A VERY DIFFERENT WAY TO IMPROVE AMERICAN EDUCATION
https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/school-funding-effectiveness-ca-lcff-report
President Trump proposes to dismantle the US Department of Education. The Education Department helps state and local school departments pay for educational services to low-income children and disabled children with learning difficulties. It helps pay for college educations for families (parents and students) who cannot otherwise afford it. It represents 10% of public-school funding, but it is targeted at those kids who are often left behind by state and local education officials.
A recent report looks at some pretty remarkable results in improving public education in California. The Local Control Funding Formula improved student achievement; it reduced grade repetition; it increased high school graduation rates and college readiness; and it reduced student suspensions. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/school-funding-effectiveness-ca-lcff-report There were no equivalent improvements for students in the schools which did not receive LCFF funding.
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) increased school funding in those school districts with high rates of “high need” students – foster care kids, lower income kids and English learners – at a cost of $18 billion over 8 years. Each district receiving the increased funds had to develop its own plan to improve student learning. Typically these plans were for class size reductions, for better teacher salaries, and for increased teacher retention in the “high need” schools.
The report found that a $1,000 increase in per pupil spending sustained over 3 years resulted in a full grade level increase in student achievement in both math and reading. In other words if your eight year old was reading at a second grade level, he or she would now be reading at a third grade level due to the targeted funding increase.
Similarly, a $1,000 increase in per pupil spending sustained over 3 years resulted in a 5% reduction in children being held back a grade because they were not performing at grade level in elementary school.
A $1,000 increase in per pupil spending sustained over the 4 high school years resulted in an 8% increase in graduation rates.
A $1,000 increase in per pupil spending sustained over 3 high school years resulted in a 9.8% improvement in math readiness for college and a 14.7% increase in reading readiness for college.
All of these improvements continued to grow and improve for the students in the “high need” schools throughout the 8 years of the increased LCFF funding.