The California Budget Project has released an analysis of the Governor's Performance Awards that concludes the funding will be less likely to go to schools where the needs are greatest.
CPB says schools with large percentages of poor and minority students will tend to score lower on the performance tests that drive the monetary awards. Its study found that performance on the standardized test "was strongly associated with the percentage of poor students (as measured by enrollment in free/reduced price lunch programs), the size of a school, the percentage of Latino enrollment, and the share of teachers who hold full teaching credentials."
"Three of the factors that are major determinants of test score results - school size, year round operation, and whether teachers are fully credentialed - are directly influenced by public policy decisions," says the study.
- To remedy problems in high-priority (low-performing) schools, the CPB recommends:
- Targeting assistance and financial support to the state's lowest-performing schools.
- Basing an assessment system on more than just standardized test results.
- Expanding efforts to attract experienced teachers to low-performing schools.
- Initiating research to examine why schools that operate on year-round schedules are more likely to be low-performing.