Relationship Between Educational Resources and School Achievement: A Mixed Method Intra-District Analysis

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between educational resources (fiscal, personnel and facilities) and school achievement within a large urban/suburban elementary school district. A sequential mixed methods approach reveals inequitable resource allocation trends and patterns between schools within a school district by producing different student outcomes. The educational resources positively correlated to higher school achievement are: higher teacher salaries, newer schools, more multi-purpose space per pupil and less portable classrooms. Without question, White students receive more of these resources than Latino students, lowincome students and English Language learners. This study also conducts a multiple comparative case study analysis comparing between Title I and non-Title I schools, within Title I schools and within non-Title I schools. The study contains policy and practice implications to improve opportunity and school achievement in urban/ suburban school districts.

Empirically supporting school STEM culture—The creation and validation of the STEM Culture Assessment Tool (STEM‐CAT)

“…Items within the teacher resources section had an α value ( α = 0.607) which was too low to retain; however, some items were retained because these are the only items within the entire study that access the teachers’ perspective on what resources are available to them. Within the student resources section, two items were retained because they give a student's perspective of how large class sizes affect student learning, a key identifier in School STEM Culture (Jimenez‐Castellanos, ; Savasci & Tomul, ).…”

“…A school with sufficient financial resources has the ability to hire the necessary number of teachers to maintain an acceptable class size. Smaller class size has a positive effect on achievement in STEM fields (Jimenez‐Castellanos, ; Savasci & Tomul, ), though research does not connect the quality of teachers to financial resources, the quality of teachers will likely have a major impact on STEM Culture. In order for a school to have a strong STEM program, it is also important that they develop a relationship with community business partners (Haberman, ).…”

English Language Learner education finance scholarship: An introduction to the special issue

“…Funding disparities leading to educational inequality have been researched in both law and policy, and written about, though few solutions exist, and inequities continue to exist in contemporary education (Coleman, 1966;Heise, 1995;Jimenez-Castellanos, 2008;Minorini & Sugarman, 1999;Verstegen & King, 1998). The longstanding challenges created by insufficient district revenue generation in low-income communities, inequitable student expenditures, and widening achievement gaps, have recently caught the attention of the United States Office of Civil Rights forcing them to issue a statement highlighting the existing, and historical educational disparities.…”

“…With the fourth grade reading assessments, similar patterns emerge. These achievement gaps between ELLs and their educational peers are not unusual, however, as they have existed historically (Fry, 2007;Gandara & Rumberger, 2008;Hemphill & Vanneman, 2011;Jimenez-Castellanos, 2010;Vanneman, Hamilton, Anderson, & Rahman, 2009). Due to the longitudinal persistence and severity of the achievement gap impeding ELLs' abilities to compete on a national level academically, researchers must continue to, and more so begin to, critically focus on the specific resource inequities that exist which impede ELLs' opportunities for academic excellence and full inclusion and participation in compulsory education (Gandara & Orfield, 2012).…”

Social Enterprise and Christian School Finance: Receptivity of ACSI Christian School Leaders in Mid-America

“…While the challenges faced by urban districts are not strictly financial, the lack of resources does contribute to the challenge (Crampton, 2010). Research suggests a connection between resources and academic achievement (Jimenez-Castellanos, 2010). In light of this it should not be surprising that the nation's urban districts are some of the most affected by the challenges of funding education in the 21st century.…”