Assessment and Analysis of
School-Level Expenditures

October 1996

(Working Paper 96-19) Ordering information

Assessment and Analysis of School-Level Expenditures reports research done in support of the development of a model school-level finance data collection system in the United States. The project involved reviewing school reform literature and recent school finance studies of resource allocation across states, school districts, and schools; reviewing accounting structures used to account for school-level expenditures; and analyzing school-level finance data in Ohio and Texas to explore the feasibility of using school-level financial data to examine key policy issues. The report concludes with the authors’ recommendations for the design of a school-level finance data collection.

For questions about the content of this report, please contact Frank Johnson (frank.johnson@ed.gov)
Surveys and Cooperative Systems Group
(202) 502-7338
e-mail: william.fowler@ed.gov

U.S. Department of Education
Richard W. Riley
Secretary

Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Sharon P. Robinson
Assistant Secretary

Pascal D. Forgione, Jr.
Commissioner

Surveys and Cooperative Systems Group
Paul D. Planchon
Associate Commissioner

The (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public.

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Suggested Citation

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Assessment and Analysis of School-Level Expenditures, Working Paper No. 96-19, by Joel D. Sherman, Clayton Best, and Lawrence Luskin. William Fowler, project officer. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

October 1996

Foreword

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Susan Ahmed
Chief Mathematical Statistician
Statistical Standards and Services Group

Samuel S. Peng
Director
Methodology, Training, and Customer Service Program

Assessment and Analysis of School-Level Expenditures

Joel D. Sherman
Clayton Best
Lawrence Luskin

October 1996

Pelavin Research Institute
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• FOREWORD

• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

• CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH ON SCHOOL-LEVEL EXPENDITURES
• Introduction
• Review of Studies Using School-Level Finance Data
• Studies of the Distribution of Expenditures for Different Functions and Objects
• Studies of Horizontal and Vertical Equity
• Summary and Conclusions

• CHAPTER 3: FINANCIAL STRUCTURES USED IN FOUR STATES TO ACCOUNT FOR SCHOOL-LEVEL EXPENDITURES
• Introduction
• Unmet Information Needs
• Strategies for School-Level Data
• Accounting for Expenditures in a School-Level Collection
• Requirements of a School-Level Accounting System
• School-Level Accounting Structures in Four States
• Accounting for Expenditures at School Buildings and Other Operational Units
• Comparability of School-Level Functions
• Selected Aspects of School-Level Finance Collections in Ohio and Texas
• Ohio's School-Level Finance Collection
• Texas's School-Level Finance Collection
• Similarities and Differences between the Systems
• Concluding Remarks

• CHAPTER 4: THE USE OF RESOURCES AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL IN OHIO AND TEXAS
• Introduction
• Development of the Analyses
  • Selection of States for the Study
  • Establishment of Standard Function and Program Categories
  • Determination of Schools for the Analysis
  • Definition of Expenditure Categories
• Major Study Findings
• School-Level Expenditures in Ohio and Texas
• Summary of Findings
• Concluding Remarks

• CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL SCHOOL-LEVEL FINANCE DATA COLLECTION
• Introduction
• School-Level Expenditure Analyses Significantly Enhance District-Level Analyses
• Recommendations for the Design of a School-Level Finance Data Collection

• REFERENCES

LIST OF TABLES

Table

• Table 1: School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Functions, by School Level, 1993-94

• Table 2: School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Functions, by School Level, 1992-93

• Table 3: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Functions, by School Level, 1993-94

• Table 4: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Functions, by School Level, 1992-93

• Table 5: School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Functions, by School Size,1993-94

• Table 6: School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Functions, by School Size,1992-93

• Table 7: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Functions, by School Size, 1993-94

• Table 8: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Functions, by School Size, 1992-93

• Table 9: School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Functions, by Location,1992-93

• Table 10: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Functions, by Location, 1992-93

• Table 11: School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Programs, by School Level,1993-94

• Table 12: School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Programs, by School Level,1992-93

• Table 13: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Programs, by School Level, 1993-94

• Table 14: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Programs, by School Level, 1992-93

• Table 15: School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Programs, by School Size,1993-94

• Table 16: School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Programs, by School Size, 1992-93

• Table 17: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Ohio for Major Programs, by School Size, 1993-94

• Table 18: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Programs, by School Size, 1992-93

• Table 19: School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Programs, by Location, 1992-93

• Table 20: Coefficients of Variation for School-Level Expenditures in Texas for Major Programs, by Location, 1992-93

  LIST OF EXHIBITS

  Exhibit

• 1a: School-Level Personnel
• 1b: School-Level Personnel

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of several people in the development and preparation of this report. First, we wish to express our appreciation to Matthew Cohen in the Ohio Department of Education and to Tom Camby and John Hudspeth in the Texas Education Agency for their assistance in providing data for the study and understanding the details of these states' school-level data collections. Their assistance on this project was invaluable.

Our thanks also go to William Fowler and Lee Hoffman at the for their assistance in conceptualizing the project and developing the project report. We would also like to thank the following people for their insightful comments on draft reports, which were incorporated into the final text: Robert Berne, Jay Chambers, Bruce Cooper, James Guthrie, David Monk, Tom Parrish, Larry Picus, Wayne Riddle, and Stephanie Stullich. Our thanks also extend to Don McLaughlin, the AIR Project Director for his assistance on the project.

A special word of appreciation goes to Sterlina Harper, who typed numerous drafts of text and tables for the report. Her assistance in the production of the report contributed significantly to the project.