TY  - JOUR
AU  - Guryan,Jonathan
TI  - Does Money Matter? Regression-Discontinuity Estimates from Education Finance Reform in Massachusetts
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8269
PY  - 2001
Y2  - May 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8269
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8269.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Jonathan Guryan
Northwestern University
Institute for Policy Research
2040 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
Tel: 847/467-7144
E-Mail: j-guryan@northwestern.edu
AB  - The paper studies a typical state-level education finance equalization scheme, and considers two questions. First, what fraction of state education aid is spent on schools? And second, does increased educational funding for historically low-spending districts lead to improved student achievement? Estimates based on variation in spending caused by state aid formulas suggest that 50 to 75 cents of each dollar of education aid were spent on schools. Estimates also suggest that increased spending improved 4 th -grade test scores, but show no effect on 8 th -grade test scores. Further analysis shows that increases in 4 th -grade average test scores were associated with improved performance by low-scoring students.
ER  -