An integrated assessment of the effects of Title I on school behavior, resources, and student achievement

We examine the effects of Title I on school behavior, resources, and academic performance using a rich set of school finance and student-level achievement data from one large urban school district using a regression discontinuity design. We find that Title I eligibility raises Federal revenues of schools by about $460 per student. This is partially offset by decreases in revenues from state categorical aid grants, so that the net increase to schools is about $360 per student. We find no impact on overall school-level test scores, but also no impact among the subgroups of students most likely to be affected by Title I. A novel finding is that schools appear to respond to the incentives embedded in the Title I allocation process by manipulating the fraction of their students signed up for free lunch to secure more Federal funds.

► Eligibility for Title I funding increases the amount of federal dollars received per student to schools by about $460, but this amount is partially offset by a reduction in state aid of about $100. The net increase in total revenues represents only a 3–4% increase relative to not being eligible. It is therefore unlikely that average achievement for all students at a school will significantly rise.
► As expected, we find no increase in average test scores. With within school targeting of funds, it is possible that Title I funds would improve the test scores of subgroups of students, but we find no impacts on average scores of students likely to be targeted nor do we see any difference in the overall distribution of test scores among similar Title I eligible and ineligible schools.
► We find that schools appear to ‘game’ the Title I eligibility rules by manipulating the free lunch counts that form the basis of determining eligibility.