Giving Compass' Take:
- · A report examining school finance data from the 2015-16 school year reveals that a majority of states inadequately support higher-poverty districts, limiting their ability to achieve national average test scores.
- · What can be done to increase funding for these areas and improve students' test scores? How does this put low-income students at a disadvantage? What can donors do to help level the playing field?
- · Check out this article to see how this high-poverty school district is improving student achievement.
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In recent years, more attention has been drawn to the widespread issues in the school finance system and the problems that occur as a result. It's a known fact that schools and districts, as a whole, have struggled to be adequately funded, and this issue subsequently affects the quality of education a set of students is able to receive. It's also important to note that this issue disproportionately affects lower-income areas and communities, which often need more resources than their more affluent peers — and still aren't given enough support to acquire them. Even when controlling for outside factors, including district size and population density, the report finds that the current state school finance system needs improvement.
"Certainly, there are plenty of contentious debates about how education funds should be spent," the authors write. "But regardless of one’s opinions on specific education policies, virtually all of the options for improving America’s schools require investment — particularly for disadvantaged students."
Things are better now — in many cases, at least — than they have been. After about a decade, state funding amounts have neared pre-recession levels, and in many areas where teachers went on strike in 2018, state education funding has increased.
Read the full article about higher-poverty districts by Jessica Campisi at Education Dive.