The Fall 2015 Issue of Education Next is Here!

The Fall 2015 issue of Education Next is here! The cover features three articles assessing school reform in New Orleans on the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Researchers with the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans (ERA-New Orleans) at Tulane University, directed by professor of economics, Douglas Harris, show the impact of the reforms on student performance; consider to what degree the city’s system of school choice provides a variety of distinct options for families; and take a careful look at the city’s unique centralized enrollment system.

A study by William Howell analyzes the impact of Race to the Top and finds that in its aftermath, states adopted at unprecedented rates the education policies that were explicitly rewarded under the competition. Joanne Weiss, former chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, debates Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute about the success of Race to the Top in an accompanying forum.

Does school spending matter after all? New research from Kirabo Jackson, Rucker Johnson, and Claudia Persico provides compelling evidence that money does matter, and that additional school resources can meaningfully improve long-run outcomes for students.

Also in this issue, Marcus Winters debunks a common myth about the “special education gap,” and Alan Borsuk profiles a Wisconsin high school that reached high international benchmarks in math and reading on the OECD Test for Schools.

See the full list of contents below or at https://www.educationnext.org/journal.

Table of Contents

COVER FEATURES

Good News for New Orleans

Early evidence shows reforms lifting student achievement

by Douglas N. Harris

The New Orleans OneApp

Centralized enrollment matches students and schools of choice

by Douglas N. Harris, Jon Valant, and Betheny Gross

COVER RESEARCH

Many Options in New Orleans Choice System