"A Procedure for Calculating a Base Cost Figure and an Adjustment for At-Risk Pupils That Could be Used in the Illinois School Finance System"

June 2001

For elementary and K-12 school districts, the calculated base cost was around $4,600.

For high school districts, the primary figure was $7,700, but there was wide variation based on various criteria (such as cost of education adjustments and "efficiency" criteria) that made it difficult to decide on a number.
A graduated additional cost for at-risk students, ranging from $1,697 per at-risk student when 10% of the student body is at-risk to $2,329 when 70% of the student body is at-risk.
The study defines "at-risk" students by their parent's income level, leaving out traditional "at-risk" categories such as English language learners and students with disabilities.

 

The current foundation level ($4,425 per student) being used by the State of Illinois is less than the actual recent per student expenditures and should be revised.
The actual increased cost of educating at-risk students is significantly higher than the money allocated for that purpose by most comparable states that grant specialized aid for these students.
The study emphasizes the necessity of performing an adjustment using the Geographic Cost of Education Index to determine the actual cost of education in each district in Illinois.

The study was performed to create a set of procedures that could be replicated based on alternative definitions of success, such as passing rates on certain tests. This set of procedures was then applied to many different criteria defining success in order to estimate a base (or foundation) level of per-student spending. The study also developed adjustments for the added costs of educating low-income students.
This study is unique among the many state cost studies in excluding costs of educating students with disabilities and English language learners.

None. The study was commissioned by the Education Funding Advisory Board, which itself was created in 1997 to make recommendations to the state's General Assembly for levels of foundational and supplemental state aid to districts with high percentages of at-risk students. The Board used the study, as well as the Annual Report and Budget Proposal released by the State Board of Education in 2002, to write a report[link to pdf]. In the report, the Board recommended that the state's foundation level be raised to $5,665 (calculated using the cost study's methodology) and that schools receive grants per at-risk students ranging from $355 to $2,994.25. The Board also recommended the reorganization of school districts, changes to facilities funding, and a large decrease in the property tax. The General Assembly has not enacted these recommendations.

Successful School Districts

School districts were selected based on performance on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) of reading, writing, and math for third, fifth, and eighth grades. Drop-out and attendance rates were not considered. Districts were chosen using a minimum and maximum level of achievement on the ISAT, as well as a minimum level of participation (only 80%).
Comment: The study considered test results over a one or two year period, at times using absolute results and at other times using projected progress towards a goal of proficiency by a certain time. It seems questionable that "successful" districts can be satisfactorily identified by such criteria given the natural fluctuation of test results over time. Some experts contend that studies should use four years of results.
The study focused heavily on the number of at-risk pupils (defined as those pupils eligible for free or reduced-price lunches) in each school district studied.
The study also used a regression analysis to determine spending "efficiency" based on predicted levels of spending. "Inefficient" districts were excluded.
The base-cost was determined to be the weighted average of "tuition" levels in the selected districts.

Augenblick & Myers commissioned Fox River Learning, Inc. to determine the validity of the "tuition" figures reported by the successful school districts. Though they were not ultimately completely satisfied with the analysis, it led them to use per student figures that were only 80-90% of the "tuition" reported by the districts, based largely on the classification of other expenditures into that category.

Comment: The justification for this adjustment was that districts "falsely" inflated tuition levels for special education expenditures above the amount funded from federal and state sources.

Similarly, the Education Commission of the States assisted Augenblick & Myers in determining an adjustment for at-risk students.
The figure presented by the study does not include capital spending, transportation, food services, adult education, community service, pre-school, or any spending associated with programs for students with disabilities and English language learners.

Comment: While many cost studies exclude capital spending, transportation, and food services, it is increasingly rare to exclude preschool and very unique to exclude students with disabilities and English language learners

 

None.

Illinois Education Funding Advisory Board, under contract with the Illinois Department of Revenue.