Impact for Professional Development Expenditure on Student Achievement in Texas Public Schools

Abstract

The debate over whether money matters in education has been waged in journal articles, legislatures, and courthouses all across the country with no decisive resolution. In a time of heightened focus on educational accountability, district administrators have concentrated on allocating resources to those areas with the greatest impact on student achievement. It is essential that research continue in the area of effective educational resource allocation to determine the choices that yield the highest return on investment when considering student achievement. The purpose of this study was to independently examine the relationship of professional development expenditures for both property wealthy (Chapter 41) and property poor (Chapter 42) school districts in the state of Texas with student achievement as measured by the data from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The intent of this quantitative study was to narrow the resource allocation focus from the more broad instructional expenditures category by extracting and isolating the professional development sub-category for analysis. Policy makers and school researchers will find significance in the study as they continue to debate whether money matters when determining current funding policy and school accountability measures.