Equalization effects on selected Arizona school districts: A longitudinal study.

Abstract

The dissertation examines the effects of equalization on Arizona unified school districts. Data was collected from three time spans, 1979 to 1981, the period of time before the passage of equalization legislation; 1982 to 1986 the period of time that equalization took place; and 1987 and 1988 the period after equalization was to have been fully realized. The study uses six measurements of equalization. The Range of Revenue per student was found to indicate a slight in inequality. The Federal Restricted Range Ratio also indicated a slight trend toward inequity. Inequity has decreased from 1.79 in 1979 to 1.47 in 1988. The data became erratic during the period of time that equalization was taking place. Both the Range of revenue and the Federal Restricted Range Ratio are relatively invalid measurements of equity. The Coefficient of Variation, a much better measure, indicated on overall trend toward increased equity. The Coefficient of Variation was.35 in 1979 and.29 in 1988. The McLoone Index, a widely used measure of equity, indicated that the State of Arizona has had a high degree of equity throughout the study; it was.92 in 1979 and.91 in 1988. The Lorenz Curves that were produced and the Gini Coefficients gave further indication that the State has had substantial equity throughout the study. In 1979, the Gini Coefficient was.04 and.03 in 1989. The results of the data indicate that there was little effect on equalization of unified districts in Arizona from the passage of HB 2013 in 1980. Immediately after the passage of the law, the data became more erratic, but equity did not increase substantially. The reason there was little effect on equity is thought to be because the degree of equity as measured by the Coefficient of Variation, McLoone Index, and the Gini Coefficient was so great that any increase in equity would be very difficult. The McLoone Index indicated equity was within 12% of perfect equity and the Gini Coefficient indicated equity was within from 1% to 4% of perfect equity.