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ERIC Number: ED568658
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 26
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: 978-1-942502-04-3
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
School Spending and Student Achievement in Michigan: What's the Relationship? A Mackinac Center Report
DeGrow, Ben; Hoang, Ed
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
What is the relationship between school spending and student achievement in Michigan? That is the question this paper attempts to answer. The bulk of the research on this question has typically shown that there is little correlation between spending and achievement, but it is possible that Michigan's public schools are an exception to this finding. To test this hypothesis, this study uses a large data set containing detailed spending, standardized test scores and student demographic information from more than 4,000 individual public schools in Michigan from 2007 to 2013. Using building-level data, as opposed to data grouped at the district level, allows for a more precise examination of the relationship between school spending and student achievement. The study employs a multiple regression analysis to examine whether the data show a relationship between school spending and student achievement. It looks for a statistically significant correlation between how much an individual school spends per pupil and how well its students perform on one or more of 28 measurements of academic achievement. The indicators include results from three different standardized tests as well as graduation rates for high school students. The results from this analysis of recent Michigan-specific data suggest that there is no statistically significant correlation between how much money public schools in Michigan spend and how well students perform academically. This finding is consistent with what the bulk of previous research has found. The results from this analysis suggest that student achievement will not improve by simply spending more on Michigan's current public school system, all else being equal. One appendix is included: The Regression Model and Detailed Results.
Mackinac Center for Public Policy. 140 West Main Street, P.O. Box 568, Midland, MI 48640. Tel: 800-224-3327; Tel: 989-631-0900; Fax: 989-631-0964; e-mail: mcpp@mackinac.org; Web site: http://www.mackinac.org/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A