Who is Helped Or Hurt By Number Weighting?
The Congressional Research Service analyzed how each district would be affected if instead of having the option of number weighting, every district had to be weighted only by its percentage of Title I students. The results tell us how much the number weighting option benefits or harms each district. Compared to how they would be funded if all districts were weighted on the basis of their poverty rate alone.
About $408 million in weighted grants is shifted among districts, both interstate and intrastate. Another $48 million is shifted to the largest districts from Puerto Rico ($28.8 million) and from the funds send to states for the education of students in institutions for delinquent children ($18.9 million).
Overall, about 550 districts are "number weighting" winners
About 10,760 districts are "number weighting" losers.
- Districts that gain the most:
- Large districts with many students but moderate to low poverty rates – suburbs and county wide districts that include both cities and suburbs;
- Districts with a high absolute number of Title I students as well as high poverty rates – inner cities.
- Districts that lose the most:
- Small districts with high poverty rates;
- Small-to-moderate sized urban districts with high poverty rates;
- Nearly all districts in states with very large urban districts;
- Nearly all small and moderate sized districts in every state. About 8,000 small districts lose 15% or more.
