Education Finance and Accountability Program
(EFAP)

Director: John Yinger

Senior Associates: Robert Bifulco, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Amy Lutz, Katherine Michelmore, Yingyi Ma,

Jerry Miner, Michah Rothbart, Amy Ellen Schwartz, Maria Zhu

The Education Finance and Accountability Program (EFAP) was established in 2001. It is part of the well-known, multi-disciplinary Center for Policy Research in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

The purpose of the Education Finance and Accountability Program, or EFAP, is to promote research, education, and debate about fundamental issues in the system of elementary and secondary education in the United States. The central focus of the program is on the tax and state aid programs that fund this system and on policies to promote efficiency and accountability in school districts. However, EFAP also sponsors research and debate on other issues related to elementary and secondary education.

The central activity at EFAP is scholarly research. This web site describes current EFAP research projects, provides access to working papers, and describes publications from past projects. In addition, the center holds periodic seminars with speakers affiliated with EFAP or outside speakers. A calendar of EFAP events is available under the 'calendar' tab.

Many graduate students participate in the activities of EFAP, and graduate education is one of the program’s main concerns. This web site lists recent dissertations on topics in education by graduate students affiliated with EFAP, provides access to teaching material on education finance, and describes education-related graduate courses that are available in the Maxwell School.

Reports

Top-Down Approach

By: Renee Gearhart Levy, Syracuse University

According to Maxwell experts in education finance and school choice, efforts to federalize school standards represent a laudable national reinvestment in education. However, programs like No Child Left Behind fundamentally strain current systems. And, what’s more, they might not work.