An Analysis of the Equity in the Allocation of Elementary School Categorical Grants

This study analyzes the horizontal and vertical equity of the categorical grants allocated by the Chungcheongbuk-do Office of Education to public elementary schools in 2022. Specifically, it examines the equity of grants designated for teaching and learning activity support and educational welfare. The analysis employs coefficient of variation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multilevel modeling, and multiple regression modeling. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, the analysis of horizontal equity, which compared the size of categorical grants by school size at the school level, revealed significant discrepancies between schools for grants designated for teaching and learning support as well as educational welfare. Second, a comparative analysis of categorical grants between schools with relatively high and low percentages of after-school program free vouchers (a proxy for the proportion of low-income students) indicated that schools with 13 or more classes and a higher proportion of low-income students received less grants for teaching and learning support and educational welfare. This finding suggests an issue from the perspective of vertical equity. Third, the analysis of vertical equity using multilevel modeling and multiple regression modeling showed that the higher the proportion of students benefiting from after-school program free vouchers and the greater the number of special classes, the higher the amount of categorical grants allocated for teaching and learning support. For educational welfare categorical grants, the increase in the proportion of students with after-school free vouchers and the number of special needs students correlated with higher allocations. Furthermore, educational welfare grants decreased as the average monthly household income in the school district increased, which is positive from a vertical equity perspective. Beyond the analysis indicating that students with higher educational needs received statistically significant higher allocations of categorical grants, further research is necessary to determine the additional amount of educational funding required to meet the needs of the low socio-economic status students in order to satisfy vertical equity in the future.