Finance+Week+3,+Part+6

According to TEA: //Compensatory Education is defined as programs and/or services designed to supplement the regular education program for students identified as at-risk of dropping out of school. The purpose is to increase academic achievement and to reduce the drop-out rate of at-risk students. The goal is to reduce any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered ... or disparity in the rates of high school completion between students at risk of dropping out of school and all other LEA students//. The state has set criteria for districts in identifying students at risk of dropping out of school; funding is based on a district's free and reduced lunch list, an allotment for students who reside in a residential placement facility, an allotment for pregnant students, and an allotment for military dependent students. In order to receive funding, a campus must have identified at-risk students enrolled, and services provided must be described in the District and/or Campus Improvement Plan. Comp Ed is another tool used to create equity in funding among school districts and targets those students most at-risk of dropping out of high school (or being a “non-completer”). (History tells us that Economically Disadvantaged students are much more likely to drop out of high school than their counterparts.) District 1 clearly has a greater number of students identified as Economically Disadvantaged (At Risk) (93% vs 21%), which results in a greater amount of Comp Ed funding (above) for District 1. Yet, even with such a disproportionate population of At -Risk students and clearly a much greater need for drop-out prevention programs in District 1, District 2 __still__ receives more overall funding per student. This is yet another example of a flawed funding system. Although the state goal is to create a system of equity, current formulas create road blocks to that goal.
 * __Week 3, part 6__**
 * __Compensatory Education (Comp Ed):__**
 * __District 1 funding__**: $3,835,006
 * __District 2 funding__**: $633,369
 * __What is the impact on student learning__****?**

The intent of Compensatory Education monies is to target the identified at-risk students in a school district and to implement programs that will be most likely to help them complete a high school degree. Based on historical data, the state has developed a set of criteria used to identify those students most at risk of dropping out of school, or becoming “non-completers.” The criteria includes low socio-economically disadvantaged groups, teen pregnancy or teen parenting, students held back in previous grades, children of parents on active military duty, students who failed state assessments, as well as a few other markers.

It is no surprise to any educator that drop-out prevention programs can be very costly. Many times additional personnel are required to implement these special programs. If not for Comp Ed funding, many schools would not be able to afford appropriate and adequate intervention programs, especially those with large numbers of at-risk students (as District 1 shows). The impact on student learning could be detrimental if not for the funding. School districts receiving Comp Ed funds are required to target their at-risk population with these funds. This prevents districts from taking the money and spending it in other areas. The state requires documentation of the spending, which includes a requirement that at-risk program descriptions and plans are included in the campus and district improvement plans. Without the funding and stringent guidelines, at-risk students would likely be overlooked in many school districts.