Total costs equal fixed costs plus variable costs. Fixed costs remain stable, especially in the short term, but may vary with a longer time horizon. Fixed costs include building and equipment costs, regulatory fees and salaried personnel. In the long run, even fixed costs can vary.
Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed. However, since the 1980s, education reform has been focused on changing the existing system from one focused on inputs to one focused on outputs (i.e., student achievement).
It is the editors hope that the analysis of neoliberal educational reform provided in the chapters will contribute in multiple ways to the programs of critical scholars, educators and activists working for education and schools that serve the broad interests of the public and against capitalist educational practices.