Equality of Opportunity and School Finance: A Commentary on Ladd, Satz, and Brighouse and Swift

Abstract

This article discusses issues of justice concerning school finance with a focus on the development of a conception of equality of educational opportunity. Emphasis is put on discussing the views of the other contributors in this symposium. The main conclusions of the discussion are that () equity and adequacy are not inconsistent views because they address fundamentally different questions; (2) adequacy sets a floor under the education that the state owes to all children, but it does not relieve the state of the obligation to provide whatever additional education it chooses to provide equally;(3) equality of opportunity may be limited by conflicting rights; and (4) weighted student funding (WSF) is theoretically attractive because it emphasizes the funding of students rather than districts and is sensitive to relevant differences among them, however the level of theoretical agreement and empirical knowledge required to implement WSF in a nuanced way is not available.

Charter schools, choice, and distributive justice: What evidence do we need?

“…4. For those interested in the details of what follows see Strike (2008a) as well as the articles in the symposium of which this article is a part. 5.…”

Rawls, republicanism, and the adequacy–equity debate

“…Jacobs, 2010;Strike, 2008). Specifically, this article identifies serious tensions within the adequacy approach, challenges the adequacy theorists' response to the problem of positionality in education, raises questions about the attempt to place the burden of fostering a democratic elite on higher education, and criticizes their defense of private schooling.…”

“…For a competition to be fair, the consequences of success or failure cannot be too extreme, insuring against the risk of students receiving a worse education. Strike (2008) combines adequacy and equity in a common framework, with all children guaranteed up to a certain minimum of educational opportunity, equal chances in the middle range, and indifference above a certain higher threshold. Although Strike does not fully develop this approach, I believe his strategy is approximately correct and elaborate upon my own version of this synthesis below.…”

“…The democratic equality concerns remain paramount, but equity has a residual claim. Strike (2008) suggests that adequacy and equity address distinct questions. Equity views relate to the distribution of justice among citizens, while adequacy focuses on what kind of education to provide for all citizens.…”

“…Combining equity and adequacy requires that adequacy theorists jettison the preservation of private schools. This is not to say that private schools should necessarily be banned, only that they be heavily regulated so as not to endanger equal opportunity (Strike, 2008). Given their interest in civic solidarity, I think there are very good reasons for adequacy theorists to make this move.…”