This research addressed the problem of achievement gaps among elementary schools in Massachusetts. The purpose of this quantitative causal comparative study was to determine what effect, if any, funding had on elementary school accountability classification, student academic achievement, and per pupil expenditure rates. Equity theory indicated that when school districts were given a fair and adequate amount of funding, students were given adequate opportunities to succeed academically. Secondary archival data were collected from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary education website for the stratified proportional random sampling of 305 out of 752 Massachusetts elementary schools. From these data ANOVA tests were run to determine if any group comparisons could be found between the total amount of resources received by a school and their Accountability Classification level, student academic achievement, and school per pupil expenditure rates. No statistically significant differences were found between Accountability Classification level, per pupil expenditure rates, or overall interaction comparison when compared by total resources. There were two statistically significant differences found at the Not Meeting Expectations testing level in both the English Language Arts test and mathematics test. Other than that, there were no additional statistically significant results when analyzing student academic achievement. There were gaps between minimum and maximum resources when looking at the raw data, which implies that gaps do exist and funding could be altered where needed. Future research could look at a variety of specific areas covered in the research study and focus on financial distribution to get a deeper understanding of certain findings within this study. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]