Financial aid received for poor pupils, and programs for students with special needs add expenses, too. Each district also has unique circumstances. Small enrollment in Lockland, for example, creates added per pupil costs if the district wants to provide comprehensive programs, Superintendent Fox said. Other factors are more universal. A 1998 study by the Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based nonprofit group that advocates charter schools and vouchers, found attendance had a more powerful effect on student performance than per pupil spending, class size and even teacher experience.
Socioeconomic factors have an even bigger impact.
Low income can mean frequent moves from district to district, and it can affect parent involvement in their children's education. Both affect the skills youngsters bring to class. You can't just throw money at a problem that has cultural roots and familial roots. Connie Lippowitsch, director of curriculum and instruction at Forest Hills, attributes her district's success, in part, to well-educated parents who have the time and the resources to help their children. We have parents who are high achievers, and they have those expectations of their children.