Does Money Matter

Ch 6, Betts compares the literature and studies about school spending, graduates' future earnings and education attainment. He finds that the students study in better schools increase earnings. However, the studies do not show there is a significant correlation between increase spending per pupils and education attainment.

 

The economic concept, diminishing marginal return is used in this chapter. Increase in additional school inputs may have diminished utility in returns. He points out the unionization among teachers and the influence of bureaucracies in public schools lower efficiency of public schools (p.170). Thus, increase in school resources is not equivalent to increase in education attainment. The issue of utilizing school resources to pupils is crucial. Not blindly increase the additional spending!

 

On the other hand, Betts finds that the estimated benefit cost ratio to keep a student in school (or college)an extra year is strikingly higher than the benefit cost ratio of increasing spending per pupil (p.184). Keeping the students still in school can benefits students' future earnings. In light of this, Betts suggests develop policies designed to encourage students to stay in school longer. And this kind of policies requires extra expenditure.

 

Increase in school resources is still necessary, because it can lower the drop out rate of schools. I agree with Betts' argument that the utility of school resources and the effects of families and peers affect student educational attainment. However, I have questions about finding a clear and accurate statistic about effects of families and peers on student educational attainment. In what way, can we exclude the other factors and just focus on school input on students? If the factors are interrelated, in other words, we cannot separate them.

 

 

Two more guiding question ideas:

1)  Why do you think that there has been increased resources but not increased student performance in school?

2) It it isn't the resources...what is it?  It has to be beyond money, beyond smaller class sizes and beyond more teacher resources.

Perhaps we as a group need to also come up with some alternative hypothesi--I suspect the social climate may play a role...that theory has nothing to go on...I need to think on it more. 

Sorry folks, I have been in the throes of swine flue and then had to go to Boston so I have been out of action for awhile.  That being said, I am out of the loop!  Could somebody explain the Christmas Tree decorating to me?  Is this as our "activity" with the tools? Sounds fine to me...or we could make snowmen or decorate a menorah or other such candelabrum...but that is just the Jew in me talking...:)

I like the pre-discussion activity!

I don't know if we want to ask questions regarding inequitable state-by-state funding.  I feel that broadens our intent. 

Perhaps we should focus on questions that ask them:

1)  What, in their opinion, does funding affect at their schools?

2)  Do they see a disparity in fund distribution?  Why do you think this is?  Create a list of potential causes.

3)  Do you think school resources impact student success/student competitiveness?

4)  What is your reaction to the correclation or lack thereof between school resources and student earning?

These are just ideas--I think that these studies challenge some of our accepted beliefs about funding and I think we should shake them up, create a little "crisis".

In terms of success after school, I agree, it isn't as simple as that.  I think that what is discounted in the literature are the number of resources beyond the financial which attribute to student success after school.  A student's individual ability to build connections, "play the game:, a student's individual drive.  In addition, the power of family connections, school name and professorial recommendations cannot be discredited when consdiering success.  Although funding may not literally influence student success, certainly other power symbols do. 

As I re-read the readings we are going to ask the class to read, I notice there is an emphasis on the notion that more school funding does not exactly equal greater school success.  However, there is an emphasis on the fact that students who attended schools that received more funding tended to earn more in the workplace after they graduated school.  Do you think that's just because of socioeconomic status?  I mean, students who attend heavily funded schools probably live in more affluent areas, so they are more likely to earn more money and become part of the higher socioeconomic class they were born into.  Whereas, students from average-funded schools will most likely go on to earn a middle-class income and so forth.  Thoughts? It just seems like it's a whole big package, and you can't pick it apart to just school funding being the determining factor in a student's success.  You have to factor in social capital from home and social class as well.

I think we're coming up with some great guiding questions!  Here are mine:

1.  Why do you think there is such a large disparity between the states when it comes to how much they spend on each student for education? 

 

2.  How does the disparity in spending affect our ability to create national standards?

 

3.Does increasing school funding alone ensure greater student success?  Or do we need to simply manage those funds differently with the schools?

Thank you for typing up our lesson plan!  I was going to do that now, but I see you already did.  Thank you, thank you. For the last 25 minutes, that is when we decided the groups would discuss the guiding questions, right?  And then we discuss those together at the end?

 

I concluded what we discussed if have any question,feel free to comment.

5 min		Introduction	Our original idea and why we choose this book
10 min		Guide question discussion	We should conclude some guide questions for the classmates to think before 12/8
20min		3D Christmas tree making	-divide into 3 group( work class, middle class, affluent class) - provide each group different resource and help ( ex affluent group can have our help. We act as consulter or tutor)
10 min		Christmas tree making feedback related to our topic
	25 min	Guide question discussion

 

 

-

After discussion in 11/17 class, we decide to have three quide questions for class discussion.

There are mine..

1. Does school resource directly influence student performance? If yes,please describe why. If no, please say the against answer.

2 Please imagine that you were an education policy maker, how would you allocate school resource in order to increase student performance?

3. After reading assigned reading, could you think a feasible way to solve the disparity issue of school resource in America?