Resource Allocation Practices and Student Achievement: An Examination of District Expenditures by Performance Level with Interviews from Twenty-One Districts

This report summarizes research on resource allocation and student performance conducted in school districts across Texas. Many researchers have struggled to understand the precise relationship between education spending and student performance. Among recent studies that link education resources and student performance two patterns emerge. One pattern shows a steady increase in federal, state, and local resources for education. The other pattern reveals generally weak increases in student achievement as measured by standardized tests. Researchers have failed to reach consensus about what these findings mean, and they have been hampered in their efforts by poor or inconsistent data sources as well as arguments about what constitutes appropriate research methodology. This study attempts to contribute new information to the dialog about the relationship between education expenditures and student performance by using more recent data and multiple methods of analysis.