Description/Abstract
This paper provides a guide to statistically based methods for estimating the extra costs of educating disadvantaged students, shows how these methods are related, and compares state aid programs that account for these costs in different ways. We show how pupil weights, which are included in many state programs, can be estimated from an education cost equation, which many scholars use to obtain an education cost index, and we devise a method to estimate pupil weights directly. Using data from New York, we show that the distribution of state aid is similar with statistically based pupil weights and an educational cost index. Finally, we show that large, urban school districts with a high concentration of disadvantaged students would receive far more aid (and rich suburban districts would receive far less aid) if statistically based pupil weights were used instead of the ad hoc weights in existing state aid programs.
Document Type
Working Paper
Date
2004
Keywords
Disadvantaged students, student financial aid, education cost equation, education cost index, pupil weights
Language
English
Series
Working Papers Series
Disciplines
Education Policy
Recommended Citation
Duncombe, William D. and Yinger, John, "How Much More Does a Disadvantaged Student Cost?" (2004). Center for Policy Research. 103.
https://surface.syr.edu/cpr/103
Source
Metadata from RePEc
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Additional Information
Harvest from RePEc at http://repec.org