Date of Award

1995

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student achievement, as measured by the ISTEP and SAT, and the demographic classification and per student General Fund appropriation of Indiana public school corporations. Indiana's Department of Education's four deomographic classifications for public school corporations were rural, suburban, town, and metropolitan. These classifications were based on population and location. The three wealth classifications of above average, average, and below average were defined to be equal thirds based on per student General Fund appropriation for the public school corporations' budgets. The null hypotheses regarding the effect of demographic classification on student achievement for both the ISTEP and SAT, as well as the interaction effect of demographic and wealth classifications with ISTEP scores, were rejected. This study concluded that the demographic classification did indeed impact student achievement for both the ISTEP and SAT. The null hypotheses regarding the effect of wealth classification on student achievement for both the ISTEP and SAT, as well as the interaction effect of demographic and wealth classifications on SAT scores, were accepted. The wealth classification did not impact student achievement at the.05 level of significance in this study. Perhaps Indiana's equalization funding formula for the General Fund has compressed the range of per student appropriations to the point that it did not have a significant impact on student achievement.

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