This study investigates what factors are associated with the likelihood of passing school facility construction bonds by local district election. It uses statewide data from Michigan, 1998-2006, to examine the outcome of 789 bond elections in terms of ten variables: amount of the bond request; district enrollment; district locale; percentage of students receiving free school lunches; percentage of the district population with only a high school degree; the district's long-term debt; voter turnout; the day of the calendar year on which the election is held; the number of the bond proposal on the ballot; and the inclusion of technology in the ballot proposal's wording. The logistic regression analysis finds that bond amount, percentage of students receiving free lunches, percentage of district population with only a high school degree, voter turnout, and being further down on the ballot are all negative and significant factors. District long-term debt and holding the election later in the calendar year are both positive and significant factors. District enrollment numbers are nonsignificant. In terms of district locale (using mid-sized city/suburban districts as the reference group), being a small town and rural district is a negative and significant factor.

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One influential hypothesis for what makes teachers effective contends that the best teachers share a particular set of values about education, such as commitment, caring, or persistence. To translate affective beliefs, attitudes, and values into practicable teacher selection, many schools have turned to commercial teacher hiring instruments. This article synthesizes 24 studies of the most prominent teacher selection instrument, Gallup’s Teacher Perceiver Interview (TPI). Overall, we find a modest relationship (r̄=.28) between the TPI and some measure of teaching quality. The article explores complications that arise for schools from using beliefs, attitudes, and values to select among teacher candidates and discusses their implications for the educational-values hypothesis.

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