Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children

Courting Failure examines the issues involved in school funding adequacy in light of recent court cases and shows that judicial actions regarding school finance—related to either equity or adequacy—have not had a beneficial effect on student performance. The expert contributors explain why low achievement is not inevitable for disadvantaged students and why school resources are not the dominant factor in whether students “beat the odds.” They show that cost studies on the price of an adequate education turn out to be more politics than science. And they tell how many districts often do not spend the funds they have in the manner need.

CONTENTS
	Introduction Eric A. Hanushek	xiii
1.	Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. New York: The March of Folly Sol Stern	1
2.	The Legal Backdrop to Adequacy Alfred A. Lindseth	33
3.	High-Poverty, High-Performance Schools, Districts, and States Herbert J. Walberg	79
4.	High-Spending, Low-Performing School Districts Williamson M. Evers and Paul Clopto	103
5.	Thorough and Efficient Private and Public Schools Paul E. Peterson	195
6.	How Can Anyone Say What’s Adequate If Nobody Knows How Money Is Spent Now? Marguerite Roza and Paul T. Hill	235
7.	Science Violated: Spending Projections and the “Costing Out” of an Adequate Education Eric A. Hanushek	257
8.	Adequacy beyond Dollars: The Productive Use of School Time E. D. Hirsch Jr.	313
9.	Funding for Performance A Policy Statement of the Koret Task Force	329
	Index	357