Research for Policy Analysis

At their 15th year of service, military personnel who are eligible and intend to serve for 20 years must choose either: (1) High-3 retirement plan or (2) A reduced retirement (REDUX) and a $30,000 bonus paid at the 15th year of service. This paper is designed to help servicemembers make that decision. We describe the REDUX/bonus option as an early, partial cash-out of the servicemember’s retirement pension that the member pays back in the form of reduced retirement checks over his or her entire lifetime. We calculate how much the servicemember will “pay back” (the reduction in pension benefits) and we calculate the implied APR or interest rate for this loan. For example, an E-7 who retires at age 38 with 20 years of service is paying an implicit interest rate of 14.5% and would see his or her retired pay reduced by $370,030 if he or she lived to 79 years. Even if the servicemember received the bonus tax free, the repayment amount is over 10 times the amount of the loan ($30,000). If the servicemember lives to 85, the repayment amount would be $489,310. For virtually all servicemembers, choosing REDUX/bonus is a bad (and costly) decision. (Click here to access CNA's 2010 Retirement Choice Calculator)

Under the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, states are required to assess students in reading and math and to identify them as below proficient or as proficient or advanced (both considered passing). Because schools are held accountable only for ensuring that students test proficient or better, there have been concerns that a focus on increasing the percentage of students testing proficient might unintentionally lead to fewer students testing at the advanced level. This report finds that schools in Kentucky and Virginia with the greatest increases in the percentage testing proficient or better also have the greatest increases in the percentage testing advanced. Prepared by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Appalachia, administered by CNA Education.

U.S. policy makers lack sufficient understanding of the populist Islamist milieu in the Middle East and fail to take into account the Islamists’ long-term objectives and extended time frame. This is particularly evident in the context of national elections. The observer originally spoke on the basis of non-attribution but agreed that we might make limited distribution of his comments if we preserved his anonymity.

The report examines rates of participation in West Virginia’s universal, voluntary pre-k program from 2002/03 to 2006/07. It describes the share of seats provided by collaborative partners and public school systems and analyzes participation rates by demographic and socioeconomic subgroup and county characteristics. Prepared by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Appalachia, administered by CNA Education.