ESSA’s School-Level Student Spending Data Requirement Enhances Equitable Education Efforts
March 11, 2020
Collaborative for Student Success Executive Director Jim Cowen penned an op-ed for Forbes highlighting the significant impact school-level, per-pupil spending will have on education finance. While states have reported how much money a school district spends per student for decades, a provision in ESSA is requiring states to report this information at the individual school level. The additional data will enable education officials “to contrast the percentage of resources available to two different schools, better exploring the potential impact of efforts and interventions to improve student achievement.” This enhanced school spending data will also help “build more equitable systems of funding” by providing greater context and insight into what is working and what is not.