Topic: Uneven Funding for Schools in Certain Areas
Solution: Increase Federal Funding for schools in low-income areas while other schools
that are in better keep receiving state and local funding. Stop relying on standardized
test scores as a method of how much funding certain schools should receive because it
creates a loop of students who are in bad schools doing bad on tests, and the schools
stay bad because of little funding.
Source 1:
“Inequality in Public School Funding: American University.” School of Education
Online, 27 Oct. 2022,
soeonline.american.edu/blog/inequality-in-public-school-funding/.
Summary:
Disparities in wealth distribution to schools contribute to unequal grounds for education
opportunities. The article shows that the use of local property taxes is bad because it
leads to substantial funding gaps between affluent and low income districts, which
results in high income schools from wealthier districts and underfunded schools in lower
income areas. Predominantly white districts receive 23 Billion more than districts
composed primarily of colored individuals. The disparities in funding create large
problems such as outdated instructional materials, poor facilities, and a greater student
to teacher ratio resulting in some students not getting as much attention as they might
need.
Source 2:
Rose, Katherine. “Separate and Unequal: School Funding in ‘Post-Racial’
America.” Right to Education Initiative, www.right-to-education.org/ar/node/741.
Summary:
The article is about the persistent disparities in public education due to school funding.
The 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld this funding system, stating that education,
while important, is not a fundamental right under the Constitution. As a result, affluent
districts with higher property values generate more revenue for schools, while poorer
districts struggle with limited resources. This funding mechanism disproportionately
affects minority students, with over two-thirds attending schools where the majority of
students are low-income. The article highlights that in urban public schools, 59.8% of
students are low-income, and the overwhelming majority are minorities attending
majority-minority schools.
"Nationwide, over two-thirds of minority students attend schools where the proportion of
low-income students is more than one in every two."
"72 percent of Black students, 68 percent of Hispanic / Latino students, and 65 percent
of Native American students all come from households where income is over 100
percent lower than the federal poverty line."
"In urban public schools, the majority of students (59.8%) are low-income, and the
overwhelming majority of students are minorities who attend majority-minority schools."
Source 3:
USAFacts team. “How Are Public Schools Funded?”, USAFacts,
usafacts.org/articles/how-are-public-schools-funded/.
Summary: This article is all about how schools are funded. Schools receive funding
from three main sources: Local, State, and Federal funding. Local funding primarily
comes from property taxes within a school’s district. In more than half of the U.S, local
taxes contribute over 30% of total public school funding. State funding is determined
based on several formulas. Some of these include enrollment numbers, district needs,
and test scores. The amount of funding varies depending on the state. Federal funding
only contributes to a small percentage of total public school funding. It usually focuses
on specific programs and needs. The funds are given through Title I grants, the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Child Nutrition Act. This is why
federal funding should increase.
Source 4:
“Government-Mandated Standardized Tests for Schools.” Everything Policy Briefs,
www.everythingpolicy.org/policy-briefs/government-mandated-standardized-tests-f
or-schools.
Summary: Article is all about how standardized tests are used by the federal and state
governments to assess student performance and evaluate schools. The assessments
are made to provide quantitative data measures on academic performance and realize
decisions regarding school ratings and funding. These tests are not very effective
because they do not lead to students learning outcomes to be improved. If a school
receives low funding because they did poorly on standardized tests, then they will
continue to do poorly because they do not receive any additional help to improve their
conditions and students' education. The use of standardized tests also affects the way
teachers teach their students and can be harmful because the curriculum becomes
narrowed to primarily focus on test preparation rather than real world preparation.
Source 5:
Martin, Carmel, et al. “A Quality Approach to School Funding.” Center for American
Progress, 29 July 2024,
www.americanprogress.org/article/quality-approach-school-funding/.
Summary: Article is about how future reforms should prioritize the quality of
education, ensuring equitable funding to address systemic inequities. Supports the
speech’s main argument of reforms that should be made in order to decrease the
inequalities between schools in high-income areas compared to those in
low-income areas. Increase the amount of funding that the federal government
provides specifically to schools in lower-income areas, and additionally stop using
inaccurate data points such as standardized testing in order to determine how
much funding certain schools should receive due to their performance. Schools
with less resources are bound to do worse than those with more, so if you just
further reduce their funding, then the gap will just widen, and repeat in a cycle.