Snapshot Comparison Position Paper

Snapshot Comparison Position Paper
District 1 has 93.3 % off its student population that is categorized as economically disadvantaged. District 2 has only 20.7 % off its student population categorized as economically disadvantaged. These two Districts have substantial differences in economically disadvantaged populations. Total refined ADA Adjusted for Decline in District 1 is 3893.75 and 4032.98 in District 2. District 1 WADA is 5555.82 and District 2 is 4794.08. With these figures in mind it brings up the question, why does a district with a smaller ADA have the larger WADA?
Before attempting to answer this question I want to define WADA. WADA (weighted average daily attendance), in Texas, is defined as students with additional education needs are weighted for funding purposes to help recognize the additional costs of educating those students. Weighted programs include special education, vocational, bilingual, gifted and talented, and compensatory education. A weighted student count is used to distribute guaranteed yield funding. I would also like to note that district 1 is the district with the lower ADA but the higher WADA.
Now let us evaluate each district’s programs that pertain to WADA. District 1 has 48% LEP students where District 2 has only 2%. This alone significantly affects WADA. District 1 has 9% Special Education population and District 2 has 7%. This is not a significant difference but will virtually affect the WADA. Another major difference in the 2 Districts that affected WADA is the Bilingual population. District 1 has a population 41% and District 2’s population is a mere 2%.
With just this little amount of information the question should be easily answered. The ADA is weighted by the state to provide funds to meet the needs of the students in District 1. WADA helps to provide a lower ADA income district with funds to meet the needs of students with educational needs.