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13 May 2019
Report

Study of the Title I, Part A Grant Program Mathematical Formulas

Statistical Analysis Report

Thomas D. Snyder, NCES
Rachel Dinkes, AIR
William Sonnenberg and Stephen Cornman, NCES

In 1965, Congress established Title I, Part A (often simply called “Title I”) as a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The major goals of Title I funding are to provide services to children in low-income families and to support school districts with large numbers of poor children, also known as formula-eligible children. Formula-eligible children include 5- to 17-year-old children in families living in poverty, children who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, children who are neglected or delinquent, and those in foster care.

Read highlighted findings from the study >>

Today, Title I funds are allocated through a combination of four grants:

  • Basic grants, the single largest source of Title I funding ($6.4 billion in fiscal year 2015);
  • Concentration grants, the smallest of the four grants ($1.3 billion in fiscal year 2015), which are available to districts in which the number of formula-eligible children exceeds 6,500 or 15 percent of the district’s child population;
  • Targeted grants ($3.3 billion in fiscal year 2015), which are allocated to districts through a weighting system benefiting districts with high numbers or percentages of formula-eligible children; and
  • Education finance incentive grants ($3.3 billion in fiscal year 2015), which are allocated directly to states, which then disburse funds to their districts for low-income and disadvantaged children.
Report Overview

The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act mandated a report examining the distribution of Title I funds to better understand how the current formulas affect various types of school districts—large and small, poor and wealthy, urban and rural. AIR conducted this report with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The report provides the public with information about how each component of the Title I funding formula affects the distribution of federal funds to states and school districts. It includes:

  • Detailed analyses for each of the four grant programs;
  • Alternative analyses that isolate components of each grant program;
  • Allocations adjusted by the American Community Survey-Comparable Wage Index, which compares educator salaries with the local cost of living, to help determine the relative value of salaries; and
  • A table of Title I, Part A total allocations by grant type and school district.

Highlighted Findings

For basic and concentration grants, the report shows that per formula-eligible child:

  • Remote rural areas had higher allocations than all other locales;
  • The least poor districts had higher allocations than higher poverty districts; and
  • Compared with larger districts, the smallest districts had higher allocations.

For targeted and education finance incentive grants, the report shows that per formula-eligible child:

  • Large cities and remote rural areas had higher allocations than all other locales;
  • The poorest districts had higher allocations than the least-poor districts; and
  • Districts with more than 25,000 students or fewer than 300 students had higher per formula-eligible child allocations than districts of other sizes.

For more information and to view the report, please visit the NCES website.

 

Study of the Title I, Part A Grant Program Mathematical Formulas (PDF)

Related Projects

Project

Evaluating Title I, Part D Funds and their Impact on Neglected and Delinquent Youth

Title I, Part D of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act allocates funds to states and school districts to improve educational services for neglected and delinquent youth. This study, prepared by AIR for the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, was designed to better understand how state and local agencies and facilities use Part D funds for services in support of these youth.

Related Work

1 Apr 2018
Report

Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs: Final Report

The schoolwide program and the targeted assistance program are two approaches related to the ideas established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that focused on funding being provided to assist low-achieving students in high-poverty schools. This study compares services and resources provided by each approach and the ways these approaches go about allocating their resources.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, Equity in Education, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
23 Apr 2015
Video

Title I: Revisited - Video Series

Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title I established educational equity as a federal priority by providing financial assistance to local education agencies serving children of low-income families. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Title I, the Education Policy Center at AIR is presenting a video series featuring Elizabeth Grant, AIR Vice President, and Monique Chism, Director of the Office of State Support at the U.S. Department of Education, discussing the history, influence, and future of this important legislation.
Topic: 
Education, Equity in Education
31 Jul 2015
Spotlight

title-one-kids-th.jpg

elementary children raising their hands excitedly

Title I at 50: Past, Present, and Future

This spotlight takes a look at the history of Title I, how the program has changed over time, and how it affects children, schools, families and education policy. Experts weigh in on the program's past and future in interviews, briefs, and blogs.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), School Finance, Child Welfare

Further Reading

  • Indiana Revises Its Formula for Teacher Performance Pay
  • New Study of School Finance and Governance in Three California School Districts
  • Majority of Federal Education Dollars Are Spent on Instruction and Instructional Support by Local School Districts
  • Up for Vote #5: Rethinking the Role of Pre-K in ESEA Sequel
  • Integrated Studies of Educational Technology (ISET)
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Rachel Dinkes

Principal Researcher

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Education
Mathematics Education

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