This article describes five key findings from a Center for Innovation in Education report on a New Hampshire completion-based funding (CBF) school finance model. New Hampshire embraces a competency-based education system, and this funding approach provides student funding based on assignments completed rather than enrollment numbers. The article details how the funding model works and outlines five key findings from the report, including:
- The advantages of a low-stakes CBF approach in which funding is awarded based on assignments completed rather than mastery of a final course exam as used in states with a high-stakes CBF model;
- The use of a memorandum to set up the agreement with the school rather than a state statute;
- The practice of converting assignment completion into the average daily membership rate used by other schools in the state;
- The finding the low-stakes CBF model costs less;
- A concern that the approach may not be successful in other states if policy conditions unique to NH are not taken into consideration.
Despite noting that some of the success of this model may be due to conditions unique in NH, this new approach can be considered by policymakers in other states to encourage student learning through policies to better align school funding approaches with competency-based education systems.
Source Organization: iNACOL