A Tale of Two Decades: New Evidence on Adequacy and Equity in Pennsylvania

• In Event: 61.068 - Conceptualizing Educational Adequacy

Abstract

To gain insight into the relationship between a state's educational funding climate and district spending, we turn to the case of Pennsylvania, which, in the previous two decades, has experienced dramatically different funding climates. While state expenditures on education were relatively flat between 1991 and 2001, the 2001 through 2011 period was characterized by increasing expenditures dedicated to improving adequacy and equity across districts in the state. Using panel data on Pennsylvania districts, we aim to uncover the extent to which differences across the two decades resulted in changes in adequate per-pupil spending and improvements in how districts that serve different student populations spent their educational resources. We find that Pennsylvania's districts were more equitably and adequately spending educational resources by the end of the second decade period compared with the end of the first period; however, spending disparities persist across districts that serve different populations of students.

Authors

• Matthew Philip Steinberg, University of Pennsylvania

• Rand Quinn, University of Pennsylvania