The document discusses misalignments in how K-12 education funding is currently spent and opportunities to restructure spending to better support student success. Specifically: 1. Spending has doubled since 1970 but the basic school structure has not changed, with 80% of increased funds going to staffing rather than other priorities. 2. Job structures, compensation, and class sizes are "one-size-fits-all" but do not meet the needs of all students. Struggling students in particular do not get enough individual attention and time. 3. Special education placements and models vary widely between states despite serving similar percentages of students. The document argues states should reallocate resources to needier schools, break down

1. Rethinking Resources
for Student Success
Tough Times as Opportunity
December 2, 2011
The National Council of State Legislators

2. Education Resource Strategies 2
• Real spending doubled from $3,800 to $8,700 per pupil
• 80% of increase went toward adding staff positions and
increasing benefits while educator salaries remained flat in
real dollars*
• Spending on special education programs has gone from 4 to
21% of district budgets while regular education spending has
dropped from 80% to 55%**
Spending has increased but the basic
structure of schooling has remained the
same
* Parthenon group analysis, 2008
**Richard Rothstein, Where has the money gone? 2009
From 1970 to 2005 :

3. Education Resource Strategies 3
Public education jobs have continued to
grow through recessions and are only now
starting to fall
Source: Marguerite Roza

4. Education Resource Strategies 4
Budget gaps will continue due to a
fundamental cost structure that continues to
rise regardless of revenue
Source: Marguerite Roza, November 2011

5. Education Resource Strategies 5
1. Restructure one-size fits all job structure and compensation
to attract needed expertise, promote teamwork and link
to greater results and contribution
2. Optimize existing time to meet student and teacher needs
and extend where needed
3. Rethink standardized class size model to target individual
attention by strategically raising class sizes and rethinking
one-size-fits-all class size models for providing individual
attention
4. Shift special education spending toward early intervention
and targeted individual attention in general education
settings where possible
The biggest opportunities for restructuring
include:

6. Education Resource Strategies 6
Compensation spending is not aligned with
teaching quality
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
District with Senior Teacher
Force
42%
7%
27%
24%
<2%
Benefits
Responsibility & Results
Longevity
Education
Base
Source: ERS Analysis

7. Education Resource Strategies 7
Struggling students don’t have enough time
to catch up
TYPICAL DISTRICT PERCENT OF STUDENT TIME
BY GRADE & SUBJECT
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
ES 7-9th 10-12th
PE
Foreign Language
Electives
Science
Social Studies
Math
ELA
Source: ERS Analysis

8. Education Resource Strategies 8
“One size fits all” classes mean that most
students don’t get the attention they need
vs.
Larger Class
Larger Class
Larger Class

9. Education Resource Strategies 9
Special education placements and delivery
models vary widely across states
Note: A recent nation-wide estimate of education placement in urban settings put the national average and the urban average at 12%.
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
Special Education Placements
(ages 3-21 as percent of public school
enrollment)

10. Education Resource Strategies 10
 TELL THE STORY ABOUT MISALIGNMENTS AND TRADE OFFS
 REALLOCATE SCARCE STATE RESOURCES
– Drive resources - talent, time and dollars - to the neediest systems and schools
– Invest to build state and district capacity
– Restructure pension and benefit spending
 BREAK DOWN BARRIERS TO DISTRICT LEVEL OPTIMIZATION
– Revise tenure, dismissal and other employment rules
– Remove or loosen seat time and class size requirements
– Combine categorical streams and/or move to dollar vs. staff based
 ENCOURAGE DISTRICT INNOVATION
– Help districts develop better teacher and student measurement systems
– Provide opportunities to scale individual district efforts
– Promote new approaches and designs
– Support investment in early intervention services
What can states do?

11. Education Resource Strategies 11
By taking on tough choices, schools can
move toward transformed practice
For the same cost a typical 25,000 student urban district can:
ERS’ District Reallocation Modeler (DREAM)
Reduce class sizes
grades 4-12 by 2
Pay the top contributing
15% of teachers 10K
more
OR
Give all teachers annual
step increase
Allow benefits spending
to increase by 10%
OR
Provide half-day pre-K
for 50% of Kindergarden
students
Add 60 minutes of
school day in the 25%
lowest performing
schools
OR