Money matters.
In fact, money matters so much that a relatively small boost can powerfully impact students during school and beyond.
A 10% increase in per-pupil spending across all 12 years of education results in:
And for students living in poverty, that impact is even more profound.
One thing is clear.
Schools need more funding. And we’ve spent decades trying to ensure our highest-need communities get it. But our collective commitment has yet to result in equal funding levels.
And equal funding across districts isn’t the same as equitable funding. Who gets left behind when we treat districts and schools as identical?
Students living in poverty and students of color—those already impacted by a history of legal, social, and economic racism that relentlessly obstructs their access to key resources.
Equitable funding distribution is the goal, but we’re not yet achieving that target.
Consider two middle schools within the same district.
Both have similar enrollment numbers, and they get nearly equal funding amounts.
But they serve two very different student populations.
Without the additional money it needs, how can School 2 effectively support its far greater proportion of higher-need students?
In this case—and in nearly every other district we’ve studied—equal funding just isn’t cutting it. Our highest-need students deserve better.
And equitable funding is just one part of that. The adults in the school building who teach and support students matter, too.
Strong teachers and
principals can change
students’ lives.
Effective principals can raise student achievement by 2-7 months of learning in a single school year.3
Teachers are estimated to impact student outcomes 2-3X more than any other in-school factor.4
2-3X
And the diversity of teachers and leaders matters, too.
All students benefit when they have teachers of different races and ethnicities at the front of their classrooms leading lessons.
But something special happens when students of color work with educators who look like them:
Outcomes soar.
Yet, students of color across the country don’t often see their cultures, identities, and communities reflected back to them at school.
In one district we studied, only 27% of students identify as white, while 72% of teachers and 68% of school leaders identify as white.
Meanwhile, 73% of students identify as people of color, while only 28% of teachers and 32% of school leaders identify as people of color.
And students of color and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are consistently less likely to get support from highly effective teachers.
In that same district, students in the most affluent schools are more than 2X as likely to have a highly effective teacher than students in the district’s highest-poverty schools.
2X
And they’re less likely to get support from experienced teachers and school leaders.
Students in the highest-poverty schools in that same district are 2X as likely to have a novice teacher.
2X
And 1.4X as likely to have a novice school leader.
1.4X
Learning a new math concept from a strong teacher who understands both their culture and their learning style.
Celebrating the completion of an art project with their favorite expert educator.
High-fiving a principal who looks like them in the hallway.
These are the kinds of conditions in which all students—especially those with the highest needs—thrive.
Why?
Because students
bring their full selves
to school.
And it’s never been more important for schools to recognize that.
After all, the pandemic brought school closures, economic hardships, even family loss, which has only increased students’ mental health needs.
More than one third of high school students experienced poor
mental health during the pandemic.7
And nearly half of students felt persistently sad or hopeless.7
Schools are one of the primary places students receive mental health services.
Picture a school with 500 students filling the halls.
According to national recommendations, each of those students should have access to 2 guidance counselors, 2 social workers, and 1 psychologist—more if the students need it.
But that’s not happening.
The averages reveal a staggering reality, but even they mask variation across districts.
For example, it might seem like this district we studied is doing better than the national average…
… But school-by-school data shows that access varies wildly across the district, depending on which school a student attends.
23/58
In that same district, 23 out of 58 schools didn’t have any social workers at all.
Students also need to
feel safe, supported,
and recognized at
school.
School buildings need to give students space to have big ideas.
In fact, students excel in buildings with adequate space and well-lit classrooms set at the right temperature.14 New construction can even improve students’
But too many students, especially those from low-income communities, are struggling to learn in subpar buildings that aren’t conducive to learning.
More than half of school districts in the U.S. require major upgrades to school buildings.16
And students experiencing poverty are more likely to attend these schools.
2X
In one district we studied, the school buildings in the highest-poverty areas are 2X as old, on average, as the buildings in the most affluent areas.
3X
Affluent districts spend nearly 3X as much on building improvements as low-income districts.17
And while this spending in low-income districts typically focuses on essentials like removing asbestos or repairing roofs …
Schools in more affluent areas often spend their facilities budget on things like performing art centers that enhance the student experience.17
But a pristine school
building is just the
scaffolding of a safe,
supportive learning
environment.
Students also need to study with kids of different races, share lunchtime snacks with kids of different socioeconomic backgrounds, and explore the playground with kids of different genders.
They need to learn and grow in environments and communities that reflect the increasingly diverse world we live in.
Shifting from a fully segregated to a completely integrated city closes about one-quarter of the SAT score gap—45 points—between white and Black students (holding family background and other factors constant).18
On the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, students from low-income families attending more affluent schools scored roughly two years of learning ahead of students from low-income families in high-poverty schools.19
School diversity is also associated with improved
Schools across the country, however, remain persistently divided across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines.
And yet:
40% of Native American Students attend a school with more than 75% students of color.21
40% of Asian American Students attend a school with more than 75% students of color.21
59% of Black Students attend a school attend a school with more than 75% students of color.21
54% of Pacific Islander Students attend a school with more than 75% students of color.21
60% of Hispanic Students attend a school with more than 75% students of color.21
But:
And:
78% of White Students attend a school that’s over 50% white.21
46% of White Students attend a school that’s over 75% white.21
District leaders can only control so much. Boundary lines, patterns of residential segregation, economic decline, and shrinking populations are all outside their scope.
What can they control?
They can address the race- and class-based segregation that exists across the schools in their own district.
For example, this district may look like it’s quite diverse.
But when you look school-by-school, you can see that higher-poverty schools also tend to have higher percentages of Black and Hispanic students.
Fear has no place
in school.
When a student puts pencil to paper for a midterm exam or raises their hand to answer a teacher’s question, they deserve to do so without fear of discrimination, harassment, or bullying.
That physical and psychological safety is essential to learning—without it, students are more likely to be absent and perform worse academically.
But too many students of color feel unsafe at school, with few—if any—teachers they can turn to.
Students of color are less likely to feel they can talk to a teacher or counselor about mental health. According to one national survey:
Only 48% of African American students—compared to 57% of white students—reported being able to reach out to a teacher.22
Students of color are expected to learn, focus, and grow in environments that are often disproportionately punitive toward them.
In one district we studied, for example:
Black students make up 19% of students but 34% of all suspensions.
Hispanic students make up 37% of students but 45% of all suspensions.
White students make up 27% of students but 12% of all suspensions.
And these experiences impact their lives far beyond graduation.
High school students who are suspended or expelled are:
In addition to equitable funding, strong teaching and leadership, and a positive and inviting school environment —
How students spend
their time in school is
critical, too.
So what happens when we look at the compounding effect?
We would see that compared to their peers, students from low-income backgrounds, students with higher needs, and students of color are consistently and systematically denied access to the resources that research tells us matter the most.
These students are:
Less likely to receive equal—let alone equitable—funding.
Less likely to have access to highly effective teachers or to be supported by teachers and principals who look like and understand them.
Less likely to have a counselor, social worker, or psychologist they can talk to about the family troubles that are distracting them from their schoolwork.
Less likely to take classes in learning-ready buildings, be in a psychologically safe learning environment, or be surrounded by a diverse student body to help them feel like they belong.
Less likely to have time and opportunities to catch up on what they got behind on during the pandemic and to accelerate their learning to help them grow and thrive.
We can do better.
And the first step toward creating a more equitable educational system is diagnosing resource equity in your district.
You can’t improve what you don’t measure—so use our free resource equity toolkit to take action today.
References
