Endeavors magazine: School Spending

School Spending

by Meagen Voss
(filed under: education)

During election season education policy is a hot topic for politicians. This year Gary Henry hopes a study he led will help voters assess whether candidates’ education plans are backed by hard evidence.

In a study commissioned by Governor Mike Easley, Henry and his colleagues examined the finances of 347 public high schools in North Carolina. The study’s goal was to determine how spending affected student scores on statewide achievement tests and to investigate whether schools were using state funds effectively. Spending was divided into different categories, then correlated with student test scores from the past two years. Among the main categories were regular instruction spending, supplemental instruction spending, and administrative spending. Regular instruction covers expenses for typical classroom instruction while supplemental spending includes expenses for extra programs such as tutoring, summer school, and other student services.

According to Henry, the most important finding was that more money spent on regular classroom instruction resulted in better student performance. When the researchers controlled for factors such as the students’ race and socioeconomic status, there was still a positive connection between spending on regular instruction and test scores.

Henry believes the primary reason for this finding is that teachers’ salaries are part of regular instruction spending. Higher spending helps “encourage experienced teachers to stay in the classroom and may motivate teachers to expend greater effort on instruction,” he says.

Henry hopes that his study will help change how North Carolina’s education funds are allocated. “This study provides strong justification for spending more on education and for targeting the funds for regular instruction,” he says. “Comparing campaign promises with the study findings can help voters decide which candidate will do more to raise educational achievement.”

Meagen Voss is a doctoral student in neuroscience in the School of Medicine.

Gary Henry is William Neil Reynolds Distinguished Visiting Professor in the School of Education.