Average Daily Membership Research Paper
Average Daily Attendance versus Average Daily membership
Kimberly Nava
Grand Canyon University: EDA-535
October 21, 2013
Introduction
Distributing funds to schools is a daunting task, especially when school funding comes only from state tax dollars. Schools in the state are not allowed to levy local taxes, so a plan must exist to ensure that the distribution of funds is equitable and adequate for all schools in the state. In preparation of a plan, using Average Daily Attendance (ADA) versus Average Daily membership (ADM) should be considered. According to Meador (n.d.), “Average Daily Membership (ADM) is a specific count of enrollment at a particular site collected at various times throughout the school year. ADM drives school funding and local, state, and federal data collection. ADM is more consistent than Average …show more content…
Daily Attendance (ADA) as it does not rely solely on attendance, but instead on the overall number of students on the roll throughout the course of the year.
A student can miss five straight days and negatively impact ADA but have no impact at all on ADM.” Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is the total number of days a student is in attendance divided by the total number of days in the school year. Using ADA encourages regular attendance in schools and the thought is that it will in turn maximize student achievement. Providing adequate and equitable funding ensures students are provided with the resources needed for learning and academic achievement. This paper discusses why ADA versus ADM should be considered and what are the advantages of using ADA versus ADM in allocating state money to school districts. The paper also discusses how to equalize funds
so as to maximize the cost-quality relationship and how to use demographic and economic factors when considering revenue and expenditures of a school district.
Body
There are several things to consider when deciding on how to appropriate funds for schools and utilizing ADM would be the preferred method to allocate funds, because it is based on enrollment at given times throughout the school year versus attendance of individual students. Using this method, affords a more secure obligation of funding from the state for students through out the school year. It allows for reconciliation if a student enters or leaves a school district rather than ADA that subtracts monies for student absences. School funding that is based on attendance rather than enrollment penalizes schools when children are absent. Students are still required to do all of the work while absent or upon return and resources are still needed to ensure that students succeed whether present or not. Teachers are paid when they are absent. Substitutes are paid to cover their classes, but if a student misses regardless of the excuse, schools lose money. Morrissey, Hutchison and Winsler (2014) suggested, “Children who miss class fail to benefit from teacher-led lessons, peer interactions, and other activities designed to foster learning, which is harmful for school success.” More research is needed in regards to how children’s school attendance impacts academic achievement, particularly in socioeconomic communities where children are more at risk for under achievement. Students from low-income households need more school support to succeed. Their families or guardians cannot afford or aren't educated enough themselves to provide academic help at home or extra books to read in support of academics. These students do not get the opportunity to attend summer camps or tutoring programs. These students often do not get nutritious meals each day, but the district's costs keep going up and the Average Daily Attendance funding crashes, making ADM the better choice.
In order to equalize funding for each school, several factors must be considered. Factors such as how much money should a certain school should receive for the resources their students’ need, staff salaries, program funding and more. GCU Lecture 1 (2012) stated, ”Researchers have tried to isolate the types of expenditures that make a difference in the school-productivity equation. Equalizing funds in areas that impact student achievement need to be identified. GCU Lecture 1 (2012) also suggested, “Higher performing schools had a tendency to spend a greater portion of their discretionary capital toward educational endeavors, whereas lower performing schools had a tendency to spend more in non-instructional areas, such as security.” Schools with a higher student population have greater monetary needs than schools with a lower student population. More resources are needed to ensure success. However, the same resources should be made available across all schools. If all of the highly qualified teachers are at one site the expenditure is greater and not equitable, both financially and in fairness to student access of such instruction. Adamson and Darling-Hammond (2012) suggested, “Funding disparities might not undermine equal educational opportunity if the differences were largely a function of pupil needs or if they appropriately reflected cost-of-living differentials. As it turns out, however, differentials do not tend to favor the districts serving the highest need students, and they persist after cost-of-living differences and pupil needs are taken into account."
