ERIC Number: ED527141
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Nov
Pages: 78
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Comparability of State and Local Expenditures among Schools within Districts: A Report from the Study of School-Level Expenditures
Heuer, Ruth; Stullich, Stephanie
Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, US Department of Education
This report from the Study of School-Level Expenditures presents findings on how state and local education expenditures at the school level vary within school districts. This study is not examining compliance with the current Title I comparability requirement, nor does it examine the comparability of resources between districts. Rather, it focuses on the question of whether Title I schools and higher-poverty schools have comparable levels of per-pupil expenditures as non-Title I schools and lower-poverty schools within the same district. More specifically, this report examines three questions: (1) To what extent do Title I schools have lower per-pupil expenditures from state and local funds, compared with non-Title I schools in their district?; (2) To what extent do higher-poverty schools in Title I districts have lower per-pupil expenditures from state and local funds, compared with lower-poverty schools in their district?; and (3) Does the extent to which Title I schools and higher-poverty schools receive lower levels of state and local funding vary for different types of expenditures? Findings include: (1) Per-pupil personnel expenditures often varied considerably across schools within districts, and nearly half of all schools had per-pupil personnel expenditures that were more than 10 percent above or below their district's average. Some, but not all, of these differences were related to school grade level; (2) Within-district comparability analyses were relevant for a relatively small proportion of school districts, but these districts accounted for a large proportion of students; (3) Within districts that had both Title I and non-Title I schools, more than 40 percent of Title I schools had lower personnel expenditures per pupil than did non-Title I schools at the same school grade level; (4) Similarly, more than one-third of higher-poverty schools (above their district's poverty average) had lower per-pupil personnel expenditures than lower-poverty schools in their districts at the same school grade level; (5) Most Title I districts had at least one Title I school with per-pupil personnel expenditures below the district average for non-Title I schools at the same school grade level; and (6) Other expenditure categories examined in this study resulted in an increase in the percentages of Title I schools that had expenditures below their district's averages for non-Title I schools at the same school grade level. Appended are: (1) Data Reporting Instructions; (2) Statutory Language for Title I Comparability Requirement: "Elementary and Secondary Education Act", Title I, Section 1120A; and (3) Supplemental Exhibits. (Contains 43 exhibits and 8 footnotes.
Descriptors: Disadvantaged Schools, School Districts, Educational Finance, Differences, Expenditure per Student, Local Norms, State Norms, Elementary Secondary Education, Poverty, Resource Allocation
Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, US Department of Education. Available from: ED Pubs. Education Publications Center, US Department of Education, NTIS, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, VA 22304. Tel: 877-433-7827; Fax: 703-605-6794; e-mail: edpubs@edpubs.ed.gov; Web site: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/index.html
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development (ED), Policy and Program Studies Service; RTI International
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A