Student-Centered Funding and Student Outcomes
The Case for K-12 Student-Based Budgeting in Georgia
Lisa Snell
December 8, 2015
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools $578 Million
Teachers’ Lounge
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools $578 Million
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools $578 Million
Performance California Academic Performance Index
2012 to 2013
• Los Angeles High School of the Arts
-27
•School for the Visual Arts and Humanities
-5
•Ambassador School of Global Education
-12
•Ambassador School of Global Leadership
-8
•UCLA Community Schools
-17
Do Districts Fund Students Fairly or Why Backpack Funding?
U.S. Department of Education Study: Comparability of State and Local
Expenditures Among Schools Within Districts: A Report From the Study of
School-Level Expenditures
•
•
•
•
•
States were required to report all school level expenditures to federal government
to receive ARRA funding
Feds examined 6,129 school districts across United States
Nearly half of all schools had per-pupil personnel expenditures that were more
than 10 percent above or below their district’s average.
Among districts with at least one Title I school and one non–Title I school at that
school grade level, 47 percent of the Title I districts had lower personnel
expenditures per pupil in their Title I elementary schools than in their non–Title I
elementary schools. This percentage was about the same for middle schools (46
percent) but lower for high schools (39 percent).
Sixty-three percent of districts with two or more elementary schools had at least
one higher-poverty school with per pupil personnel expenditures that were below
the district’s average for lower-poverty schools. Again, the percentages were lower
for middle schools (55 percent) and high schools (47 percent).
Texas: Education Next Study
Education Next Fall 2015: Early evidence shows reforms lifting student
achievement
A 2015 Education Research Alliance study at Tulane University
found that the New Orleans education reforms achieved a ~.4 effect
size, which is the largest citywide effect the researchers have ever
seen an effect that surpasses most of what you see in pre-k and class
size reduction studies (at about a quarter of the cost).
We are not aware of any other districts that have made such large
improvements in such a short time.
NOLA ACT Scores Move from ~25th to ~40th Percentile
October 2015 New Orleans H.S. Results
• More than half of New Orleans high schools earned a letter grade of
A or B. Five years ago, only two high schools had an A or B letter
grades and both were selective admission schools (Ben Franklin and
Lusher).
• New Orleans schools outperform other high-poverty high schools in
Louisiana. Among schools statewide serving student populations
where three-quarters or more of students are economically
disadvantaged, New Orleans has the top 5 performing schools.
Louisiana 2014 to 2015 H.S. Improvement
School
Edna Karr Secondary
School
International High
School
Joseph S. Clark
Preparatory High School
KIPP Renaissance High
School
Lake Area New Tech
Early College High
School
New Orleans Military
and Maritime Academy
Sci Academy
Warren Easton
2014 2015
Grade Grade
B
A
C
B
F
D
D
B
D
C
C
A
C
B
B
A
Drew Carey Goes to Cleveland to ask for SBB
Cleveland Improves Most on Nation’s Report Card 2015
• After more than a decade of flat and low results in national testing,
CMSD now ranks near the top in academic growth when compared
with 20 other large U.S. urban school districts, according to
the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
• Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City
Schools, said CMSD’s gains are “uniformly larger and better than any
other school district in the country.” The council represents 68 large
U.S. urban districts.
Cleveland-ERS Case Study
• Keys to success include:
• Increasing school-level control over school budgets and supporting
school leaders to use this flexibility to target time and attention to
meet student needs
• Increasing school-level flexibility to hire the staff that best meets their
needs
• Providing for teacher teams to collaborate around data and
instruction
Weighted Student Formula Yearbook Analysis
Performance Metrics
Principal Autonomy
School Empowerment Benchmarks
2011 Proficiency Rates
Proficiency Rate Improvement
Expected Proficiency vs. Actual
Proficiency Rate Data: 2008 – 2011
Student Groups
• White
• Hispanic
• African-American
• Low-Income
• Non-Low-Income
School Levels
• Elementary
• Middle
• High School
School Subjects
• Reading
• Mathematics
• Science
Expected Proficiency Improvement
2011 Graduation Rates
2011 Achievement Gaps
Achievement Gap Improvement
Achievement Gap Closure
Principal Autonomy – The percentage of yearly operating
funds allocated to the school-level as part of the district’s
weighted student formula.
School District Rankings
School District
Rank
Grade
Houston Independent School District
Hartford Public School District
Cincinnati Public School District
Oakland Unified School District
Poudre Public School District
Minneapolis Public School District
San Francisco Unified School District
Boston City Public School District
St. Paul Public School District
Prince George's County Public School District
Denver Public School District
Newark Public School District
Milwaukee Public School District
Baltimore Public School District
New York City Department of Education
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
N/A
A+
A
AAB+
B
B
BC+
C
C
CD
F
N/A
Houston Independent School District
Program Name: Weighted Student Funding
Implementation: 2000 - 2001
Benchmarks Reached: 9 out of 10
Principal Autonomy: 42.9%
Achievement Gaps Closing: 22 out of 27
Baltimore Public School District
Program Name: Fair Student Funding
Implementation: 2008 - 2009
Benchmarks Reached: 9 out of 10
Principal Autonomy: 29.6%
Achievement Gaps Closing: 2 out of 18
Key Findings
Greater Principal
Autonomy
Percent of Achievement Gaps Closing vs. Predicted
Probability of Achievement Gap Closing
Better Student
Outcomes
Percent of Gaps Closing
Predicted Probability of Gap Closing
100%
90%
”
2013 Weighted Student Formula Yearbook
80%
Houston
Poudre
70%
Gap Closure
“
Holding all else constant, a school district
that allocated 50 percent of its FY2011
budget to weighted student formula,
where money follows the student, is nearly
10 times more likely to close achievement
gaps than a district that only allocated 20
percent of its FY2011 budget to weighted
student formula.
Hartford
60%
Oakland
Cincinnati
Minneapolis
50%
40%
San Francisco
30%
20%
Milwaukee
10% Baltimore
0%
30%
35%
St. Paul
Denver
40%
45%
50%
55%
Percent of FY2011 Autonomy
60%
65%
Predicted Improvement Rank vs. Average Improvement Rank
Disadvantaged Student Groups
Ave Rank
RSD-NO
10
9
8
Hartford
7
Houston
Denver
Milwaukee
Poudre
St. Paul
Dou…
6
5
4
3
Cincinnati
Oakland
San Francisco
Minneapolis
Baltimore
2
W
Proficiency Improvement Decile Ranks
(10=Fastest Improving)
Predicted Rank
W
1
30%
40%
50%
60%
90%
100%
Percentage of Budget Allocated Per-Pupil
districts with a higher amount of budget autonomy are predicted to
“School
have a higher ranking for proficiency improvement, though their actual
rankings may be higher or lower depending on exogenous factors.
”
Key SBB Principles
Equitable Funding
Portability
School Autonomy
Transparency
Service-Oriented District Office
Accountability