DISSERTATION

ABSTRACT

AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES PER SCHOOL DISTRICT AND

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN OKLAHOMA

BY DON ALAN BOGARD

Problem: Are students being left behind academically with decisions being made by educational stakeholders without a full understanding of the relationship between school spending and student academic performance. This study is intended to explain the way in which administrative, instructional, and general fund cost are connected to the performance of students in school districts throughout Oklahoma.

Explanation: There is a persistent myth that money does not matter in education, told in two versions: One says there is no systematic relation between spending and achievement and the other says we have been spending more but have not seen a commensurate gain in test scores. Research is beginning to describe in unprecedented detail the spending patterns of schools, and the money-performance link is key to an informed debate among education stakeholders, which lead to decisions being made by key policy makers to increase academic performance in Oklahoma.

Method: Multiple correlation and logistic regression, two separate, but related, procedures were employed to analyze the school district data. Three dependent variables were derived from the research questions.

Analysis/Findings: The purpose for conducting this study was to discover any relationships that might exist between administrations, instructional and general fund expenditures and academic performance of students in Oklahoma schools from 1997 through 1999, controlling for other factors. The dollar amount per ADM of administration expenditure is directly related to the academic performance of the students in Oklahoma and the size of the school district per ADM was not related to percent of academic success in Oklahoma school districts.

Conclusion: The evidence presented here in this study shows a persistent link between school spending and student performance and refutes the myth that money does not matter. The challenge for the policymakers in the next decade and beyond is to set in place funding mechanisms that adequately and equitably fund schools, building local capacity to improve the quality and quantity of learning for all students