Pre-K
to 12 Students, 2005-2006: 1,031,985
Annual
Per-Pupil Expenditures, 2004-2005: $7,706
%
Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch, 2005-2006: 36.5%
| Study Title: |
“An
Evidence-Based Approach to School Finance Adequacy
in Washington” |
| |
|
| Date Completed: |
September 2006 |
| |
|
| Definition of Adequacy |
The study defines adequacy as the
level of instruction necessary to have all students
acquire the knowledge, skills, and expertise they
need to attend college or work in the global economy.
The study derives its standards for adequacy from
the expectations included in Washington’s
Essential Academic Learning Requirements, which
define what students are to be taught, and from
the standards included in the Washington Assessment
of Student Learning, the state’s testing system
which includes a definition of what is considered
proficient. |
| |
|
| Calculated Base Costs: |
The study does not establish
a base cost for adequacy. Rather, it isolates strategies
that it claims have proven to be effective and makes
recommendations based on this evidence. The study
estimates the effect sizes of major recommendations
based on the standard deviation in higher performance
for the students that participate in the programs
versus those that do not. |
| |
|
| Major Recommendations: |
The study premises its recommendations
on six core strategies:
Recalibrating goals for student
learning to have at least 90 percent of students,
including low income, students of color, English
language learners and students with disabilities,
reach proficiency standards.
Re-engineering schools to increase
the use of more powerful instructional strategies
and to utilize resources more effectively.
Redesign teacher development so
that all teachers acquire the expertise to educate
all students to proficiency.
Reinforce achievement for struggling
students by providing extended learning opportunities
by holding performance standards high and varying
instructional time so that all students can achieve
these standards.
Retool
school technology
Restructure teacher compensation
to a knowledge and skills-based pay system |
| |
|
| Additional Findings: |
The study concludes that doubling student performance
cannot be accomplished in the current school system
and that Washington needs a more powerful vision
of a school. The study also concludes that contrary
to arguments against costing-out studies, it
is the way money is spent that will make the largest
and critical differences in making dramatic
improvement in student performance. |
| |
|
| Special Features of the Study: |
The study accounts for additional costs
for special education, low-income, and gifted
students as well as English language learners.
The study accounted for full day kindergarten,
but it did not include pre-Kindergarten programs.
The costs included in this study address mainly
instructional issues, and it also accounted for
technology and operation costs.
The study also acknowledges increased costs faced
by “necessarily small districts,”
which are determined by the Washington Department
of Education.
This study did not consider food service
costs, transportation costs, costs associated
with community services, adult education, or capital
costs (such as school building construction).
These costs are ordinarily excluded from adequacy
studies. |
| |
|
| Methodology:
|
This study uses the Evidence-Based
Approach to identify a set of components
necessary to deliver comprehensive and high-quality
instruction. It backs each element with evidence
which the authors of the study believe demonstrate
effectiveness. The proposals it establishes take
current instructional resources and reallocate them
to fit a prototype based on what they believe are
proven effective results. |
| |
|
| Public Input: |
Public comment was taken at public meetings of
the K-12 Advisory Committee of Washington Learns,
the sponsor of the study. |
| |
|
| Implications: |
This study aims to build a model that
induces schools to take advantage of available evidence
on educational effectiveness and redesign the way
they operate. |
| |
|
| Implementation: |
None to date |
| |
|
| Prepared for: |
K-12 Advisory Committee of Washington
Learns |
| |
|
| Prepared by: |
Lawrence O. Picus and Associates |
