This report examines disparities between school districts in instructional expenditures in elementary and secondary schools for each state and also for geographic regions and the nation as a whole for the period from 1979-80 to 1993-94. Six alternative disparity measures were used: (1) the coefficient of variation; (2) the Gini coefficient; (3) the Thiel coefficient; (4) the federal range ratio; (5) the McLoone index; and (6) Atkinson's index. For most of the states, a majority of disparity indices for unified districts indicated declining disparity from 1979-80 to 1993-94. For each of the states for which the measures fell, the decline in disparity does not necessarily mean the state has a more equitible distribution of education expenditures as the percentage and distribution of special needs students may have changed over that period.
Online Availability
