Allocation of educational resources to improve student achievement: Case studies of non-title I schools

UnrestrictedThe purpose of the present study was to investigate, through analysis of school-level data, how California schools allocate resources in which standardized assessments, such as California Standards Tests, measure student achievement as well as educational adequacy. Four research questions were developed to guide the study: (1) What are the current instructional vision and improvement strategies at the school level?; (2) How are resources at the school and district used to implement the school’s instructional improvement plan?; (3) How did the allocation and use of resources at the school change in response to the recent budget adjustments including overall funding reductions and changes in the use of categorical funds?; and (4) How are the actual resource use patterns at the school sites aligned with or different from the resource use strategies used in the Evidence Based or other Model?; The study was a mixed approach utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data using a purposeful sample of four elementary schools in Southern California that met predetermined criterion, or criterion sampling, which included schools that were public elementary schools; met AYP for subgroups on CSTs in English/Language Arts; had subgroups of less than 35% of English Learners (EL), Hispanic, and Socio-economically disadvantaged (SED); were Non- Title I school; and met or exceeded API growth targets.; Data analysis revealed that all schools included in the study have continued to demonstrate increases in student achievement and continue to demonstrate growth for their underrepresented subgroups that represent small percentages of the total student population, despite dwindling resources and increased state expectations. Additionally, each of the four sample schools had significant deficits when compared to the prototypical elementary school in the Evidence Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008).; Three major findings emerged from the study: (1) the depth of implementation of the ten strategies described by Odden and Archibald (2009) positively impacts the student achievement outcomes for ethnically, linguistically, and socio-economically disadvantaged students by narrowing the achievement gap; (2) leadership and support from the district level can help to mitigate strategies that are weaker at the site level; and (3) schools in which data were greatly used to guide instruction, monitor student achievement and hold staff accountable have narrowed the achievement gap between ethnically, linguistically, and socio-economically disadvantaged students and their White peers. Recommendations for narrowing the achievement gap included having specific goals to monitor the achievement of students who do not constitute significant subgroups, providing extended learning time and support for struggling students, and increasing professional development and collaboration. Suggestions for future research include determining the effect size and percentile gain of each of the ten strategies and resources and examining district resource allocation to develop prototypical elementary, high school, and unified districts