School finance reforms Literature & Language Essay

Financial Reform in Schools
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February 20, 2020
Academic institutions, for the most part, have always been believed to be solely dedicated to the propagation of knowledge and the improvement of its students’ well-being. While this should always be the focus of every institution, it must also be noted that increasing profitability and long-term earnings are essential, not only for its survivability, but also for improving its overall performance CITATION Can16 \l 1033 (Rothstein & Lafortune, 2016). The United States has had a long, complex relationship with its academic reforms both in the basic and higher education institutions. We see this especially in the wide reforms in the 1980’s which were largely propelled by setting higher academic standards for students. The standards-based education (SBE) for example came to replace the norm-referenced rankings that were the practice during the time and instead opted to have clearer, more measurable standards for students (Oriard, (2012). These reforms have largely shaped our academic institutions to become the way they are now.
But of course, these reforms have not been without criticisms and scandals of its own. Issues of bribery and corruption within academic institutions are not uncommon. Just last year, 50 officials of America’s most respected and elite universities were charged by federal prosecutors of accepting bribes from rich parents who wanted to buy their children into these institutions.
However, that is merely the tip of the iceberg. Other, more sinister problems loom within the academic field which rarely catch the attention of the mainstream media. One of these are issues within low-income districts. In a study by Crosnoe (2009) regarding low-income students, socioeconomic composition of public high schools and how it affects their education, he found out that as the proportion of the student population with middle to high-income parents increased, low-income students progressed less far in STEM subjects, specifically, science and Math. Furthermore, as the proportion of the student body with middle to high-income or university-educated parents increased, the ow-income students experienced more psychosocial problems. This is seen to be specifically more pronounced among Latino and African American students. This is consistent with earlier studies which claimed that race and ethnicity, coupled with poor incomes, directly influence and affect students’ performance in schools.
In this paper, the author would discuss specific school finance reforms (SFRs) that can be done to improve the institution’s long-term earnings. Notably, it would focus on schools from low-income districts since these are the institutions that have the most population, but the least budget as compared to others CITATION Bur19 \l 1033 (Burnette, 2019). All in all, the author believes that by implementing some school reforms, academic institutions from low-income districts could help increase long-term earnings that would supplement its budget for the service of its students.
Inequality in School Budgets
Generally, low-income schools often have a high percentage of low-income students who often fare poorly in their academics, (Donaldson, 2008). These same students often score low on standardized state tests and often attend college in much more depressed rates (Heckman, & LaFontaine, 2010). This directly influences their ability to get better paying jobs, and often end up in low-wage, unstable jobs as a consequence of their underperformance in their basic education. Although numerous attempts have been done by the government, often spending millions of dollars to help undereducated students, the potential of a huge chunk of the population remain unrealized (Donaldson, 2008).
In a study by The Education Trust, a national nonprofit that advocates educational reform, they found out in their analysis of school funding equity across the U.S. and within individual states that school districts with large populations of students of color and low-income students are often underfunded, as opposed to schools which serve white, more well-off students. Despite the reforms in the system and even with courts stepping in and protesting against this unfair funding practice, numerous states still continue to do this. Significant differences are seen in the funding of each individual state. It was found that those that rank the worst in terms of school budget relative to population were New York, Alabama, Illinois and Missouri.
The unequal distribution of school budget relative to population is one of the primary reasons why several institutions suffer from a lack of resources CITATION Can16 \l 1033 (Rothstein & Lafortune, 2016). While it might seem that this is a relatively simple problem that can be remedied by reallocation of resources to low-income districts, it must be noted that both federal and state funding could be lacking for public schools while almost all ‘high performing’ schools are funded by private resources, that provides it with greater resources. To illustrate this inequality, an article written by Martin, et al. (2018), shows that wealthier school districts in Texas receive about $5000 more as compared to poorer ones. This makes it easier for private schools to train teachers, improve facilities, and increase flexibility when it comes to providing a ‘tailored’ education for the needs of each student, as compared to public ones.
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