This research examines the horizontal and vertical equity of public school funding in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2018. This study analyzed and measured the horizontal and vertical equity funding allocations across each reporting division in the Commonwealth of Virginia from FY2004 to FY2018 in two-year increments reflective of the final year in each biennium where the local composite index (LCI) is calculated. Data were collected for the 132 reporting divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia including funding amounts, student counts, categorical counts, and average daily membership. Weights were applied to specific groups within the study (i.e., economically disadvantaged students, special education students, and English language learners) in order to obtain vertical equity measures. The chosen measures of wealth neutrality and fiscal equity were range, restricted range, restricted range ratio, coefficient of variation, the Theil Index, the Pearson Correlation, regression, slope, elasticity, the Gini Coefficient, and the McLoone Index. At fixed intervals reflecting FY2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018, the measures were used to analyze the selected data points for each district across the Commonwealth of Virginia with both unweighted and weighted values. The information from these analyses will help inform researchers and educational leaders about the current state of equity for divisions across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Furthermore, it will inform stakeholders about whether or not horizontal and vertical fiscal equity measures have increased or decreased in the selected fiscal years for the Commonwealth of Virginia. / Doctor of Education / This research examines the equity of public school funding in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2018 two different ways. First, the research measures equity where every student is mathematically identical, which is how funding currently works; this is called horizontal equity. The second measure of equity in this research applies mathematical weights of different amounts to students with different classifications that historically cost more to educate (i.e., economically disadvantaged students, special education students, and English language learners) (Berne and Stiefel, 1984; Verstegen and Knoeppel, 2012); this is referred to as vertical equity. This study analyzed and measured the horizontal and vertical equity funding allocations across each reporting division in the Commonwealth of Virginia from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2018 in two-year increments. This is because every two years, the amount of funding a division receives is recalculated as is the division's ability to pay, also known as the local composite index (LCI). For the purposes of this study, the final year of each two-year cycle was analyzed. Data were collected for the 132 reporting divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia including funding amounts, student counts, categorical counts, and average daily membership. Weights were applied to specific groups within the study (i.e., economically disadvantaged students, special education students, and English language learners) in order to obtain vertical equity measures. The chosen measures of wealth neutrality and fiscal equity were range, restricted range, restricted range ratio, coefficient of variation, the Theil Index, the Pearson Correlation, regression, slope, elasticity, the Gini Coefficient, and the McLoone Index. At fixed intervals reflecting FY2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018, the measures were used to analyze the selected data points for each district across the Commonwealth of Virginia with both unweighted and weighted values. The information from these analyses will help inform researchers and educational leaders about the current state of equity for divisions across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Furthermore, it will inform stakeholders about whether or not horizontal and vertical fiscal equity measures have increased or decreased in the selected fiscal years for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/103965 |
| Date | 22 June 2021 |
| Creators | Van der Linden, Courtney Adele |
| Contributors | Counselor Education, Cash, Carol S., Glenn, William Joseph, Price, Ted S., White, Tinkhani Ushe |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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