Impact of Professional Development Expenditures on Student Achievement iIn Texas Public Schools
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D)
Department
Educational Administration
Date of Award
Fall 2013
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. The study found no impact on professional development expenditures when analyzing student achievement data of property wealthy districts, and very minimal impact when performing the same analysis on property poor districts. Further research, which narrows the scope of the professional development expenditures, is needed to measure the impact of the various types or implementations of professional development. Policy makers will find significance in the study as they continue to debate whether money matters when determining current funding policy and school accountability measures. School researchers will benefit from the addition to the current literature in regard to resource allocation at the district level.
Advisor
Chuck Holt
Subject Categories
Education | Educational Administration and Supervision
Recommended Citation
Johnston, Jason L., "Impact of Professional Development Expenditures on Student Achievement iIn Texas Public Schools" (2013). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 491.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/etd/491
