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State Board of Education
Shares Details for Education Cost-Study Process
Education
stakeholders had an opportunity last week to learn more about
Pennsylvania's costing-out study, when the State Board of Education
convened a meeting to introduce the consultants, Augenblick, Palaich,
and Associates, Inc., (APA) who will be conducting the study and
present an overview of the process.
The goal of costing out
studies is to determine the base cost (sometimes referred to as a
foundation level) of educating a student who has no special needs,
attending a district with no special circumstances, to meet state
requirements. Additionally, costing-out studies determine the
variations on this foundation level required by particular factors
impacting school districts (i.e. size, location) and their students
(i.e. special education, poverty and limited English proficiency)
More than 35 other states
have undergone a costing-out process, frequently using the information
to guide the creation of a new school funding formula that achieves
greater equity and effectiveness. The State Board of Education was
directed last year by the General Assembly to steer a statewide
costing-out study for Pennsylvania. To learn more about costing-out
studies, visit our website at
www.goodschoolspa.org.
Methodologies
APA will use four methods
to analyze the resources needed for all students to attain proficiency
on the state's standards:
Using the successful
school district approach, APA will infer the base cost of
education by analyzing the budgets of districts that are identified as
"successful" based upon a particular criteria, such as meeting the
goals of the Pennsylvania Accountability System. As part of this
analysis APA will examine schools that are identified as high
performing and low spending, as well as schools that have made
significant progress in closing achievement gaps.
The professional
judgment method, by contrast, will focus on identifying the
resources - not dollars - that schools need to be successful. This
will be accomplished by convening panels of education professionals to
discuss what resources hypothetical Pennsylvania schools and districts
need to help their students attain proficiency on state standards.
Using the
evidence-based approach, APA will create hypothetical schools
using current education research and conduct a web-based inquiry
asking Pennsylvania educators and citizens to react to these models.
Finally, the highly statistical cost-function approach (also
known as the "black box" approach) analyzes performance, spending and
efficiency.
While the costing-out
study will consider transportation costs, excluded from the study will
be costs related to food service or capital needs.
Public Input sought
Ten professional judgment
panels are being planned for March, April, and May; each panel
requires eight members, including teachers, principals, school
business officials, superintendents, and others. These panels will
meet for 1-2 days in different locations across the state.
The State Board of Education is now seeking nominations for these
professional judgment panels. If you are a professional educator
interested in participating - or know someone you would like to
nominate -- please submit the individual's name, position, school
entity and school, years of experience, number of districts in which
the individual has worked, professional recognitions, phone number and
e-mail address to Good Schools Pennsylvania at
info@goodschoolspa.org. Good Schools Pennsylvania will submit this
information to Dr. Robert Feir, the project manager for the
costing-out study. The deadline for these nominations is February
16, 2007.
The State Board of
Education and the consultants are also planning to convene meetings
with non-school personnel stakeholders - parents, business leaders,
and school board members - around the state. Good Schools Pennsylvania
would like to identify and recommend a number of potential
participants for these meetings as well. Inform us of your interest by
sending an email to
info@goodschoolspa.org.
Take Action!
Now is the time to get
involved in the campaign to improve the way Pennsylvania funds and
support public education. With your help we can make sure that
Pennsylvania continues to make progress toward a sound school funding
formula. Contact Good Schools Pennsylvania at
info@goodschoolspa.org or (866) 720-4086 to learn how you can
help.
Email your legislator: Use our on-line advocacy tool to send a
message to your state legislators that you are committed to supporting
policies that guarantee all children have equal opportunity to pursue
a high quality public education.
Make a donation: Use our secure, on-line donation form to make a
financial contribution to Good Schools Pennsylvania and help us
amplify the voices of citizens who want great public schools for all
children.
Stay informed and stay connected! Make sure Good Schools
Pennsylvania has your current contact information - including your
email address. Use the online registration form to subscribe to our
periodic updates and action alerts.
Visit us online at
www.goodschoolspa.org
Author:
Janis Risch
Executive Director
Good Schools Pennsylvania
6757 Greene Street, Suite 310
Philadelphia, PA 19119
1-866-720-4086 - toll free
(215) 332-2700
(215) 681-6213 - cell
janis@goodschoolspa.org
www.goodschoolspa.org
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