Focus Questions

1. Focus Questions • What is policy and where does it come from? • What is the historical context of educational policy? • Why do changes in politics, economics, and demographic make understanding the policy process essential for today’s educational leaders? • How do policy issues of today relate to those of the past? • Why is it useful for education leaders to possess a framework for understanding policy process and analysis? • What are the major components of policy analysis? • What will education policy probably be like in the future? • How do we determine if a policy really works?

2. What is public policy? Public policy is the expressed intentions, official enactments, or practices of a political system relative to a public problem.

3. Expressed Intentions… Written and spoken communications Example: “What’s Important?” Interim Commissioner George Coleman: September 13, 2006 Others: Campaign speeches, televised talk show appearances, other media, reports, the Internet

4. Official Enactments… Outputs of the political system: • Rules, regulations, laws, court decisions, administrative decisions budgets • Commitments and actions made by those who hold positions of authority, as they are interpreted by various stakeholders • Compromises made among policy makers • Chain of decisions stretching from statehouse to the classroom Question: Are law and policy always identical?

5. Practices… What government consistently and repetitively does. • Informal and/or formal • With or without written word Sometimes policies are not decided upon, but just happen.

6. Political system/government… • Elected officials at the local, state, national level: legislators, judges, governors, school board members, town council members, etc. • Agencies within which these elected officials work. • Others: School administrators, teachers, other appointed officials

7. A Policy Problem “A policy problem is an unrealized value or opportunity for improvement that may be attained through public action…it requires knowledge of antecedent conditions and values whose achievement may lead the problem’s solution.” Dunn, 2004

8. Public Policy Problem Is the problem controversial? Is there disagreement about how the policy problem can be solved? Is it a problem that government can legitimately address? Does an unrealized need, value, or opportunity for improvement exist?

9. When does a problem become a crisis? Crisis: An event or set of circumstances which, if unabated threatens significant, irreversible harm and what ever decision is make results in a decisive change. Example: Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

10. Crises in Education? Literature Review Search Review

11. Then (Pre-1980) Social/welfare concerns Common/public schools American Public Schools Federal initiatives Diffusion of Innovations Local Problem Solving Comprehensive Curriculum University-school partnerships Equity Now Productivity concerns Choice American Competitive Schools State and local interests Information Sharing Intervention Improvement in basic skills Business/industry partnerships Excellence/emphasis on standards Education Policy….Then and Now

12. What has caused the change in policy environment since 1980? • Education in crisis • Nation at Risk – 1983 • Decline in test scores • American students not competing well with international peers • Greater disparity between the wealthiest and the poorest • Baby boomer retirement issues • Demographic changes: increasing older population • Perceived government inefficiencies • Politics more dogmatic and aggressive • Financial emergencies/market pressures • “No new tax” mentality • Religious right

13. Discussion How has this new policy environment changed the role of superintendents?

14. Role of Superintendent

15. Policy Process • Define the problem • Set the agenda • Formulate the policy • Adopt the policy • Implement the policy • Evaluate the policy

16. What is policy analysis? Policy analysis is a multidisciplinary inquiry designed to create, critically assess, and communicate information that is useful in understanding and improving policies. William Dunn Public Policy Analysis 2004

17. Policy analysis addresses five types of questions: • What is the nature of the problem for which solution is sought? • Which of two or more courses of action should be chosen to solve the problem? • What are the outcomes of choosing that course of action? • Does achieving the outcomes contribute to solving the problem? • What future outcomes can be expected if other courses of action are chosen?

18. Rational Problem Solving

19. Forms of Policy Analysis

20. Types of Policy Analysis Descriptive Analysis (1) Monitoring (What happened?) (2) Evaluating (Were the purposes met?) Prospective Analysis (1) Forecasting (What’s going to happen?) (2) Recommending (What are the options?)

21. Prospective AnalysisForecasting – What’s going to happen? Three forms: • Projection – Based on current and historical trends. • Prediction – Based on theoretical propositions or theoretical laws • Conjecture – Based on informed or expert judgments

22. Prospective AnalysisRecommending – What are the options? Criteria: • Cost – affordable and cost effective? • Stability – sustain obstacles? • Reliability – continue to perform if some parts fail? • Risk – a high chance of failure? • Merit – addresses the problem? • Simplicity – easy to implement? • Compatibility – comport with existing norms and procedures? • Reversibility – revert to prior conditions if it fails? • Robustness – succeed in different future conditions?

23. Descriptive AnalysisMonitoring – What Happened? • Compliance: Is the action compliant with standards and procedures imposed by legislatures, or regulatory agencies? • Auditing: Did the resources and services reached the intended target groups or beneficiaries? • Accounting: Does the policy produce the desired results? • Explanation: What public policies and programs work best, how they work, and why?

24. Descriptive Analysis: Evaluation The Value or Worth of the Observed/Expected Outcomes • Effectiveness: Has an outcome been achieve? • Efficiency: How much effort is required to achieve the outcome? • Adequacy: To what extent does the achievement resolve the problem? • Responsiveness: Do the policy outcomes satisfy the needs/preferences of target group? • Appropriateness: Are the desired outcomes worthy or valued?

25. Descriptive Analysis: EvaluationHow do we determine if a policy works? “We cannot make our programs better unless we know where they are weak and strong. We cannot plan effectively if we are unaware of options and their relative merits; and we cannot convince our constituents that we have done good work and deserve continued support unless we can show them evidence that we have done what we promised and produced beneficial results. For these and other reasons, public servants must subject their work to competent evaluation.” Stufflebeam, 1983

26. Basic Steps in the Evaluation Process • Determine the policy goals • Select the criteria or indicators of success • Select or develop data-collection instruments • Collect the data • Analyze and summarize the data • Write the evaluation report • Respond to the recommendations

27. The Politics of Policy EvaluationWho are the players? • The Policy Makers • The Policy Implementers • The Clients • The Evaluators

28. Policy Analysis Simulation:Student Discipline & Use and Abuse of Alcohol and Drugs Identify the public policy issues that underlie these policies. What value(s) (social, political, economic, and/or ethical) underlie(s) this policy issue? What outcomes do the policies hope to achieve? How much effort will be required to the achieve the outcome(s)? Evaluate the cost, risk, merit, simplicity, and compatibility of the policies?