Relationships between expenditures and student performance in Chapter 41 and 42 Class 1A-3A Texas school districts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in per-pupil instructional expenditures in Chapter 41 (property wealthy) and Chapter 42 (low to medium property wealth) school districts and to investigate the relationship between per-pupil instructional expenditures and student performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) 5th and 7th grade math and reading tests. Federal entitlements and state special student population funding was omitted from the per-pupil expenditure calculation. The TAKS percentage of passing rates used for the study was the districts' results for the first administration of each TAKS 5th and 7th grade math and reading test. No other student sub-population TAKS data was examined.;No statistically significant correlation among per-pupil instructional expenditures and student achievement in Class 1A, 2A, or 3A schools was found. The findings of this study clearly show that Chapter 41 school districts spend more per-pupil and show higher mean percentage of passing rates on the TAKS 5th and 7th grade math and reading tests. Such findings may provide a basis for re-examination of existing school funding policy.;The researcher used stratified random sampling to select thirty Chapter 41 and thirty Chapter 42, Classification 1A, 2A, and 3A school districts for the study. School district classification was determined by the University Interscholastic League's definition which uses high school average daily attendance (ADA) to classify a district as 1A (189 and below), 2A (190 to 389) or 3A (390 to 899). There was a statistically significant difference between Chapter 41 school districts' mean instructional expenditures and mean percentage of passing rates on the TAKS 5th grade reading tests, 7th grade math tests, and 7th grade reading tests compared to Chapter 42 school districts. There was not a statistically significant difference between Chapter 41 or Chapter 42 school districts' mean percentage of passing rates on the TAKS 5th grade math tests.