When Does Money Matter? School Funding and Black-White Inequality of Educational Achievement 2009–2014

• In Event: 28.084 - Social and School Context

Abstract

Contradictory evidence about the relationship between school funding and achievement could reflect heterogeneous effects by demographics or funding type. What is the relationship between school funding and academic achievement? Does this relationship vary by funding type or race? Drawing on 2009-20014 district-level panel data from SEDA and the Census Finance Survey, I use school district and year fixed effects to estimate the relationship between changes in funding and achievement within the same district. Limiting analyses to districts on state borders, where economic and demographic contexts are more similar, reveals that state formula revenue is associated with higher achievement among Black students and lower achievement gaps. This relationship holds using two instrumental variable approaches.

Author

• Emily Rauscher, Brown University