Targeted Funding for Educationally Disadvantaged Students: A Regression Discontinuity Estimate of the Impact on High School Student Achievement

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Targeted Funding for Educationally Disadvantaged Students: A Regression Discontinuity Estimate of the Impact on High School Student Achievement
Language: English
Authors: Henry, Gary T., Fortner, C. Kevin, Thompson, Charles L.
Source: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Jun 2010 32(2):183-204.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 22
Publication Date: 2010
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Descriptors: Educationally Disadvantaged, Academic Achievement, Educational Opportunities, Regression (Statistics), Educational Vouchers, Funding Formulas, Educational Policy, Policy Analysis, Program Effectiveness, Educational Assessment, Educational Indicators, Predictor Variables, Educational Improvement, Improvement Programs
Geographic Terms: North Carolina
DOI: 10.3102/0162373710370620
ISSN: 0162-3737
Abstract: Evaluating the impacts of public school funding on student achievement has been an important objective for informing education policymaking but fraught with data and methodological limitations. Findings from prior research have been mixed at best, leaving policymakers with little advice about the benefits of allocating public resources to schools or how it might best be done. In this study, the authors take advantage of a pilot supplemental funding program in North Carolina that used a quantitative index of educational advantage to select the most educationally disadvantaged districts in the state to receive funding. The targeted districts received supplemental funds of $250 per pupil or $840 per academically disadvantaged pupil for the 2 years of the pilot. Using a regression discontinuity design and multilevel models with extensive controls, the authors estimate that the marginal average treatment effect of the supplemental funding was 0.133 standard deviation units and that the effect on educationally disadvantaged students was 0.098 standard deviation units. The treatment effect represents approximately one third of the difference between the average score in top performing and low performing high schools. (Contains 1 note, 2 tables, and 5 figures.)
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 39
Entry Date: 2010
Accession Number: EJ891352
Database: ERIC
Be the first to leave a comment!
You must be logged in first