Find Out How the Title I Number Weighting Option Affects Your School District


Last Updated: February 22, 2010
 

This searchable database allows you to find out how much Title I money your school district (or any other) receives and how it is affected by number weighting, according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service.

Excel File (3.5mb)      PDF File (4.1mb)

Tip: You can find your school district name by hitting ctrl+f and typing in the name of the district.

 

See if your school district is a "winner" or a "loser" to number weighting in the Title I formula

The Rural Trust has been reporting on disparities in Title I funding (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, aka No Child Left Behind Act) for several years. Now you can find out exactly how your school district was affected in school year 2008-2009.

Background

Since 2002, some of the federal funds provided to local school districts under Title I of the ESEA have been distributed through "weighted" grant formulas intended to better target funding to districts with the highest concentrations of poverty. The weighted grant formulas are in two separate programs: “Targeted Grants” and Education Finance Incentive Grants.” These weighting systems do not work as intended.

Under the weighting systems, a district's disadvantaged student count is artificially inflated to increase its share of the funding. Two weighting systems are used. One weighting system inflates the student count more as the percentage of students who are Title I eligible increases. The higher the percentage of disadvantaged students in the district, the more each disadvantaged student counts in the formula, regardless of how many students are in the district.

The other weighting system inflates the student count as the absolute number of disadvantaged students in the district increases. The more disadvantaged students you have, the more each on counts in the formula, regardless of the percentage of disadvantaged students in the district.

The weighting system that leads to the highest total weighted student count is the one used to determine the district's share of the Title I funds available nationally.

The number weighting alternative is often of benefit to very large districts, especially if the district's disadvantaged student percentage is not especially high. A very large suburban district with a low percentage of disadvantaged students may have a relatively large number of disadvantaged students. But because small districts simply do not have enough students to benefit from number weighting, they are never better off with the number weighting system than they are with the percentage weighting system.

Two districts with the same percentage of disadvantaged students can have very different levels of per pupil funding under these weighted formulas, with the larger district always advantaged. And, a small district with a higher percentage of students can, and often does, get less funding per pupil than a much larger district with a lower percentage of disadvantaged students.

Districts that lose money because of the number weighting alternative outnumber those that gain from it by a ratio of about 20 to 1.

The districts that are hurt the most by number weighting serve smaller high-poverty urban areas and rural communities. Those that gain the most are very large districts serving both urban and suburban areas, including many that have very low percentages of disadvantaged students.

How to Read the Table

The Congressional Research Service conducted an analysis of how the number weighting option affects each district in the nation. The Rural School and Community Trust has reproduced the results of that analysis in this document. The CRS analysis asked the question: "How much would each district gain or lose in funding if the number weighting alternative were eliminated and all weighting were done on the basis of percentage of disadvantaged students?"

The table is arranged alphabetically by state and within state by the standard "Local Education Agency" code assigned the district by the National Center for Educational Statistics. In general, these are in alphabetical order. You can also find your school district name by hitting ctrl+f and typing in the name of the district.

For each district, the table shows the actual amount of the total Title I grant for school year 2008-2009, the amount the district would have received if only the percentage weighting alternative were available, and the difference. It also provides the same information for each the Targeted Grants and the Education Finance Incentive Grants separately.

The actual amount of Title I money a district receives may vary slightly from the numbers presented here. That is because before the money goes to the districts, each state must adjust the amount for several factors: 
  • Any district boundary changes, district consolidations, or new districts that were not part of the calculation done by the U.S. Department of Education calculations.
  • Funds reserved for school improvement (4 percent of the total allocated to the State).
  • State administrative costs (up to one percent).
  • Funds reserved for the State academic achievement awards program.

Click the links below to find out how your district fares under the Number Weighting provision.

Excel File (3.5mb)      PDF File (4.1mb)