The MacArthur/Spencer special project on Illinois school finance is dedicated to the exploration of three central concepts in Illinois school finance: equity, adequacy, and efficiency. While most reports on the project have dealt directly with equity and adequacy, this report confronts the issue of efficiency by discussing the policy and legal…

In addition to setting high standards for student performance, educational policies must consider what resources are essential to provide an adequate educational program to meet all students' learning needs. Policy makers also want to ensure that educators make efficient use of available resources. In this exploration of school finance policy, we…