School finance reform for curriculum innovation: An equity prospect

The advent of democracy in South Africa triggered notable reforms to the financing of quality education, and curriculum design and innovation. The ulterior motive behind this study was to underscore the correlation between inadequate financial resources and learners’ achievement. School finance reform was found to contribute to learner achievement and was viewed as a building block of every discourse related to equity. In the Eastern Cape (EC) province, the dismal percentage of Grade 12 learners who achieve success in gateway subjects, as reflected in the National Senior Certificate Examination results, was linked to the grossly inequitable distribution of funding and even the defunding of education. The 3 high schools in question were stigmatised as chronic underachievers, having reported a 0% pass rate for 5 successive years. Establishing an intervention programme to finance quality education for schools in poverty-stricken communities was an arduous undertaking. Although the windfall was temporary, it was construed as the dawn of a new age of philanthropy. The project spurred the development of local education finance to motivate South Africa’s Dinaledi (stars).

School Finance Reform and the Distribution of Student Achievement

We study the impact of post-1990 school finance reforms, during the so-called “adequacy” era, on absolute and relative spending and achievement in low-income school districts. Using an event study research design that exploits the apparent randomness of reform timing, we show that reforms lead to sharp, immediate, and sustained increases in spending in low-income school districts. Using representative samples from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, we find that reforms cause increases in the achievement of students in these districts, phasing in gradually over the years following the reform. The implied effect of school resources on educational achievement is large. (JEL H75, I21, I22, I24, I28)

Does Money Matter in the Long Run? Effects of School Spending on Educational Attainment

This paper measures the effect of increased primary school spending on students' college enrollment and completion. Using student-level panel administrative data, I exploit variation in the school funding formula imposed by Michigan's 1994 school finance reform, Proposal A. Students exposed to $1,000 (10 percent) more spending were 3 percentage points (7 percent) more likely to enroll in college and 2.3 percentage points (11 percent) more likely to earn a postsecondary degree. The effects were concentrated among districts that were urban and suburban, lower poverty, and higher achieving at baseline. Districts targeted the marginal dollar toward schools serving less-poor populations within the district. (JEL H75, I21, I22, I28)