Equity and Adequacy in School Finance Today

S TANDARDS-BASED education reform has been the focus of education policy for nearly 20 years, and it seems likely to remain so for years to come. Standards-based education reform seeks to educate more students to high levels of achievement, a goal that has elements of both equity and excellence built into it. Moreover, the goal is outcome oriented and focuses on the results of the education system. The excellence part of the goal requires at least a doubling of the performance of our education system over the next decade or so. The equity part of the goal requires dramatically diminishing the “achievement gap” between low-income and minority students and all other students. Equity and Adequacy in School Finance Today