Making money matter : financing America's schools / Helen F. Ladd and Janet S. Hansen, editors ; Committee on Education Finance, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ladd, Helen F.

Hansen, Janet S.

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Education Finance.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education--United States--Finance.

Education.

Educational productivity.

United States.

Finance.

Educational productivity--United States.

Educational equalization--United States.

Educational equalization.

Educational change--United States.

Educational change.

Physical Description:

xiii, 352 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, [1999]

Summary:

The United States annually spends over $300 billion on public elementary and secondary education. As the nation enters the 21st century, it faces a major challenge: how to best tie this financial investment to the goal of high levels of achievement for all students. In addition, policymakers want assurance that education dollars are being raised and used in the most efficient and effective possible ways. The book covers such topics as: -- Legal and legislative efforts to reduce spending and achievement gaps.-- The shift from "equity" to "adequacy" as a new standard for determining fairness in education spending.-- The debate and the evidence over the productivity of American schools.-- Strategies for using school finance in support of broader reforms aimed at raising student achievement.

This book contains a comprehensive review of the theory and practice of financing public schools by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. It distills the best available knowledge about the fairness and productivity of expenditures on education and assesses options for changing the finance system.

Contents:

Fairness and Productivity in School Finance 6

Strategies for Meeting the Goals 7

Shifting Expectations of School Finance 17

Education, Values, and the Role of Expertise 22

Roles and Responsibilities in American Education 26

Goal 1 Facilitating Higher Levels of Achievement for All Students in a Cost-Efficient Manner 34

Goal 2 Breaking the Nexus Between Student Background Characteristics and Student Achievement 44

Goal 3 Raising Revenues Fairly and Efficiently 53

Strategies for Meeting the Goals 61

Part II Fairness and Productivity in School Finance 65

3 Equity I

Spending on Schools 67

The Meaning of Equity 69

Pursuing Finance Equity Through the Courts 71

Other Approaches to Spending Equity 81

Reform and Spending Inequities 89

Equity at the Dawn of the New Century 98

4 Equity II

The Adequacy of Education 101

Possible Meanings of Adequacy 102

The Shift Toward Adequacy 107

State Responses to the Adequacy Movement 110

Conceptual and Technical Challenges 112

Promises and Pitfalls 131

5 Improving the Productivity of Schools 134

Defining and Measuring Productivity 135

Understanding Educational Productivity 138

Using Finance-Related Strategies to Improve School Performance 161

Part III Strategies for Meeting the Goals 163

6 Achieving Goal 1: Promoting Higher Achievement in a Cost-Efficient Way 165

Reducing Funding Inequities and Inadequacies 165

Investing in Capacity 167

Changing Incentives to Make Performance Count 176

Empowering Schools or Parents or Both to Make Decisions About the Use of Public Funds 183

7 Achieving Goal 2: Breaking the Nexus 196

Reducing Funding Inequities and Inadequacies 196

Investing in Capacity 202

Changing Incentives to Make Performance Count 214

Empowering Schools or Parents or Both to Make Decisions About the Use of Public Funds 227

8 Achieving Goal 3: Raising Revenue Fairly and Efficiently 232

Evaluation of the Property Tax 233

Should the Mix of Local Taxes Be Changed? 239

Would State Taxes Be Better? 243

Should States Play a Bigger Role in Revenue Raising? 247

Should a Greater Share of Funding for Education Come from the Federal Government? 258

Balancing Values 263

Focusing on Adequacy 264

Promoting Fair Spending and Revenue Raising 265

Making Money Matter More 267

New Research Initiatives for Urban Areas 267

A Data Needs 315.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0309065283

OCLC:

43034429