Ensuring Better Use of School Finance Reform Dollars: Lessons from Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas and Arkansas Lawrence O. Picus USC Rossier School of Education Michelle Turner Mangan CPRE UW-Madison Lawrence O. Picus and Associates

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Session Overview Trends in School/District Response to Finance Reform Early CPRE Findings in KY, TX and NJ Application of the Evidence Based Model in Arkansas Implications for future research and policy

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Early Findings in Three States Kentucky Rose v. Council for Better Education First “adequacy” decision Dramatic restructuring of KY Education Funding (SEEK) Assessment Outcome More funds Improved student performance Recent adequacy ruling in new suit

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Early Findings in Three States Texas Edgewood case Perot reforms State assessment system Data availability Recent court case and Legislative actions Results More funding Greater Equity No clear improvement in performance

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Early Findings in Three States New Jersey Cahill v. Robinson Abbott Case Changes in spending patterns Foundation program adequate for Success for All program Abbott districts’ funding equal to high spending districts Findings High spending Student performance

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Conclusions from Studies of the 1990s Equity Findings School finance equity improved in most states States generally “equalized up” Wealthy districts shifted from low tax high spending to high tax high spending Poor districts went from high tax low spending to low tax low spending

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Conclusions About the Use of Education Dollars Steady increase in per pupil spending Consistent pattern of expenditures over time, location, and expenditure level Change in composition of instruction expenditures Administration is not overly large Increase in spending not matched by increases in student achievement

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Conclusions from Early Adequacy Implementation Districts often did not follow model recommendations in making spending decisions There are many existing programs that “work” to improve student learning Need to think about “resources” not dollars

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Instructional Materials Pupil Support: Parent/Community Outreach/ Involvement Gifted Tutors and pupil support: 1 per 100 at risk Elem 20% Middle 20% High School 33% The Evidence Based Model: Students Ready for College, Work in the Global Economy, & Citizenship K-3: 15 to : 25 to 1 State and CESAs District Admin Site-based Leadership Teacher Compensation ELL 1 per 100 Technology

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan What happened after school finance reform in Arkansas? Changes resulting from Act 59: 2004 to 2006 Local Revenue up 14% State Revenue up 68% Categorical Revenue increased from $10 per student to $400 per student Total Revenue up 42% Current Expenditures up 20% Expenditures closer to the national average

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Did Arkansas Schools Use New Funds Effectively? School level fiscal data were not available Lawrence O. Picus and Associates Contracted to study school uses of resources Study Goals Identify how resources are used by educational strategies Identify the strategies built into the Arkansas funding model

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Resource Use in Arkansas: A Preliminary Analysis Random Sample of 107 schools 55 Elementary 17 Middle 35 High Schools 48,132 Students Average 53% NSL Average 13% Special Education Average 5% ELL

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan AR School Resource Use: Instructional Time Average Instructional Day: 6 hours, 13 min. Average Class Length Math: 64 minutes Reading (Elementary): 1 hour, 53 minutes English/LA (Mid/High): 57 minutes Soc. Studies & Science (Mid/High): 53 min. ea.

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Resource Use in the Average School in the Total Sample StaffingFunding ModelSample Principal * Instr. Facilitator Secretary ** Core Teachers Spec. Teachers Tutors *** Librarian Pupil Support

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas: Actual Resource Use in the Sample StaffingFunding ModelActual Principal96104 Asst. Principal063 Instr. Facilitator24149 Core Teachers1,9971,984 Spec. Teachers Instructional Aides0389 Tutors28834 Librarian6799 Pupil Support241376

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan AR School Resource Use: Students per Core Teacher State Funding Model Actual Elementary23:1 Range (13-24):1 Average 20:1 Middle25:1 Range (11-35):1 Average 25:1 High25:1 Range (10-41):1 Average 29:1

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan AR School Resource Use: Core Teachers in Sample Schools State Funding Model Actual Elementary8971,007 Middle High TOTAL1,9971,984

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan AR School Resource Uses: Instructional Aides 37 Library Aides 49 Resource Room Aides 20 ELL Aides 52 Other Extra Help Aides 61 Special Education Inclusion Aides 57 Special Ed. Resource Room Aides 113 Other Instructional Aides = Total of 389 Instructional Aides

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan AR School Resource Uses: Tutors NSL Concentration State Funding ModelActual in Sample < 70% 1 Tutor for Every 100 Students = % 2 Tutors for Every 100 Students = ≥90% 3 Tutors for Every 100 Students = 18 2 TOTAL28834

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas: The High School Schedule Trends Lots of electives and a 7 period day Football, basketball, & baseball as classes in addition to physical education

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Teacher Beginning and Average Salaries Rose Beginning Teacher Salaries New teacher salary = $27,218 New teacher salary = $30,070 Average Teacher Salaries Average teacher salary = $39,409 Average teacher salary = $41,489 Most Change Was in the Smallest and Poorest Districts

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan What Happened in Arkansas? Increased resources based on Evidence Based Model Districts were not required to use resources according to the model Districts did not use new resources for the evidence-based, high impact strategies

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan What Happened in Arkansas? Class Size Elementary class size averaged 20 with funding for 23 Middle school class size averaged 25 with funding for 25 High school class sizes averaged 29 with funding for 25 Specialist Teachers Sample schools had 815 specialists Total was 40% of core teachers Model provided 399 or 20% of core teachers

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan What Happened in Arkansas? Instructional Coaches Schools averaged 0.20 instructional coaches for every 200 students The model funded 1 coach per 200 students Instructional coaches may have been present in the districts, but were not available at the school level Teacher Tutors Schools averaged 0.15 tutors for every 100 poverty students The model funded 1 per 100 Rather than using the resources for extra help, many local educators wanted to use the “extra help” resources for smaller classes and higher salaries, neither of which provides extra help for struggling students.

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan What Happened in Arkansas? Teacher Salaries Most districts increased teacher salaries They used the dollars provided for extra training days in the model But few expanded systemic professional development. Weak leadership at all levels (school, district, intermediate and state) to support strategies known to double student performance

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan What Should Happen Now Put some constraints on use of some resources: NSL money focused on tutoring Instructional facilitators Mount a statewide leadership and capacity development strategy to “double” student performance over the next ten years

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Our Work in Other States Washington Developed an Evidence Based Model Successful District Study Wyoming Recalibration of funding model Comprehensive assessment of school and district use of resources in partnership with University of Wyoming

Insuring Better Use of School Finance Reform Dollars: Lessons from Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas and Arkansas Supplemental Graphics

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas Beginning Teacher Salary by District Size

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas Beginning Teacher Salary by Assessed Valuation Per Pupil

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas Average Teacher Salary by District Size

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas Average Teacher Salary by Assessed Valuation Per Pupil

Lawrence Picus and Michelle Turner Mangan Arkansas Districts Increased the Number of Contract Days