Author: Celia Avant Drews

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13:

With increasing public school accountability and inevitable legislation in the future of the school finance system, educational productivity is of paramount concern in 2006 and beyond. This study of educational productivity adds to the field of research by examining the relationship between resource allocation in a school district and student performance. PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between allocation of resources and individual student achievement as measured by state-mandated assessments over a four year period. Four research questions guided the inquiry: 1) What is the relationship between expenditures on district leadership and student achievement for K-12 public school districts in Texas as measured by the Reading and Mathematics Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) at grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 over four academic years, 2002-2003 through 2005-2006? 2) What is the relationship between expenditures on campus leadership and student achievement for K-12 public school districts in Texas as measured by the Reading and Mathematics TAKS at grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 over four academic years, 2002-2003 through 2005-2006? 3) What is the relationship between expenditures on instruction and student achievement for K-12 public school districts in Texas as measured by the Reading and Mathematics TAKS at grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 over four academic years, 2002-2003 through 2005-2006? 4) What is the relationship between expenditures on professional development and student achiement for K-12 public school districts in Texas as measured by the Reading and Mathematics TAKS at grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 over four academic years, 2002-2003 through 2005-2006? METHODS: Data from 8,120 students within 43 districts across the state of Texas who participated in TAKS math and reading in grades three, four, five, and six for school years 2002-2003 through 2005-2006 were used in the analyses. Data was obtained from each of the 43 participating districts. Financial data for school years 2002-2003 through 2005-2006 was obtained online from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Descriptive statistics and One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to examine the relationships between expenditures and reading and math achievement. A multilevel growth model was calculated to explain the amount of variation at the campus or student level as well as the district level. FINDINGS: Results of this study support the mixed findings of previous research in that some expenditures impact achievement and some do not. By categorizing percent of a district budget expended on each fund area into low, median, and high, results revealed that there is a difference between how much districts spent for district leadership and both reading and math achievement over the time period of this study, 2002-2003 through 2005-2006. Results of the multilevel growth modeling revealed that students who were coded low socioeconomic status (SES) started lower for both math and reading achievement. Additionally, low SES students' scores for math and reading achievement actually declined three to five points for each year of the study. Expenditures on district leadership had no effect on reading or math achievement over the time of this study. Results for expenditures on campus leadership revealed that districts who spent more on campus leadership started slightly lower on reading achievement but there was no effect on growth over time. For math achievement, districts who spent more on campus leadership began 62 points higher, but declined about 48 points for each year of the study. In regard to expenditures on instruction, there was no effect for math achievement. However, for reading achievement, districts who spent more on instruction started slightly higher, but there was no effect over the time of the study. Districts who expended higher percentages of the budget on professional development had higher starting points for grade three TAKS reading. However, those same districts started slightly lower for grade three TAKS math. While expenditures examined in this study had some effect on student achievement, expenditures at the district level are too far removed to reveal the true effects on individual student achievement.