A school finance reform analysis found that a 20% increase in per-pupil spending for a child's k-12 schooling raised high school completion and adult earnings¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Increasing per-pupil spending by 20% across k-12 schooling led to a 23 percentage-point increase in high school completion rates, adult earnings gains of almost 25% for individuals and 52% for families, and a reduction in adult poverty of almost 20%. → Cook-Harvey 2016

Evidence¶

Cook-Harvey 2016¶

Cook-Harvey, C.M., Darling-Hammond, L., Lam, L., Mercer, C., & Roc, M. (2016). Equity and ESSA: Leveraging Educational Opportunity Through the Every Student Succeeds Act. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. http://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/equity-essa

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report cites an observational analysis tracking adult outcomes for 15,000 children born between 1955 and 1985 over 40 years, finding that a 20% spending increase produced "a 23 percentage-point increase in high school completion rates" and earnings gains of almost 25% for individuals and 52% for families; no standardized effect size is printed.

"A recent analysis of the effects of school finance reform tracked adult outcomes for 15,000 children born between 1955 and 1985 over 40 years. The authors found that increasing per-pupil spending by 20%, for the duration of a child’s k-12 schooling, led to a 23 percentage-point increase in high school completion rates and an increase in adult earnings of almost 25% for individuals and 52% for families."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Research on school finance reforms finds increased spending improves educational and life outcomes, with larger effects for students from low-income backgrounds, including causal evidence from California's Local Control Funding Formula — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Increased per-pupil spending across all 12 years of public school is associated with more completed education, higher wages, and reduced adult poverty, with larger effects for low-income children — related
• A $1,000 increase in district per-pupil revenue in grades 10–12 was associated with a 5.3 percentage-point increase in high school graduation rates in California — related
• LCFF-induced per-pupil spending increases caused improvements in math and reading achievement in districts receiving concentration grants — related
• A $1,000 per-pupil spending increase across high school raised graduation likelihood by 8.2 percentage points, and 3 consecutive years of increased high school spending raised college-readiness standards attainment in math and reading — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Increases in per-pupil spending improve educational attainment, wages, and adult poverty outcomes, with stronger effects for low-income children — related
• Research shows need-based aid increases likelihood of graduation, improves time to graduation, and increases earnings — related