Reallocation of Resources to Improve Academic Achievement of Underachieving Student

The purpose of this action research study was to research, develop and evaluate a different method of allocating resources to individual schools within a district based on the needs of the students being served and not the traditional resource allocation model that distributes resources equally to all schools based on student enrollment. As most school districts are facing changing student demographics, certain student groups may need additional support and this support may not be able to be fully provided using the traditional approach to resource allocation while attempting to provide all students with an appropriate education.;The study consisted of designing a new funding model, based on current student demographics and achievement levels, and then presenting the new funding model to school leaders from similar school districts to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the new model. The goal was to redistribute resources to provide a greater opportunity for low-achieving schools to improve the academic performance of their students.;The findings of the study indicate that school leaders had a high degree of agreement on the value of a weighted funding model. Overall, the results of the survey indicate that the new funding model would benefit students that are low achieving by reallocating some resources between schools. There was consensus that the new funding model was student-driven based on needs and that with the current changing student demographics, a funding formula that takes different student needs into consideration would be welcomed and accepted by school leaders. It was perceived that this approach is a step in the right direction and more accurately targets spending where it is needed while providing an equitable level of base funding.