Glossary

DATA ENTRY DEFINITIONS

SPECIAL CATEGORIES OR NEEDS

Note: Each category or need should include the total number of students who need services, whether they are receiving them or not. In some cases, the number needing and the number receiving a service will be the same, e.g., for vocational and special education students. But for other categories, such as English language learners or low-income students, the number may or may not be the same.

English-language learners (ELLs)
All students whose first language is not English should be counted as ELLs, whether they are enrolled in special programs or not. This category can go by many different names: limited English proficiency (LEP), English as a Second Language (ESL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), bilingual students, or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Any of these categories can be included, as long as the definition is consistent across the whole district.

Low-income students
Districts define this category differently. Many use the number of students qualifying for free or reduced-price (FRP) lunches, while others have other types of figures related to poverty. As long as the definition is consistent across the whole district, any definition can be used. Students who fall into a low-income category should be counted whether they are receiving Title I services or not.

Special education students
All students with IEPs (individualized education programs) should be included. The number of students needing services and the number receiving services should be the same; otherwise, the school would be out of compliance with state and federal regulations.

Note: Special education is a large category, including widely varying student needs and costs for supports. Districts should take care when interpreting data based on averaging special education costs across all schools. If some schools have a few very high-need learners, it may skew the average.

Vocational
All students enrolled in vocational programs in the district should be included.

Other categories
Any other category or need, for instance gifted education, may be added to the analysis. As long as the definition is consistent across the district, the category may be defined however the district chooses.

ENROLLMENT/NUMBER OF STUDENTS

Total student enrollment (school)
The total number of students enrolled in the school, including students enrolled in regular education and students enrolled in any other program at the school. The sum of this figure for all schools should equal the figure entered for the total student enrollment for the district. 

Total student enrollment (district)
The total number of students enrolled in all schools in the district; should equal the sum of the total student enrollments from each school. 

Number of students in each special category or need (school)
The number of students in a particular school in each special category or need identified by the user for the analysis, e.g., English language learners, special education students, or low-income students. The sum of this figure for all schools in each special category or need should add up to the figure entered for the total number of students for the district. 

Number of students in each special category or need (district)
The total number of students in all the schools in the district in a particular category or need identified by the user for the analysis, e.g., English language learners, special education students, or low-income students; should equal the sum of the number of students in each special category or need across all the schools in the district.  

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

Total expenditure for school
Total district spending allocated to the budget of each school, including money budgeted to the school for special programs included in the analysis. Enter when you add a new school to district information or edit information about an existing school.

Note: The sum of the total expenditures entered for each school in the district must equal the total district expenditure entered on the district page, or the analysis will not work.  

Total district expenditure on schools
The sum of the district's expenditures on all its schools, including special programs. Enter this figure when you create a new district or edit information about an existing district.

Note: Only money allocated to school budgets should be used. Do not include any centrally controlled expenditures not assigned to specific schools via the school budget. This figure must equal the sum of the total expenditures entered for each school in the district, or the analysis will not work. 

EXPENDITURES ON SPECIAL CATEGORIES AND NEEDS

Total expenditures on special categories or needs for each school
Total amount of expenditures allocated to each school's budget for each one of the particular categories or needs identified by the user for the analysis, e.g., English language learners, special education students, or low-income students. These figures are not entered anywhere in the analysis, but you may need them to calculate the total expenditures on special categories or needs for the district.

Note: For each special category or need, the sum of these figures for all the schools must equal the total district expenditures on each special category or need entered for the district, or the analysis will not work.  

Total district expenditures for each special category or need
Total amount of district expenditures for each one of the particular categories or needs identified by the user for the analysis, e.g., English language learners, special education students, or low-income students. Enter these figures when you create a new district or edit information about an existing district.

Note: Only money allocated to school budgets should be used. Do not include any centrally controlled expenditures not assigned to specific schools via the school budget. This figure must equal the sum of the total expenditures entered for each school in the district, or the analysis will not work.  

SUBGROUPS OF SCHOOLS ANALYSIS

School subgroup
Subgroups of schools that interest you (high schools, magnet schools, schools with high-poverty populations, schools in a particular section of your city, etc.). You will need to define these subgroups and identify which schools in the district fall into each subgroup.

Note: You must have at least two schools in each subgroup for the subgroups analysis to work. 

GENERAL TERMS USED IN THE TOOL

Coefficient of variation
A measure of how extreme the variation of values is in a distribution, compared to the mean of the distribution: the standard deviation divided by the mean. A low coefficient of variation indicates that most values are close to the average. A high coefficient of variation indicates that many values are much higher or lower than the average, sometimes suggesting the presence of inequities.

» How to calculate the coefficient of variation  

Mean
Same as the average: Sum of all values in a distribution divided by the number of values in the distribution.

» More about the mean  

Staffing-based allocation formulas
A traditional approach to allocating resources among schools in the form of full-time employees.
» More about staffing-based and other traditional allocation formulas

Standard deviation
A measure of how extreme the variation of values is in a distribution: the square root of the sum of the squares of the differences between each value and the mean, divided by the number of values in the distribution. Used to calculate the coefficient of variation.

» How to calculate the standard deviation

Student-based budgeting
An approach to allocating resources among schools in a district based on both the number of students enrolled and weights assigned to various categories of students such as high-poverty, disabled, gifted, vocational, or bilingual; addresses the inequities and lack of flexibility of staffing-based allocation formulas.

» More about student-based budgeting

Variation among schools analysis
A set of calculations, based on weighted indexes, that can compare spending levels among schools in a district, pinpoint which schools receive more resources and which receive too few, and make comparisons across districts with different student populations and funding formulas.

Variation among subgroups analysis
A set of calculations, based on weighted indexes, that can compare funding levels for subgroups of schools and students that commonly drive funding inequities: for example, school level (elementary, middle, or high school); school type (e.g., magnet); school population (e.g., high- or low-poverty); or school region.  

Weighted average expenditure
What the district dollar expenditure for a given school would be if the school received the average amount the district spends on each category of students enrolled at that school, in the same proportions as at that school: the total number of students in the school times the district's basic per pupil allocation, plus the district's average additional per pupil expenditure for students in each special category or need in the analysis, such as English language learners, special education students, or low-income students. Used to calculate a school's weighted index. Note: the weighted average expenditure based on district averages but is different for each school because it is adjusted for the school's particular mix of students.

» More about the weighted average expenditure  

Weighted index
A measure that allows comparison of funding levels across schools while accounting for differences in student populations: the ratio of the actual expenditures at a given school to the weighted average expenditure (average districtwide dollar expenditures for students with varying characteristics, weighted according to the particular mix of students at that school).

» More about the weighted index