Why is Adequacy Important?
Public education is going through “standards-based” reform – a period involving increasing performance standards, assessment methods and accountability measures aimed at improving public education. Enacted into law under No Child Left Behind, these modern practices represent a significant shift in what public education is supposed to accomplish. Standards-based reform didn’t start with No Child Left Behind, though. A gradual shift had been taking place without federal legislation. More public K-12 systems were being moved away from merely providing opportunities – systems were expected to achieve certain outcomes. About the same time states started setting standards for what students should be able to accomplish, an important discussion about the way schools are funded began. Historically, schools are funded by using “residual budgeting” methods – meaning that funds available to education were determined politically and arbitrarily on a what-is-available basis. With the states now dict
