Dive Brief:

• Four years after California Gov. Jerry Brown first proposed an effort to alleviate gaps in school funding and achievement throughout the state — with additional funding targeted at districts serving students affected by poverty — the program is showing mixed results, with some districts allegedly funneling money away from students it is intended to help, according to the Sacramento Bee.
• A state official ordered that Los Angeles Unified District repay low-achieving students, asserting they had been shortchanged $245 million each year as the district’s board spread money intended for high-needs students throughout the entire district, pressured by politics, parental demands, and rising health care and pension costs.
• Brown has thus far refused to support a bill in the state legislature that would offer more information on how districts spend allocated funds per school, but critics are concerned that oversight and pushback from government will be what alleviates the unequal spending across districts.

Dive Insight:

The funding increases for California’s public schools has yet to close the achievement gap that spurred its passage, which parallels a recent study of Baltimore public schools that indicated several schools had zero students scoring proficiently in math or reading despite the city boasting one of the nation's highest per-pupil spending rates. This data matches several studies regarding national education spending. CBS reported that one 2014 report found American students “have remained internationally mediocre since 1970,” despite a tripling of the dollars spent per-student after adjusted for inflation.

The predicament is not unique to this country, as increased spending does not necessarily correlate to higher student outcomes elsewhere in the world, as this infographic indicates. The United Kingdom, for example, spends more per-pupil than any other country besides the United States, and it is squarely in the middle in terms of proficiency in math and science, whereas countries like Canada and Finland spend comparatively less and boast strong proficiency in those subjects.

School-by-school data on district spending could be helpful in determining best practices, even if the funding inequities are not quickly solved. If a school with comparatively limited funding is nevertheless seeing enhanced test scores, it could potentially be a model for other schools in the district that are working with tighter budgets and educating students challenged by more stressors external to the school.