When creating and managing school budgets, cost-quality relationships are important. Some would argue that money is the most important thing. There are fixed expenses such as building costs that need funding, but there also items that are not fixed yet important to student achievement such as tools used for teaching and learning. Brimley, Verstegen, and Garfield (2012) stated, “Leadership, teacher attributes, and pedagogy are all important to student achievement. The authors also suggested, “Teacher quality and smaller class sizes in earlier grade levels are also important.” Research should be used to make a case for equalizing funds for school. In utilizing ADM, each school would be given a budget amount based on enrollment at their school. School leaders would be responsible for creating and managing a plan that is most effective for increasing student achievement.
When considering demographic and economic factors, it is important to take into consideration the local job market and average wages in the community. Impoverished communities may have a greater need for money coming from the state to assist with housing and other family services such as free meal programs. In some locations, schools need additional monies for security or transportation for their students. If there is a high turn over rate of residents in the community, the schools may be impacted by a diminishing enrollment. Ultimately, all of these factors impacts school funding and should be a factor when budgeting.
Conclusion
In distributing funds to all schools, equity and adequacy for all students must remain a priority. Brimley, Verstegen and Garfield (2012) suggested, “Parents want the best possible education for their children. Schools need to be responsive to those wants; the expenditure of government funds should reflect the needs, wants, and demands of the people they serve.” Utilizing Average Daily membership can assist in creating the type of funding environment that is necessary to meet the needs of an entire school community, which is more consistent than Average Daily Attendance. Providing adequate and equitable funding ensures students are provided with the resources needed for learning and academic achievement.
Reference
Adamson, F., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2012). Funding Disparities and the Inequitable
Distribution of Teachers: Evaluating Sources and Solutions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20(37)
Brimley, V., Verstegen, D., & Garfield, R. (2012). Financing Education in a Climate of
Change: (11th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.
Lecture 1. (2012). EDU-535: Public School Finance. Phoenix, AZ: Grand Canyon
University
Meador, D. (n.d.). Definition of Average Daily Membership. Retrieved from http://teaching.about.com/od/A-ITeachingGlossary/fl/Average-Daily- Membership.htm
Morrissey, T. W., Hutchison, L., & Winsler, A. (2014). Family income, school attendance, and academic achievement in elementary school. Developmental Psychology, 50(3), 741-753. doi:10.1037/a0033848
Kimberly Nava
Grand Canyon University: EDA-535
October 21, 2013
Introduction
Distributing funds to schools is a daunting task, especially when school funding comes only from state tax dollars. Schools in the state are not allowed to levy local taxes, so a plan must exist to ensure that the distribution of funds is equitable and adequate for all schools in the state. In preparation of a plan, using Average Daily Attendance (ADA) versus Average Daily membership (ADM) should be considered. According to Meador (n.d.), “Average Daily Membership (ADM) is a specific count of enrollment at a particular site collected at various times throughout the school year. ADM drives school funding and local, state, and federal data collection. ADM is more consistent than Average …show more content…
Daily Attendance (ADA) as it does not rely solely on attendance, but instead on the overall number of students on the roll throughout the course of the year.
A student can miss five straight days and negatively impact ADA but have no impact at all on ADM.” Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is the total number of days a student is in attendance divided by the total number of days in the school year. Using ADA encourages regular attendance in schools and the thought is that it will in turn maximize student achievement. Providing adequate and equitable funding ensures students are provided with the resources needed for learning and academic achievement. This paper discusses why ADA versus ADM should be considered and what are the advantages of using ADA versus ADM in allocating state money to school districts. The paper also discusses how to equalize funds
so as to maximize the cost-quality relationship and how to use demographic and economic factors when considering revenue and expenditures of a school district.
Body
There are several things to consider when deciding on how to appropriate funds for schools and utilizing ADM would be the preferred method to allocate funds, because it is based on enrollment at given times throughout the school year versus attendance of individual students. Using this method, affords a more secure obligation of funding from the state for students through out the school year. It allows for reconciliation if a student enters or leaves a school district rather than ADA that subtracts monies for student absences. School funding that is based on attendance rather than enrollment penalizes schools when children are absent. Students are still required to do all of the work while absent or upon return and resources are still needed to ensure that students succeed whether present or not. Teachers are paid when they are absent. Substitutes are paid to cover their classes, but if a student misses regardless of the excuse, schools lose money. Morrissey, Hutchison and Winsler (2014) suggested, “Children who miss class fail to benefit from teacher-led lessons, peer interactions, and other activities designed to foster learning, which is harmful for school success.” More research is needed in regards to how children’s school attendance impacts academic achievement, particularly in socioeconomic communities where children are more at risk for under achievement. Students from low-income households need more school support to succeed. Their families or guardians cannot afford or aren't educated enough themselves to provide academic help at home or extra books to read in support of academics. These students do not get the opportunity to attend summer camps or tutoring programs. These students often do not get nutritious meals each day, but the district's costs keep going up and the Average Daily Attendance funding crashes, making ADM the better choice.
