CEPA Research - School Finance, Fiscal Policy, and Regulation

Effective education systems cannot function without strong bases of financial support and efficient management systems.  CEPA and its partners look at school finance from the state, district, institutional, and building level.

Current Projects Include:

Cost Modelling; Money for Music Education
In partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder, the Center for Reinventing Public Education, and Colorado’s largest school district, CEPA will investigate the total resources used in music education in the district, and how do these resources vary by school.  We will explore the relationship between the amount of resources used for music education and the richness, diversity, alignment, and quality of the music program at the school level.  We will also look for correlations between the amount of resources used at the school level and student learning outcomes (such as student assessment scores and graduation rates) and community support (such as school choices and participation in music events)
For more information, contact Beverly Buck or Robert Reichardt.

DPS ProComp Evaluation
CEPA, along with The Evaluation Center (TEC), School of Education, University of Colorado, Denver and the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), University of Washington are evaluating ProComp, Denver Public Schools’ revolutionary pay-for-performance teacher compensation system.  Using a mixed evaluation design, we hope to answer the following research questions.  Does ProComp achieve stakeholder expectations; increase student achievement; attract and retain high quality educators?  Is ProComp a sustainable, manageable, understandable compensation system?  DO stakeholders have recommendations for improvement?
Paul Teske, former CEPA director and now Dean of UCD’s School of Public Affairs is a co-author of title
For more information, contact Robert Reichardt.

Policy Barriers for Ready Adult Learners in Higher Education
CEPA works with the Colorado Department of Higher Education to increase “ready adult” learners’ access to and success in postsecondary education by creating a navigable path to college success through a comprehensive focus on five policy areas: data, academic affairs, student support services, financial aid and financing, and communications (information sharing as well as developing a marketing and communications strategy designed to reach out to the ready adult population).  “Ready adult” learners are adults who are close to having enough credits to obtain a degree but have not yet returned to college. 
For more information, contact Beverly Buck or Robert Reichardt.

Indicators of Success in State Fiscal Policy Analysis
CEPA staff with The Center for Public Private Partnerships at UCD evaluated the Charles S. Mott Foundation State Fiscal Analysis Initiative portfolio of eleven organizations (in 10 states and the District of Columbia) for the national State Fiscal Analysis Initiative (2002-present).  This participatory evaluation of 11 grantees identified domains of performance and benchmarks of successful performance using surveys, key informant interviews and case studies.
For more information, contact Beverly Buck.

FOR RELATED PUBLICATIONS, SEE PUBLICATIONS