Over the past few decades, the call for fairness in education has shifted from a plea for equality to a plea for equity. However, there is a need to consider the warrant for equity on a scale that is larger than the classroom. School choice, as simple as it may seem, requires equity to provide minority students and those with low socioeconomic…

Using the W.E. Upjohn Institute's Promise Programs Database--a searchable data set covering about 200 place-based scholarship programs--this paper explores how the design of Promise programs can shape their equity impacts. The authors first examine the landscape of place-based programs to understand the impact of program design on equity outcomes.…

In 2013, the California legislature passed AB 97, or the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), a sweeping bill designed to reform its school funding system. This study's purpose is to determine the early impact of the LCFF on African American high school students and their families. Student data was collected via surveys and focus groups using…

This study investigates the relationship between the academic achievement of all students and inadequate funding for English language learners in Colorado school districts. Several stochastic frontier analysis models were used in lieu of traditional production functions in order to achieve clearer estimates. The analyses detected only a few…

The question of whether increased funding pursuant to equity court decisions has improved the education of economically disadvantaged students sparks a lively and spirited debate. In the landmark case of "Abbott v. Burke," the New Jersey Supreme Court held that students in 28 "special needs" districts must receive the same…

This report is a longevity, simulational study that looks at how the ratio of state support to local support effects the number of school districts that breaks the common school's funding formula which in turns effects the equity of distribution to the common schools. After nearly two decades of adequately supporting the funding formula, Oklahoma…

This article is a version of a lecture given by the author at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2012. He reviews his book, "Bad Teacher!: How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture." He examines the issues within the school reform movement in American public education--focusing on what he calls the "bifurcation of…

The objective of the study was to document and analyze the justifications given by federal institutions of the United States for governmental control of mathematics education as function of the achievement gaps (AGs) in mathematics. We wanted to shed light on the discourses made in the public arena that have legitimized this control and firmly…

This report attempts to answer the question of whether or not there are school districts that are perennial to the extremes in the funding of Oklahoma Schools from SY-99 to SY-08. Using data collected from these years, calculations of fiscal neutrality were made and a rank ordering of districts was performed and then collated over the ten year…

On March 25-26, 2010, a cadre of urban education leaders gathered in Baltimore, Maryland for the "Fair Student Funding Summit," a conference that brought together districts that use weighted student funding (WSF) as an approach for allocating dollars to schools. Convened by Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and hosted by Baltimore City…

According to an initial study of finance equity in Georgia, the dominant cause of differences in resource indices among school districts was differences in teacher salaries. Building on two other studies in Milwaukee County (Wisconsin) and Florida that explored factors determining teacher salaries, the Georgia study was replicated, using complete…

This paper examines the relationship between school size and funding levels in North Carolina secondary schools. Data included information from 94 secondary schools concerning classes offered, school enrollment and staffing, school size and location, funding levels, and student achievement in eight selected subjects; principal and teacher…

Recent litigation in Georgia's courts has concerned the constitutionality of the state's system of funding for education and the issue of equal educational opportunities. The state supreme court has decided that, while the system is a poor one in terms of equalization, it bears a rational relationship to legitimate state purposes and thus does not…

Vermont's Act 60 is arguably the most equitable school funding system in the nation. However, it is also one of the most controversial. The disputes are primarily focused on the recapture provision that sends excess revenues from property-rich towns to the state's education trust fund. After a 4-year implementation period, the system is now in its…

Much effort has been made to fund South Carolina's public elementary and secondary schools to meet minimum standards. The legislative purpose is to achieve adequacy, equality, and accountability. A view of the finance reform is provided in two parts. Part 1 offers a historical perspective of South Carolina's financial structure. The paper…