Maximizing Educational Efficiency with Strategic Resource Allocation
Explore key studies and findings on school spending, teacher quality, and professional development to enhance student achievement. Discover effective strategies for recruiting, retaining, and developing high-quality educators to drive academic success.
Maximizing Educational Efficiency with Strategic Resource Allocation
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Presentation Transcript
EfficiencyChapter 14 in Guthrie Dr. Len Elovitz
“Where we spend our educational dollars does make a difference in accomplishing our educational goals.” • Owings and Kaplan
ISLLC Standard 3 • A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring the management of the organization, operations and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment
Coleman Study - 1966 • Authorized by Civil Rights Act of 1964 • How much student learning and achievement (outputs) would result from a given number of resources (inputs). • Inputs mattered little when compared to SES of parents
Other Studies • Some found positive correlations between school spending and student outcomes • Verstegan found a very strong relationship between school spending and adult earnings
E.A. Hanushek • Meta-analysis of existing studies • Found that the relationship between school spending and student achievement was not strong or consistent
William Bennett • Secretary of Education 1985-1988 • School spending was unrelated to student achievement based on SAT scores • Found highest scores in low spending states – i.e. IA, ND, SD, UT • Midwestern States use the ACT only students applying to very competitive Eastern Colleges take the SAT
Hedges et. al. • Reevaluated Hanushek’s data and concluded that “… money does matter after all.” • Other studies using different controls found a positive relationship • VaTechstudy found significant increases in student achievement with increased instructional expenditures
Verstegan found that overall school spending was responsible for about 1/3 the variance in achievement scores • Greatest achievement growth found when increased spending went directly to the delivery of quality instruction
Teacher Quality • Current research indicates that the quality of Teachers and teaching are the greatest determinants of student success
Darling-Hammond • Formal Teacher preparation accounts for 40-60% of the variance in student achievement when controlling for demographics • She identified the following quality factors related to increased achievement:
Quality factors • Verbal ability • Content Knowledge • Education methods coursework related to their discipline • Licensing exam scores of basic skills and teaching knowledge • Skillful teacher behaviors
Ongoing Professional development • Enthusiasm for learning • Flexibility, creativity and adaptability • Teaching experience (only 3 yrs) • Higher order questioning
Texas Study • Students with effective teachers for 3 years reading scores went from 59th to 76th percentile • Students with ineffective teachers for 3 yrs. Dropped from the 60th to 42nd percentile
Tenn. Value Added Study • Groups started out the same in 4th grade Math • Group with effective teachers for 3 yrs - 83rd percentile • Group with ineffective teachers for 3 yrs – 29th percentile
NAEP Studies • Effective teachers make a difference in minority student achievement • Students of teachers who majored or minored in what they taught outperformed their peers by approximately 40% in math and science
Implications for finance • Recruit and hire the most effective teachers (have qualities listed above) • Retain the best teachers • Improve the marginal teachers • Get rid of poor teachers
Professional Development • NAEP studies – PD in the following leads to increased achievement in Math: • Cultural diversity • Teaching techniques for LEL students • Teaching techniques for special education students
Other Benefits • Develop constructs around a common language – ITIP experience and the academy • Teachers gain confidence about their teaching skills • Reflect on their own practice • Seek out collegial and professional advice
Teachers are more apt to adopt new instructional practices if PD is sustained over time and related to the district curriculum - IPS experience – Science in Roxbury • Motivational Speakers • Pigeons • Smorgasbord
Evaluating PD • Kirkpatrick – the 5 levels • Does it result increased student achievement
Reduced class size • All else being equal, smaller class size allows teachers to give more individual attention • California legislature appropriated $1 billon in 1996-97 to lower K-3 class size in K-3 from 30-20 (increased teacher need 38% and resulted in a decline in quality) • New York did the same • In 1999, President Clinton’s budget included $12 billion to decrease K-3 class size
Does the cost of reducing class size produce enough achievement to justify the cost or are there other more cost-effective methods? • Tenn. Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) • Over 12,000 primary grade students – Homogeneous population • Over 4 years • Highly controlled • Attending smaller K-3 classes for 3 yrs. Resulted in significant gains in all subjects through grade 8 • Greatest effect was on Minority and urban students
Other studies • A synthesis of over 100 studies suggests that the most positive results for lower class size appear in K-3. • Several studies show diminished gains in the later years • Reduced class size has less of an effect than other less expensive interventions. • Of 27 alterable variable, class size ranked 25 as a means of increasing student achievement
Overall reducing class size without increasing teacher quality appears to be both expensive and ineffective • What should your class size policy be? • Roxbury – K-3 = 19, 4-6 = 22, 7-12 = 24 all were +or – 4 • Oucchi TSL
School Size • Smaller schools have shown favorable results • Can be very expensive • Smaller groupings of students • Teaming • School within a school • Smaller Learning Communities • Barker & Gump - a school should be of a size where all students are necessary for its enterprises
Teacher Salaries • It makes sense that increasing teachers salaries will improve the quality of the teacher pool, but can the districts choose the best from the pool? • No relationship has been found between teacher salaries and student achievement. • Merit Pay - “… never dies and never works.”
School Facilities • Good facilities appear to have a positive effect on teacher effectiveness and student achievement. • Earthman found a 5 to 15 percentile point difference in standardized test scores for students in well maintained buildings with comfortable room temperatures, good lighting, low noise levels, sufficient space and good roofs. • Student achievement in newer buildings appears to be better than older.
Conclusion • Hire and keep high quality teachers • Provide meaningful professional development • Decrease the teacher-student ratio in the primary grades • Reduce the TLC • Maintain comfortable and safe buildings