THE COST OF PROFICIENCY: ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF NCLB AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL

open_access
Open Access
Author:
REITZ, MATTHEW
Graduate Program:
Educational Leadership
Degree:
Doctor of Education
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
October 09, 2007
Committee Members:
William Hartman, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Emily Boyd, Committee Member
James F Nolan Jr., Committee Member
Edgar Paul Yoder, Committee Member
Keywords:
Ingredients Model
School Finance
Accountability
NCLB
Abstract:
Levin & McEwan’s Ingredients Model (2002) was used to estimate one high school’s financial and human resources spending patterns in order to be in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. Designed as a case study of one Pennsylvania high school, it was of interest to determine how much and to what extent this high school spent on remediation and prevention-oriented interventions (i.e. strategies, programs, initiatives) in order to prepare students to become proficient on the state’s Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). Document collection and interview data revealed that a total of thirty-one (31) reading and math interventions were utilized by the high school over a four-year period of time (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06), costing a total of $474,019 and a cost per student of $1,830. Overall, forty percent (40%) of the students who experienced one or more of the reading and math interventions (N=259) scored proficient or better in either reading or math on the PSSA. However, there were wide differences in effectiveness among different interventions and groups of students.