Founded in 1975, the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) has evolved into a professional and academic association representing a variety of disciplines and perspectives on a growing array of education finance and education policy issues. On the occasion of the organization's fortieth anniversary, the authors look at the organization's evolution and consider how its future will be shaped by economic and social trends, as well as the evolution of education finance and policy.

This brief utilizes case study methodology to illustrate the role of governance in educational accountability systems. Most research on the effectiveness of such systems has focused on technical components, such as standards-setting, assessments, rewards and sanctions, and data collection and reporting. This brief seeks to demonstrate that this focus may miss the importance of the institutional set-up. We argue that effective accountability systems are largely dependent on associated government structures, rules, and procedures, and the individuals responsible for implementing them. We use an illustrative case from the state of Oklahoma, where a lack of independent oversight, few checks and balances, and little in-state technical capacity combine to call into question the effectiveness of this state's accountability system. We urge researchers and policy makers to focus more attention on the “messy” governance and politics of educational accountability, and conclude the brief with specific policy proposals to strengthen state education accountability systems.

Governance is widely believed to be an important determinant of the effectiveness of educational systems. Yet there are few systematic evaluations of the linkages between educational governance and student outcomes, or cogent frameworks for evaluating the effectiveness of governance arrangements in a way that can guide potential policy changes. In this article, we attempt to provide such a framework by identifying indicators of effective educational governance systems drawn from previous research and more than forty interviews with stakeholders at all levels in California, the nation's biggest system. The exploratory research presented here is intended to help inform future studies of educational governance.

Several national and international assessments have demonstrated that there has been little improvement in the performance of American high school students in recent decades. High school students are increasingly underprepared for transition into college-level course-work. One new approach to high school redesign, “early college,” seeks to address these issues. The model features a rigorous academic course of study that engages students in college-level work in grades nine through fourteen. Early college is a subset of dual enrollment programs providing opportunities for students to complete high school and college credits with the same courses. The goal is to prepare students academically for college-level coursework while easing the transition to higher education. Early college offers promise in directly addressing student academic performance, attrition rates, and readiness for college, but further research is needed to determine its efficacy and scalability.