In order to equalize funding for each school, several factors must be considered. Factors such as how much money should a certain school should receive for the resources their students’ need, staff salaries, program funding and more. GCU Lecture 1 (2012) stated, ”Researchers have tried to isolate the types of expenditures that make a difference in the school-productivity equation. Equalizing funds in areas that impact student achievement need to be identified. GCU Lecture 1 (2012) also suggested, “Higher performing schools had a tendency to spend a greater portion of their discretionary capital toward educational endeavors, whereas lower performing schools had a tendency to spend more in non-instructional areas, such as security.” Schools with a higher student population have greater monetary needs than schools with a lower student population. More resources are needed to ensure success. However, the same resources should be made available across all schools. If all of the highly qualified teachers are at one site the expenditure is greater and not equitable, both financially and in fairness to student access of such instruction. Adamson and Darling-Hammond (2012) suggested, “Funding disparities might not undermine equal educational opportunity if the differences were largely a function of pupil needs or if they appropriately reflected cost-of-living differentials. As it turns out, however, differentials do not tend to favor the districts serving the highest need students, and they persist after cost-of-living differences and pupil needs are taken into account."
When creating and managing school budgets, cost-quality relationships are important. Some would argue that money is the most important thing. There are fixed expenses such as building costs that need funding, but there also items that are not fixed yet important to student achievement such as tools used for teaching and learning. Brimley, Verstegen, and Garfield (2012) stated, “Leadership, teacher attributes, and pedagogy are all important to student achievement. The authors also suggested, “Teacher quality and smaller class sizes in earlier grade levels are also important.” Research should be used to make a case for equalizing funds for school. In utilizing ADM, each school would be given a budget amount based on enrollment at their school. School leaders would be responsible for creating and managing a plan that is most effective for increasing student achievement.
When considering demographic and economic factors, it is important to take into consideration the local job market and average wages in the community. Impoverished communities may have a greater need for money coming from the state to assist with housing and other family services such as free meal programs. In some locations, schools need additional monies for security or transportation for their students. If there is a high turn over rate of residents in the community, the schools may be impacted by a diminishing enrollment. Ultimately, all of these factors impacts school funding and should be a factor when budgeting.
Conclusion
In distributing funds to all schools, equity and adequacy for all students must remain a priority. Brimley, Verstegen and Garfield (2012) suggested, “Parents want the best possible education for their children. Schools need to be responsive to those wants; the expenditure of government funds should reflect the needs, wants, and demands of the people they serve.” Utilizing Average Daily membership can assist in creating the type of funding environment that is necessary to meet the needs of an entire school community, which is more consistent than Average Daily Attendance. Providing adequate and equitable funding ensures students are provided with the resources needed for learning and academic achievement.
Reference
Adamson, F., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2012). Funding Disparities and the Inequitable
Distribution of Teachers: Evaluating Sources and Solutions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20(37)
Brimley, V., Verstegen, D., & Garfield, R. (2012). Financing Education in a Climate of
Change: (11th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.
Lecture 1. (2012). EDU-535: Public School Finance. Phoenix, AZ: Grand Canyon
University
Meador, D. (n.d.). Definition of Average Daily Membership. Retrieved from http://teaching.about.com/od/A-ITeachingGlossary/fl/Average-Daily- Membership.htm
Morrissey, T. W., Hutchison, L., & Winsler, A. (2014). Family income, school attendance, and academic achievement in elementary school. Developmental Psychology, 50(3), 741-753. doi:10.1037/a0033848