its case, this article takes a new approach to the study of the diffusion phenomenon, leaving behind conventional techniques used by generations of innovation/diffusion scholars, and asks policy makers themselves to what they attribute state policy adoption. The authors' findings suggest that merit aid programs diffuse as a function of competition among neighboring states not only for students but also for revenue and ideas. Close policy communities and personal contacts among state policy makers and agency staff also condition policy adoption by spreading information about, and assessments of, educational innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]