RSS Feeds
In Finance and Budgets
The National Center for Education Statistics has updated its figures on state education spending, and Illinois—as usual—lags behind. But this year, researchers at National Louis University hope to jumpstart the school funding conversation with a new definition of “adequate spending.”
Here’s what the latest federal numbers show for fiscal year 2007 (the latest available from NCES):
- Median per-pupil spending in Illinois districts was $9,083 per pupil, below all but six states.
- For instructional expenses only, the state’s median spending was $5,079, well below the national median of $5,824.
- Revenue-rich Illinois districts generated 120 percent more funding than poor districts. Only 19 states had a wider disparity.
- Chicago spent $9,666 per pupil and ranks among the top 25 percent among the 100 largest school districts. But cost-of-living differences and the extra expenses associated with educating a large population of disadvantaged students complicate the comparison. Indeed, Chicago comes up short when compared to other big cities that also serve large numbers of disadvantaged children. These districts spent significantly more: Boston ($19,435), New York ($16,443), Washington DC ($14,324), Atlanta ($12,745), Baltimore ($12,440), Cleveland ($11,383) and Los Angeles ($10,364). Spending less: Miami-Dade ($9,371), Philadelphia ($8,985), Dallas ($8,416), and Houston ($7,994).
The new figures arrive just as the Illinois State Board of Education gears up for fall budget hearings that, unlike in previous years, should be guided by better information.
Responding directly to a lawsuit filed by the Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, Gov. Pat Quinn has reconstituted the state’s Education Funding Advisory Board. The group met in August and will meet again this month, and is charged with setting an advisory level for minimum per-pupil spending by districts. Illinois, however, has never reached the minimum level set by boards under previous administrations.
But a more accurate measure of “adequate” spending will also be available this year. Researchers at National-Louis University launched the Illinois School Funding Adequacy Initiative two years ago and expect to publish their results by the end of October.
The researchers have closely examined the way Illinois schools spend money, comparing their practices with an “evidence-based” model of cost-effective schooling developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by noted researcher Allan R. Odden, professor of educational leadership and policy analysis.
Michelle Turner Mangan, one of the lead researchers at National-Louis, says a growing body of educational research has clearly identified some key parameters on how schools should be staffed and run, including measures such as capping enrollment in tutoring sessions led by certified teachers at five students. She also notes that professional development for teachers works best when instructional coaches work full-time at just one school—helping to develop trust and camaraderie among staff.
With these principles in mind, the National-Louis researchers plan to price out what it would cost schools to ensure every child meets state standards. Funding levels will vary, Mangan notes, based on the concentration of low-income and other needy students in schools.
The report should have some leverage with the state’s funding advisory board. Two of the members on the National-Louis advisory task force—labor leaders Ken Swanson, head of the Illinois Education Association, and Ed Geppert, head of the Illinois Federation of Teachers—were also appointed by the governor to the state’s five-member funding advisory board.
Mangan says it’s too early to say if Illinois per-pupil spending falls short of what the University of Wisconsin model calls for. But many signs point to yes. She notes that a similar study in Wisconsin found that spending was about $500 per pupil too low.
Wisconsin, according to the latest federal figures, spent $11,040 per student in 2007—nearly $2,000 more than Illinois.
Digg
Del.icio.us
MailIf you look at the Wisconsin NCLB benchmark test for reading at grade level 10 you see that 54% of black students are reading below proficiency. In Illinois at grade 11, 81.2% of black students are reading below state standards. In Illinois at grade 11, 69.1% of Hispanic students are reading below state standards, in Wisconsin 42% of Hispanic grade 10 students are reading below proficiency. In Illinois at grade 11, 81.2% of students with disabilities are reading below state standards, in Wisconsin 60% of its grade 10 students with disabilities are reading below proficiency level.
But for white students the story is a little different only 35.3% of Illinois grade 11 white students are reading below standards, while 18% of Wisconsin’s grade 10 white students are below proficiency in reading.
Based on the data in the article it appears that Wisconsin is on average spending about 22% more per child than is Illinois. We can see almost a dollar for dollar improvement for minority students and for students with disabilities in Wisconsin as compared to Illinois. But for white students we do not see that, in fact we see that the reading gap for Wisconsin’s white students and Illinois white students is relatively small about 17%. It is not commensurate with the funding gap between our two states. In fact it could be argued, cynically it could be suggested, that Illinois reading instruction is more cost effective for our state’s white children than is Wisconsin’s. Of course there are numerous other factors like local school spending to take into consideration that mitigate that argument to a degree.
Since white children represent 54% of the school students in the state (about 1.1 million white students in total) the reading competency of these students in relation to the cost per child appears even better. This is especially the cases when one considers that Wisconsin has in its schools only 666,445 white students, only 90,720 black students, and 69,784 Hispanic students. Comparatively Illinois has about 398,240 black students and 412,759 Hispanic students.
If we take this to a societal level and look at reading scores across all grades in Illinois and Wisconsin because of Illinois far larger school enrollment Illinois is sending into society as a whole thousands and thousands of more proficient readers than is Wisconsin. We are also sending into society thousands and thousands more young adults who can not effectively read.
Given the high numbers of non-proficient readers in Wisconsin I do not really see that state as much of a benchmark for Illinois. Clearly Wisconsin is not educating all of its students to high standards, therefore I question if it can be used as a measurement of adequate spending on a state wide basis. I do not believe that being better than lowly Illinois equates to adequate school funding.
Rod Estvan
Access Living of Chicago
There may be some confusion, however. The ISFAI researchers are using the "evidence-based" resource model developed by Dr. Odden at the University of Wisconsin to get a measure of what they believe is the appropriate funding levels needed for Illinois schools. They are not, however, examining funding in Wisconsin's public schools.
I noted Wisconsin only as a way to point out that a similar analysis found that the state's school funding was deemed inadequate.
By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Catalyst-Chicago reserves the right to delete or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule, and to ban anyone who violates this rule. Reader comments are limited to 500 words.
