State-of-the-Art Approach

The state-of-the-art approach takes the best of all the other methods and combines them into a new model.

This approach selects research findings on student achievement frequently seen in high-achieving schools,

identifies all the components needed for those research-identified teaching and learning strategies, determines

a cost basis for each of the strategies, and then decides what an adequate spending base for the school

should be. This model makes the decision at the school level; it does not represent the school district average.

The approach draws on research findings that link several instructional practices to increased student

performance, includes some of the best thinking and data in education, and provides a funding level that allows

the school to use schoolwide strategies that state-of-the-art researchers and practitioners affirm are most

effective.

New Jersey has used the state-of-the-art approach in response to its ongoing state supreme court

challenge to its public education finance system. The 1998 state supreme court decision, Abbott v. Burke,

found that the state’s revised funding formula based on the state-of-the-art approach provided adequate

funding because it allowed sufficient monies for schools to adopt and finance the most expensive

comprehensive school designs.

The fiscal adequacy issue is a dominant force in school finance and will continue to play a role in future

court challenges. The issues of equity and adequacy are two sides of one coin. One side asks if we are

treating children fairly. The other side asks if we are doing enough.