Funding the Vision: The Relationship between Expenditure and Student Achievement in Seventh-day Adventist K-8 Schools in the United States Dave C. Lawrence, Ed.D., MBA Pacific Union College Chief Financial Officer & Vice-President for Financial Administration

About the presenter Mesa Grande & La Sierra Academies ▫Vice-Principal Finance, Loma Linda University ▫University Controller, ▫Adjunct Professor, Healthcare Finance & Accounting La Sierra University ▫Adjunct Professor, School Finance Pacific Union College ▫CFO, Vice President for Financial Administration,

About the paper Adaptation of unpublished dissertation by presenter, 2010 La Sierra University Paper presented at National Summit on Adventist Education La Sierra University, Riverside, CA, October 20-23, 2010 Selected papers, Peril and Promise: Adventist Education at the Crossroads (2012), Chapter 14

About the presentation Introduction, background, and overview Data collection and methodology Research findings and conclusions ▫The efficiency matrix Linking spending and achievement Implications for practice and policy Summary Questions and answers

The Vision of Adventist Education “... prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come” (White, 2007, p4).

The Vision of Adventist Education to provide students with a learning environment that affords them opportunities to accept Jesus as their personal Savior.

The Heart of the Matter When parents pay $5,000 to $8,000 each year for the education of their students, what should they expect in return? Here is Johnny’s scorecard ▫Commitment to serving the community ▫Cultivation of social skills ▫Foster spiritual values ▫Promote wholesome living ▫Develop life-long friendships ▫Nurture good sportsmanship

The Heart of the Matter What if Johnny finished with a 0.65 GPA and was deemed academically unfit to attend any college! ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IS REALLY WHERE IT’S AT!

Student Academic Achievement Is at the forefront of every debate on the status of education in America today Focuses on the question: Does Money Matter? Is relevant to public as well as private schools

Funding the Vision Is there a Relationship between Expenditure and Student Achievement in Seventh-day Adventist K-8 Schools in the United States?

Definitions EXPENDITURE ▫The mathematical quotient of a school’s total expenditures (adjusted for capital expenditures) and the ending enrolment of the school for a fiscal year. ACHIEVEMENT (NCE) ▫Measures how much was learned ABILITY (PSSD) ▫Measures the student’s capacity to learn

Data Collection CognitiveGenesis data set ▫ITBS®, CogAT®, parents’ education, teacher, education, students’ SES, etc School financial data ▫Tuition, subsidy support, etc

Data Collection

Descriptive Statistics Mean per-student spending $5,963 (ranging from $1,335 to $14,276)

Main finding of research There is no relationship between per-student spending and student achievement in SDA K-8 schools in the United States ▫This is true for achievement as well as achievement controlled for ability ▫This is also true when controlled for parent’s education, teacher’s education, teacher-student ratio, and revenue source ▫Academic subscales were also controlled

Other findings There is a relationship between SES and student achievement

Scatter Plot of Per-Student Spending and NCE

Other findings There is a relationship between SES and student achievement There are schools that operate at different levels of efficiency: ▫1. High ability and low per-student expense ▫2. High ability and high per-student expense ▫3. Low ability and low per-student expense ▫4. Low ability and high per-student expense

School Efficiency Matrix

Inefficiency – Quadrant D 72% of the schools had four or more teachers, and 28% had fewer than four teachers. ▫It could be concluded that inefficient schools are generally larger schools. Schools in Quadrant D may share other characteristics; however, the investigation of these kinds of commonalities is prohibited by the terms of the Agreement of Confidentiality

Implications for Practice & Policy Many variables are at work to effect academic outcomes in students, but per-student spending is not one of those variables The practices and policies of SDA schools should continue to focus on providing adequate resources for the education of students Since SES does matter, policies should be aimed at narrowing or eliminating the so called “achievement gap.”

Implications for Practice & Policy Since per-pupil spending does not predict academic success, a discussion of efficiency is warranted ▫Are schools achieving maximally desired results without wasting scarce resources? As a matter of policy, schools should be required to compute an index of their spending relative to their students’ achievement and make this information known to parents and constituents on an annual basis