Legislators, policymakers, and educators rely on empirical evidence from research to make financial decisions regarding education funding. The purpose of this study was to examine the expenditures of the school districts in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the period of 2007 to 2017 and to determine what effect the level of expenditures had, if any, on student achievement at the state, region, and district level. The researcher found a negative correlation trend between per pupil expenditure and average Standards of Learning pass rate for students in Virginia, for students in the 19 school districts of Region VII in Virginia, and also for the students in a small rural district in Virginia. The researcher concluded that per pupil expenditure alone was not an accurate predictor of student achievement and that the socioeconomic status or poverty level of the student was a more reliable predictor of performance on SOL pass rate.

The majority of a school system's budget is spent on personnel. In order to use this tremendous amount of money efficiently it is important educators understand the impact different spending priorities, specifically total per-pupil expenditures, teacher salary, principal salary, pupil/teacher ratio, and pupil/support personnel ratio have on student achievement and how these inputs are moderated by a district's population density and wealth. Spending data from all the school divisions in Virginia were examined using public spending data from the Virginia Department of Education, and population density and wealth statistics from the Office of Budget Management, US Census Bureau, and Commonwealth of Virginia Commission on Local Government. Bivariate correlations and linear regression slopes were examined to determine the impact of the main effects and multiple linear regression model building was used to examine how a district's wealth and population density moderate the effects of per-pupil expenditures, teacher salary, principal salary, pupil/teacher ratio and pupil/support personnel ratio. Teacher salary proved significant for both math and reading scores while principal salary was significant for math scores only. None of the other main effects had a significant impact on student achievement. A division's status as "rural" by itself proved to be correlated with both reading and math scores. Additionally, wealth by itself was a statistically and practically significant predictor of student achievement regardless of the measurement used highlighting the problems posed for education by economic inequality. When wealth was measured using either median household income or fiscal stress the correlation with student achievement was twice that of composite index indicating composite index may not be the best wealth measurement for the state to use to allocate funding in order to level the playing field. Further research is needed to determine how spending effects overall school climate, how the adverse impact of wealth can be overcome, and if making changes to the wealth measurement used will help to overcome the impact of wealth on student achievement.

This Brief explores school funding reform in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1990, Kentucky passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act designed to overhaul that state’s education system. Two years later, Tennessee passed the Education Improvement Act which included the Basic Education Plan, designed to foster equity in funding among the state’s schools. Initiated as a result of lawsuits against the states’ educational systems, both programs dealt with school funding, specifically funding equalization among districts. This Brief examines the environments that precipitated funding reform in each state as well as the outcomes of the reforms on student achievement. The similarities and differences between the approaches in each state are analyzed and compared to related reform programs in other states. An in-depth study of regional educational reform in the United States, this Brief is of use to public policy scholars as well as education policy consultants and other school system or state education leaders.

Compilation of papers analysing the coleman report on equal opportunity in respect of education (educational opportunity) in the USA - includes papers on the effects of racial discrimination in public schools on achievement, an evaluation of the coleman rport as a guide to government policy, etc. References and statistical tables.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the interdisciplinary field of school finance, while establishing a firm understanding of the relationship between school finance systems to their broader economic, political and sociological context. Organization: This book is organized around (a) context, (b) equity, (c) adequacy and (d) productivity and efficiency. Research Base: This book is based on the best available and most up-to-date empirical research by leading scholars across the various fields related to school finance policy. Simulation Activities: This book inlcudes numerous spreadsheet simulation and data analysis activities. The authors have developed user friendly simulations with thorough documentation regarding the use and underlying assumptions of the simulation. Companion Website: Includes up-to-date, downloadable versions of all chapter simulations.