COVER -- PREFACE -- CONTENTS -- FIGURES -- TABLES -- SUMMARY -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- Chapter One - INTRODUCTION -- RATIONALE FOR FOCUSING ON STATE ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS -- POTENTIAL BARRIERS TO ANALYZING STATE ACHIEVEMENT -- STUDY OBJECTIVES -- REPORT ORGANIZATION -- Chapter Two - THE STATE NAEP ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS AND STATE FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS -- NAEP ACHIEVEMENT TESTS -- STATE ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS -- DIFFERENCES IN FAMILY AND DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION AMONG STATES -- FAMILY CAPITAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL -- DIFFERENCES IN STATE EDUCATION CHARACTERISTICS -- Chapter Three - REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE -- EVIDENCE FROM NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT TRENDS -- PREVIOUS STUDIES -- Reviews of Nonexperimental Studies -- Experimental Data on Class Size -- Evidence on Prekindergarten Effects -- The Effects of Teacher Characteristics -- SPECIFICATION IMPLICATIONS FROM EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES -- RECONCILING EXPERIMENTAL AND NONEXPERIMENTAL RESULTS -- SUMMARY: A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE -- Chapter Four - METHODOLOGY -- IMPLICATIONS OF THE LITERATURE FOR THIS ANALYSIS -- DEVELOPING FAMILY CONTROL VARIABLES -- The Census-NAEP Family Variables -- Composite SES Family Control Variables -- MODEL SPECIFICATION AND ESTIMATION -- Annualized Score Gains by State -- Score Differences by State for Students from Similar Families -- The Effects of Educational Policy and State Characteristics -- Cost Estimations -- Sensitivity to Outliers -- VARIABLE DEFINITIONS -- Achievement Scores -- Family Variables -- Educational Measures -- Chapter Five - TRENDS IN STATE SCORES -- TESTING FOR EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTS OF REFORM -- RESULTS -- Estimated Gains Across All Participating States -- Estimated Annual Gains by State -- Chapter Six - ESTIMATING SCORES ACROSS STATES FOR STUDENTS FROM SIMILAR FAMILIES.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE -- RESULTS -- TEXAS VERSUS CALIFORNIA -- Chapter Seven - EFFECTS OF STATE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND CHARACTERISTICS -- RESULTS FOR EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND CHARACTERISTICS VARIABLES -- Per-Pupil Expenditure Model -- Resource-Utilization Model -- Teacher Characteristics Model -- EFFECTS OF INTERACTION TERMS -- TESTING CORRESPONDENCE WITH TENNESSEE -- SENSITIVITY TO OUTLIERS -- EXPLAINING TEXAS-CALIFORNIA DIFFERENCES -- Chapter Eight - ASSESSING THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT RESOURCE UTILIZATIONS -- PREVIOUS COST-EFFECTIVENESS MEASUREMENTS -- ESTIMATING COST-EFFECTIVENESS FROM OUREQUATIONS -- CAVEATS AND CAUTION -- Chapter Nine - CONCLUSIONS -- METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS OF DIFFERENT MODELS -- RESULTS -- Evidence for the Effects of Reform -- Scores for Students from Similar Family Backgrounds -- The Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Resources -- INTERPRETATIONS -- Improving American Education -- Interpreting the Effects of Teacher Salary and Teacher Working Conditions -- RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS -- Experimentation -- Improving Nonexperimental Analysis -- Building Theories -- Improving NAEP Data -- LIMITATIONS AND CAUTION -- Appendix A - STATE NAEP TEST SCORES AND STATE FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS -- Appendix B - NAEP EXCLUSION AND PARTICIPATION RATES -- Appendix C - SOURCES OF BIAS -- Appendix D - THE TENNESSEE EXPERIMENT -- Appendix E - FAMILY VARIABLE DEVELOPMENT -- Appendix F - VARIABLE DEFINITIONS -- Appendix G - STATISTICAL RESULTS FOR ESTIMATING STATE TRENDS -- Appendix H - STATISTICAL RESULTS FOR ESTIMATING SCORE DIFFERENCES FOR STUDENTS FROM SIMILAR FAMILIES ACROSS STATES -- Appendix I - STATISTICAL RESULTS FOR ESTIMATING EFFECTS OF STATE POLICY AND EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS -- Appendix J - ROBUST REGRESSION RESULTS.

Appendix K - MAKING COST-EFFECTIVENESS ESTIMATES FROM THE TENNESSEE CLASS-SIZE EXPERIMENT -- Appendix L -REGRESSION COST ESTIMATES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY.