money lessons for special education students

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Functional Money Skills in the Special Education Classroom

January 12, 2021 by Fiona

Money skills are an important aspect to independent living.  Not only do students have to be able to identify types of money and their values, or how to budget, but also all of the hand and social skills that come with handling money.  It’s one thing to do worksheets that have word problems involving money,  but being able to transfer those skills in the community is a whole other skill to master.  Here are some ideas to practice these functional skills in the classroom to prepare your students for the community and beyond!

Digital Activities, File Folders, Task Cards > Worksheets

I am not a huge fan of worksheets, just because a lot of times worksheets are not very motivating for my students (and they kill trees), but I do use them from time to time. It depends on the student, but I’m a huge fan of digital activities and task cards, because these are visually engaging. And usually they provide a limited number of answer fields (multiple-choice), which most of my students need.  They are accessible to students that are not able to write. Digital activities are a great way to allow students to either circle the answer, or they can touch/point to it.

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Digital activities are also accessible to those who need audio. So for digital activities, you might have the question read to them, or what the answer choices are, if it’s reading comprehension, you need the whole thing read to them. The other thing that I like is that students can concentrate on one question at a time. So when you’re using a task card, it’s like having one question and one multiple-choice set of answers right there in front of you. Sometimes worksheets can be overwhelming because you have, five, six, 20 different questions on one sheet. So I like that we’re able to just focus on one question at a time.

Digital activities and task cards and file folders make for great independent work centers or small group lessons, you’re able to do that with worksheets also, but if you haven’t already hopped onto the digital activities, these are great for distance learning or back in the classroom. Check out this blog post on how to use digital activities in the classroom .

Need adapted resources for teaching money skills? Check these out:

Money & Math Digital Activities (multiple choice)

Digital Task Boxes (Drag & Drop)

File Folders

Social Narratives (Social Stories)

Why do I use these? They’re visual, and they teach direct social skills instruction that is beneficial to students with special needs or autism. A lot of the times I might do a social story that has to do with money, names and values, you know, the basics about money. And then next we can move on to talking about banking terms, what the banking terms mean, and then how we’re going to apply those in the community or what that means as far as when you’re working in earning money, like how that all correlates.

So putting it into a social story or a social narrative is a helpful way to help your students understand how and why. Some other ideas that you can use are steps to making a transaction. This is a perfect social narrative that you can write, um, how to budget, or how to use a debit card. Anything that needs requires a who, what, where, when, why, or step-by-step social stories are perfect for that.

Use Real Cash (Or fake cash that looks real)

Use actual cash when possible, I think the more realistic it is, the better, it’s easier for the students to transfer that knowledge. If you don’t feel comfortable using real cash with some activities, you can use fake cash. And I’ve found some pretty realistic looking cash on Amazon (affiliate link) CLICK HERE . Try and steer away from monopoly money or the “fake cash” that does not look anything like the real thing because it can be confusing for the student and harder for them to transfer that knowledge to the real thing.

An activity that I like to do, especially if still doing virtual or hybrid learning is you can ask the students to bring a wallet or different amounts of bills and coins with them to the live session.  Or if you’re doing this in class, you would just have all of that readily available for them.  Some simple ideas for activities using real cash:

• Money match
• Name identification
• Value identification
• Pay for an item
• Next Dollar Up
• Which is more/less

How to implement: So you’ll hold up the $5 bill for instance, then all of the students have a $1 bill, a $5 bill, maybe some quarters, you know, all the different coins or one of each thing. Then they have to find which one matches to the one that you’re holding up, and you can go through each one. Another thing you can do is counting all the different values. So they have to hand you either a $5 bill or hand you five, $1 bills, just a bunch of different variations you can work on with that. You can work on name identification, so maybe you’ll hold up the $5 bill or a quarter.

On-Campus/Classroom Jobs

I like to have my students fill out timesheets when they complete a classroom or an on-campus job. That way they are learning that their work is equating to a reward or a paycheck, much like they would experience once they are in the adult world or in their career world. So students can earn money or they can earn points towards, the minutes or hours that they worked. It depends on what type of reward system you want to set up in your classroom. Using actual money can get kind of expensive, but I like lower amounts like 25 cents or something along those lines, that’ll go towards like a snack bar or like a little reward store that they can redeem those things.

This would also provide another opportunity for students to learn how to read analog and digital clocks for when they are, clocking in or clocking out and writing that time down on their timesheet. It also gives them the opportunity to learn to count and add up their hours. So that way they can see, Hey, I worked one hour on Monday, I worked one hour on Wednesday, and I worked one hour on Friday, so I worked a total of three hours this week and that’s going to get me this reward. Having them fill out timesheets is a great way for basic calculations of paychecks.   Check out this simplified timesheet system for your classroom.

Token Economy

Token economy is also a great way to work on “earning” money. So I don’t use too much token economy in the adult transition world just because we usually try and fade out of a token economy, but it’s okay if you’re still using it. And if we are using it, I try and make it functional.  I try and incorporate money into it instead of earning stars or whatever it might be, but you know your students, so you have to choose something that’s going to work for them, especially when it comes to compliance. But if you can, try and incorporate money.  You can simply Velcro fake coins, or you can actually do real coins, which would be even better. That way the student can see it’s a real nickel or a real dime or whatever you choose to use.

Students can work for a prize box or reward store.  You can create a visual menu as a reminder to students of what they are working for.  This menu can consist of simple pricing on it (higher prices for more value rewards). For example, they can earn a coloring page that you set at a dollar’s worth of coins depending on how fast your student needs to be reinforced throughout the day. Another thing I like to do is on Fridays, we go off campus and we go to the dollar tree so they can work towards earning something at the dollar tree that they can purchase. And then from there, we’re using more money skills to make that purchase. So it’s a win, win all around.

Classroom Grocery Store

There’s so many different activities that you can get out of having a classroom grocery store. So what I’ve done is I’ll save up old cans and old boxes. And if you need help, you can ask your staff, or you can ask other teachers or even the parents of your students to send in old packages, after they’re done using them, as long as they’re not like dirty. So be careful about some of the jars. You want to make sure you clean them out pretty well. You can use like a small bookshelf or whatever you have space for that has shelves. Put price tags on each item and make sure to give them different prices so you can do comparison shopping skills also.  You can find these premade price stickers CLICK HERE on Amazon (affiliate link).

They’re great because they have all of the basics of the money that we’re using. So nothing too complicated, it’s all just $1, 25 cents, 75 cents, 50 cents. There’s $5, $10. So these are all the basic money skills we’re trying to target. If you want to use more accurate pricing, you could print out little tags and put down on there, this one’s $4.67 or $3.29, that way you can practice the dollar up method with some of those higher-level price tags.  Here are some of the skills you can work on:

• mock transaction scenarios
• item & price identification
• recognizing items “on sale”
• simple money math subtracting “on sale” price
• next dollar up method
• comparison shopping
• Recipe items (shopping list).

No Room for a Grocery Store? No Problem…Use an Interactive Bulletin Board

I’m not a huge fan of decorating bulletin boards. So for me, if I can make it functional, perfect. The nice part about interactive bulletin boards is they don’t take up too much space, it gets students up and moving, and you can switch these out if you want to do like a department store theme or a hardware store theme, grocery store. And that way it’s changing it up all the time.

Check out interactive bulletin boards here.

Student Businesses

This is an awesome way to practice so many different skills, as well as help fundraise money for your classroom. That way you can use money towards field trips, or you can use money towards a cooking lesson and so on. So some of the money skills that are covered when you are doing a student business is students can figure out the product costs and pricing an item to make a profit. They’re also adding prices if selling multiple products they are getting hands-on money handling when they are selling their items to customers. And they’re working on also giving change back to the customers. If the customer gives them a dollar over amount, they can also practice budgeting money towards more supplies or what they’re going to spend that money on.

Cooking Lessons

Your first thought is, okay, what does cooking have to do with money? But as I had said earlier, when you’re doing these fundraising efforts, or you’re dealing with money to raise for cooking lessons or field trips, this is how you’re going to be practicing your money and skills. So I know a lot of teachers do the cooking lessons, and sometimes they’ll go and get the supplies themselves, but you should make a community-based instruction lesson out of it. It’s an opportunity to go off-campus and then you get to practice skills of going shopping. So after you go over a recipe in your lesson, you can make a list of the items needed for the recipe.

If you are unable to go off campus, utilize your free weekly circular store ads. Then there’s a lot of stores that also have online shopping as well. Check out this shopping list activity here.

Secret Santa/Gift Exchange

Here’s a great activity for around the holidays. This is a dollar store secret Santa, or if you want to call it the secret snowflake, whatever you want to call it, I have a freebie for you (head to the blog link right below to download this freebie). This is a great way to cover basic money skills. And on top of that, the students get to experience the gift of giving.  To read more about this activity and to download the freebie, check out this blog post:  Dollar Store Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Bingo is one of my favorite things to do, and yes, I have adults, but we still play bingo. I think it’s a great way to practice names, values, vocabulary, whatever it is because you’re asking the student to basically match something. Check out these money bingo games here .

Scavenger Hunts

Another great community-based instruction activity would be a scavenger hunt. So this would be something that you can do if you don’t feel like spending any money, or you can do it with a recipe. When you’re doing a cooking lesson, it’s similar to a shopping list, but without the spending. So you’ll give students a list of groceries to find the prices for, and they can go throughout the store, looking for those items and finding the price. If you want to make it a little bit tougher, you can ask them to find the price that was the least expensive, or you can find the price that was the most expensive.  You can give students a budget and then have them pick out brands and items that they like that are within their budget. Check out these grocery store scavenger hunt activities & worksheets .

These are a great way to get students using money (or fake money) hands-on, or if you do them digitally, it is still a great way to get students using money in a functional way.  You can set up a variety of task boxes that include:

• task cards,
• sorting coins
• sorting bills
• placing money in a cash register in the correct spot
• clipping the correct amount of cash to the price tag
• clipping the correct amount of cash to the store ad (cut and laminate prices from a store ad, students will use the next dollar up method)

Need adapted task box resources for teaching money skills? Check these out:

Money Digital Task Boxes (Drag & Drop)

Money Task Box Task Card Sets

Thanks for reading!

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Lessons: Special Needs

These important financial lessons are for special needs students. Educators can customize lesson plans to best fit their students' needs and learning styles.

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How to Teach Money Skills

How to teach money skills in special education.

For students with significant disabilities, being able to count and manage money is critical… but how do you teach money skills in special education? First things first, if you are teaching in an Autism unit, a self-contained special education classroom, or in an inclusion model with general education, there’s one thing you have to do.

You have to make time for practicing money skills in addition to the regular math curriculum.

Truth of the matter is our students often spend too little time working on functional math skills or too much time focused on a single IEP goal. It’s essential that we schedule time for independent practice of money skills as well make progress in the regular math curriculum. Just keep that in mind.

How Do You Teach Counting Money

When it comes to HOW to teach money skills to students with disabilities, there is logical progression of skills.

Master the Fundamentals

First, it’s essential to set a student up for success by helping them master the fundamentals. That means mastering 1:1 correspondence and rote counting (up to 5, 10, 20 and beyond). Notice that students don’t necessarily need to master rote counting beyond 100 to Start learning how to count money. As soon as a student is able to wrote count to 5, you can, and SHOULD, start to address money skills.

Then target coin/bill identification (the names of the coins and bills) as well as the values of each. Now, a note here for those of you stuck on a “naming coins” IEP goal you’ve rolled over for the last 2 years:

Knock It Off!

Yup, you heard me. Although naming coins is important, it’s not critical to learning how to count money. Granted, it does make things easier to call out a coin name, but in the real world, it’s not critical. Think about it;

When was the last time you were at the checkout and the cashier said “Your total is 5 dollars, two quarters and 3 pennies”?

Start Money Skills Early

Getting to work on money skills is something that should happen as soon as a student is able to target any math skills. Use money as manipulatives when you teach one to one correspondence. Use money as a discrimination task so students are familiar with them. Use money as often as possible to help students understand other math skills (even measuring objects with dollar bills).

Exposure is key.

Consider Starting with Dollars

AND to help master the fundamentals, start with dollars first for students who learn skills slowly. I know, seems counter intuitive, doesn’t it? Don’t students have to master coins to move on to bills?

Well, no. They don’t.

You can teach students bills and then at master teach that coins are part of bills and a lot of coins add up dollars. Here’s why: We need to use bills to pay in the real world. Right? You aren’t paying for your groceries with nickels and dimes. At least I hope not.

Most people use bills as their primary cash transaction currency over lots of coins. So, when possible and appropriate, start with bills and save coins for later.

Mastering 1:1 correspondence to 5 and starting to work on the values of coins and bills means it’s time to target money math for your special education students. Here’s how…

Here are the 5 steps to effectively teach money skills to students with disabilities. There is no magic here. You need to model for the student how to do each skill. Have students participate in guided practice. Finally, you’ll have the students practice independently. Here are the 5 steps:

Start with Whole Dollar Amounts.

Focus on dollar up skills, teach skip counting, embed use of visual supports.

• Practice with Real World Money Activities for easy Generalization

Once your students are able to rote count to 5, you can start to work on money skills with whole dollar amounts.

We are targeting a student being able count up using money. It’s also important they start understanding the idea of adding and subtracting.

Finally, we want them to transact with whole dollar amounts.

ACTIVITIES : As a quick and easy activity, have students buy school supplies from you in your “store”. Grab some pencils, paper clips, erasers, and whatever else is within arm’s reach. Then grab a pack of sticky notes and a marker. Make a few ‘price tags’ by writing numbers on the stickies and place them next to each item. Then hand the student a stack of ones. IEP GOAL: When presented with values to the whole number, student will count out the appropriate amount using dollar bills.

And this is an easy activity to make more challenging for students as their skills develop. Add coins or take the value above five dollars. Either way, it’s easy and effective.

Once a student gets to independence and mastery of whole dollar transactions, start to throw in dollar up math.

What is dollar up math?

Dollar Up Math is the ability to round up an amount to the next dollar. In the real world, you do this all the time.

If something is $3.75, you dollar up to $4 so you can easily add numbers, budget your purchases, or just know how many dollars to hand the cashier.

Teaching Dollar Up to Students with Disabilities

When you’re teaching dollar up to students with disabilities, you’ll ask them to count out the whole dollar amount (ex: $2.50 needs two dollars), and then tell them to give one more (put down one extra dollar).

It’s that easy. Some student (and teachers too) get bogged down with a student needing to name the strategy, the bills, or even count independently. Truth is, in the real world, all you need to do is

• Identify the total’s whole number.
• Use 1:1 correspondence to count it out.
• Then add one more dollar.

This is an important skill for students who are learning how to do math with money . They need this functional math skill in the real world to have some level of independence. Plus, it’s important for students with disabilities to continue learning money skills to support their post-secondary goals (*ding, ding… IEP designation*).

ACTIVITIES : Use a dollar up mat to teach students with disabilities how to dollar up.

Better yet, use these dollar up task cards to work on dollaring up on totals up to $5.00.

The dollar mat is embedded into the task cards, making it easy for students to visualize and practice.

Honestly, most students with significant disabilities will have the functional skills they need to transact in cash in the real world with the skills listed above. BUT, that doesn’t mean we stop. Continue to teach money skills to students in special education by working on skip counting.

Skip counting by 5s is the most critical of them all. You can count tens, twenties, dimes, and quarters if you can skip count by fives. It’s also a skill that supports telling time. So, as you start to work on skip counting, use the learning strategies that work best for the student.

Those learning strategies may include using songs and rhymes to make skip counting sing-songy. It may include using manipulatives to rote count and understand sets of five. It may be flashcards or speed drills for review. Whatever the strategy, target skip counting by five as the next stage in money instruction for your special education students.

You knew this one was coming, right? Students learn with visuals and hands on activities. That’s that works in special education and any education. Add a visual aid to help students understand how money relates, how to skip count, and even the names and values of coins.

I have this easy printable for you to use to do just that.

Be specific on how you want to help a student when you choose visuals. Also, consider how some supports need to be taught in order to be used effectively.

Don’t just slap a printable down like *BAM* and then walk away.

Model, practice, and then practice some more.

Final note on visual supports. For students with significant disabilities, sometimes those visual supports are permanent supports. In other words, a student can only do the skill with the support always present. That’s okay.

If a student needs a counting mat to be successful, GREAT! We know what they need to be successful and they have the capacity to be successful.

Now we just have to figure out a way to make that support available for them in real world settings. We also need to make sure that support is real-world appropriate. We don’t want a 25-year-old person with a disability counting their money on a Paw Patrol dollar up mat because that’s what he learned on. Consider the appropriateness of the visuals as students transition to older grades and the post-secondary.

Practice with Real World Money Activities for Easy Generalization

Students with disabilities will need regular practice with their money skills in order to reinforce skill acquisition. That practice will also help students get to mastery and generalize beyond the classroom. In order to do that and keep it fresh, be consistent with using a variety of engaging real-world activities at independent centers or work stations during math time.

If you’re looking for materials that are fresh, engaging, and mirror real world situations, check out these resources.

What is the best way to teach money?

There you have it. When it comes to HOW to teach money skills to students with disabilities, there are five simple steps. Before you begin, start with some solid prerequisite skills, like being able to rote count to 5. Then follow the five steps:

1: Start with Whole Dollar Amounts; 2: Focus on Dollar Up Skills; 3: Pre-Teach Skip Counting; 4: Embed Use of Visual Supports; and 5: Practice with Real World Money Activities for Easy Generalization.

Be sure to use materials that are similar to real world situations so skills meet a student’s functional goals and needs.

Keep it fresh, fun, and functional and you’ll be successful at teaching students money skills in the classroom.

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Academics Life Skills Math

3 Ways to Teach Money Skills in Special Education

Money skills help our students navigate through life with fewer financial struggles and better prepare them for the real world. As part of the Mathematics Common Core State Standards , money skills are important for students to learn in the classroom. Yet, it is more essential for students to generalize and apply these skills in real-life transactions. Below, I have rounded up 3 ways I teach money skills in my special education classroom. Read on to learn more!

1. Identify, match, sort, and skip count money

This is the direct instruction portion of my money skills unit. Students cannot learn transaction skills until they have basic knowledge of the topic. Identifying, matching , sorting, and skip counting are all essential skills used when working with money. Allow ample learning time for students to develop a concrete foundation on these skills.

2. Solve word problems involving money

Your students can now Identify, match, sort, and skip count money – great! Next, it is time for students to apply learned concepts in a structured setting. Before sending students out in the real world, let your students practice their newly learned skills in the safety of their own classroom. We want students to develop solid computation skills when working with money – this will help them be successful in the real world.

3. Shopping at the classroom store or local stores

Your students have mastered applying money skills in the structured setting – YAY! It is time to let our students use these skills in real-life settings. After all, that’s the reason we teach money skills to our students! I run a small-scale classroom store in which students buy their snacks using our class funds. During Christmas time, my class goes on a field trip to the Dollar Store to buy presents for their parents.

You can learn more about community outings here.

Money skills are such important skills to teach our students. However, they can be tricky for our students with special needs. It is imperative that we set our students up for success through this learning process.

How do you teach money skills in your special education classroom? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Related Posts:

How to Teach Budgeting and Money Management With Ease

• fullspedahead
• July 12, 2021
• Curriculum , Helpful Tips , Remote Learning , Technology Tools

Introduction

Budgeting and money management is one of my very favorite skills to teach in special education. We use money every day and it is so meaningful for our students to have this experience as well.

From understanding if you have enough to make a payment, and knowing how to add and count money – our students need more exposure to how to manage their money. I also work with my students to read their bank accounts and know how to use a credit or debit card.

Creating interactive, digital resources that incorporate functional skills is so important, especially for my students. I need them to help my students master and maintain important money math skills in their future lives. They may not be able to access their own bank account right now, but in the future, they will!

In today’s society, financial literacy and money management skills are crucial for individuals of all abilities. For special education students, learning about budgeting and money management can be empowering and help prepare them for independent living and financial success. By providing them with the necessary tools and strategies, educators can help special education students develop practical skills to make informed financial decisions and achieve greater financial independence. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of teaching budgeting and money management to special education students and provide practical tips and strategies for effective instruction.

Grab this FREEBIE for students working on managing their bank accounts:

This past year we have been unable to take community trips to practice our budgeting and money management skills, which is why interactive digital resources and activities are the next best thing. Students can simulate buying and paying for items with and without their debit cards!

You can use these activities directly in your classroom without the need to go anywhere! Another great way to practice this skill is by creating a school store to purchase items with money or card! Are you looking to help your students continue to build these skills digitally? You’re in luck. This resource bundle I have created includes Interactive Boom Cards!

Understanding the Value of Money

Start by introducing the concept of money and its value. Teach students how different denominations represent varying amounts and how to count and handle money accurately. Utilize visual aids, such as play money or interactive apps, to engage students in hands-on learning experiences.

Budgeting and Money Management

Guide students in creating simple budgets that align with their needs and wants. Teach them how to differentiate between needs and wants, set financial goals, and allocate funds accordingly. Provide real-life examples and scenarios to help students understand the concept of budgeting in practical terms.

Money Tracking and Record-Keeping

Introduce students to the importance of tracking and recording their expenses. Teach them how to use tools like expense logs or mobile apps to record their purchases and track their spending habits. Encourage regular review of their records to promote reflection and awareness of their financial choices.

Teach students about making wise financial decisions by comparing prices, identifying sales and discounts, and considering the value and quality of products or services. Help them develop critical thinking skills to avoid impulsive purchases and understand the consequences of their financial choices.

Practical Life Skills

Incorporate real-life scenarios and activities into the curriculum to reinforce money management skills. For example, simulate grocery shopping or create a classroom store where students can practice making purchases, calculating totals, and receiving change. These hands-on experiences enhance their understanding and application of budgeting skills.

Emphasize problem-solving skills by introducing unexpected financial situations and challenges. Encourage students to brainstorm and find creative solutions to manage their finances effectively. Teach them to adapt their budgets when circumstances change or unexpected expenses arise.

Collaboration and Community Connections

Foster collaboration among students by engaging them in group activities related to budgeting and money management. Explore opportunities to connect with local businesses, banks, or financial institutions that offer educational resources or guest speakers to share practical insights and experiences.

Teaching budgeting and money management to special education students equips them with essential life skills for financial independence. By providing practical and meaningful instruction, educators can empower students to make informed financial decisions, set and achieve financial goals, and navigate the complex world of personal finance. Through ongoing support, encouragement, and real-life applications, we can help our special education students build a solid foundation for a financially secure future.

To read more about money and students, read this post!

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Teaching Functional Money Math: Discount Lesson [Special Education]

Our next topic in the Consumer Math Blog Series is about  how to teach Discounts . I'm sharing all about different types of discounts, important skills to cover when   teaching Discounts, and the best resource for teaching discounts,  my Discount Lesson Unit ( click here to get your copy ).

Purpose of Teaching about Discounts

I’m the first to admit I didn’t know what a BOGO was until I worked at Subway restaurant and had to have a seasoned employee show me how to put in discount codes when checking a customer out. I was about 16 or 17 years old. So, I consider it safe to say that while students may know that a discount makes a purchase price lower, they may not know the lingo or process for calculating the actual purchase price. That, in and of itself, is the purpose of teaching this important concept!

Money concepts and skills are real world skills. It's appropriate to begin teaching the concept of discounts and the skill of calculating discounts to students with special needs across a variety of grade levels, from middle school through high school, and especially young adults in transition.  

Types of Discounts

% Off:   When teaching math skills like discounts, this is often the go-to discount type that is covered.  The big idea is that the higher the %, the lower the price.  While this is the discount type that most students will encounter, there are other sale types listed below that a student would need to know how to approach to accurately calculate a total.   

$ Off:   Typical math problems that want to incorporate the use of real money dollar bills are typically $ off a total purchase-type discount.  These are very common types of deals when shopping for items other than food.  

BOGO:   Buy One Get One deals include getting something for free or 50% off and can be seen when buying food and items in stores and online.  This discount type easily lends itself to hands-on activities for practice, as there can be tactile method for teaching this type of discount.  

Buy More Save More: Similar to $ Off, this includes $15 off a $30 purchase, so students need to understand that a coupon doesn't apply when a purchase total price moves into negative numbers.  There may also be tiers to increase discounts the most a buyer spends, such as 15% off for totals over $100, 20% off for totals over $200, and 30% off for totals over $300.  

Sitewide or Specific:   Since most high school students have shopped online, they have probably visited an online store that is offering 15% off 'Sitewide', meaning everything (or nearly everything) that's sold on a website (or in a physical store) is on sale.  They have probably also seen on websites or through email blasts from their favorite stores how only specific categories or types of items might be on sale.  This might include just jeans, out-of-season clothes, or merchandise from a band's previous tour.  Free Shipping deals may not apply to specific orders, including international, custom, or large, heavy orders.  

Limited Time Only:   Some offers are available until an item is sold out, but most are only available until a certain date.  

Exclusions Apply: Discounts become true word problems because there is usually fine print.  A buyer may only be able to purchase so many of a sale item, such as a limit of 10 cans of vegetables, when a specific brand is selling each can for $1.  Sitewide sales may not include gift card purchases or apply to past purchases.  The sale may only be accessed by certain people, like email subscribers or those with a promo code or physical coupon, or the first 25 customers. 

Key-Must-Teach Concepts

A discount is worthless if the buyer doesn’t have the means to purchase it. No sale is worth it if you can’t afford it, and that means cash in hand.

25% = .25 and NOT 25. Being able to convert a percent to a decimal is the first step in calculating a discount and where most students get tripped up with the use of technology and what buttons/operations to press. Re-teach, reiterate and then review this step.  This one step is the catalyst for the step-by-step progression of skills when calculating a discount without using technology apps.  

Discount Lesson Unit 

5-Day Discount Math Lesson Unit

Save valuable prep time by grabbing this 5-day lesson unit for how to calculate % off discount skill.  

Lesson Objective

Calculate the final cost of a bill with a discount applied.

What's Included:

• Lesson plans for 5 days worth of teaching for special education teachers
• % Off discount direct math instruction through notes and guided practice
• Consistent graphics across materials for visual learners 
• Task Cards (Digital task cards through Boom Learning and Printable PDF)
• Fun activities for independent work based on real-world situations
• Different ways to include reading and writing (passage and prompts)
• Assessment (2 levels)
• Answer keys
• Functional math skills practice

Lesson Unit Break Down

Day 1 - Kick off the week with  simple tasks, including  the brain teaser and then layout the flow chart to show how discounts are a part of spending money (and ultimately a part of a budget). Then, keep it straightforward with the reading passage and subsequent materials. Read the passage as a class, dive into the writing prompts, and then end with the T/F questions. This T/F could serve as the exit slip, if you want to assess where the class is at.

Day 2— As you know by now, this day delves into the concepts through input (examples) and output (writing, i.e. notes). Repetition is a good thing, and visuals that complement the concepts help ,  too. Feel free to use the Exit Slip this day, day 3, or even day 4.

Day 3 - The guided practice begins. This worksheet can be completed as a class, in small groups, partners, or independently, your choice! With 10 different scenarios, you could even start as a class with 2, move to small groups or partners for 3 more, then leave the last 5 for independent practice. This worksheet is solely focused on % discounts with round numbers, such as $119.00.

Day 4 - As mentioned above, calculating % discounts is the most challenging ,and thus, the more practice ,the better. This day is dedicated to independent practice. Using the free PowerPoint in my store, students will work through calculating % discounts, subtotals, and totals. If your students are moving through this concept accurately, feel free to throw in a few of your own, such as a BOGO or Save $ on $.

Day 5 - Use the task cards as one last review before the assessment. See the suggestion below. Then, the assessment will be passed out, and follow-up will be done with the word search and functional math review.

***If you want to switch up the word search, give them the word search for the concept you will cover the following week/day. This will get their mind introduced to the vocabulary without any demands.

Task Card Idea

If you want the class to work as a collective team and earn enough points as a group, then try this activity. Designate a ‘spokesperson,’ and perhaps choose a quieter leader or someone with less confidence or who may struggle with the concepts*. Then have the rest of the class move to the back of the classroom in a big group. Give the Spokesperson the question (verbally without the 2 answer options OR the actual card with the two options). That person will walk the question back to the big group, the class will decide as a group what the right answer is, give their ‘final answer’ to the spokesperson and then the spokesperson will walk it back and read it aloud to you. You could do the whole deck or give the class a goal of right answers (say 10 or 12) and once they hit that goal, move on to the next activity.

*The spokesperson may or may not participate in the group decision (which might be good if the topic was difficult for them), would have the opportunity to always answer correctly (hopefully), and could also show their peers they are confident and comfortable taking the lead (for those more quiet, reserved leaders).

Further Practice Idea

Looping back to the first Key-Must-Teach Concept, having a class discussion to solidify that even if a sale or discount or offer is amazing if a student doesn't have the budget to pay for the purchase OR have a true need, then no amount of discount is a 'good deal!'  

Request some money from your department and go out on field trips to a local grocery store or restaurant, and do the discount calculations in real life, with the object in hand! You can do some pre-planning and search websites, social media, or newspapers for discounts to print or you can give each student a specific budget (see how I roped in another consumer math topic so smoothly), and let them spend it on anything that is on sale!  Getting outside the classroom will help contextualize the skill as most students don't encounter opportunities to practice their discount skills naturally within a school day.  

 For example, this could mean buying 2 bottles of apple juice for $6.00 if the budget is $7.00, or grabbing a BOGO free ice cream bar, or a fruit smoothie flavor of the day that is 10% off. Be sure to stress that your receipt is proof of the discount used and the change received.

Ultimate Goal of the Lesson Unit

The ultimate goal is two-fold.

1st fold - What does the discount mean, and will it apply to my purchase? Meaning: Do I have two of the same product to get a BOGO? Have I spent enough money for $5 off $20? Does my Student ID get me 10% or 15% off this slice of pizza?

2nd fold - What steps do I follow to calculate the discount? Meaning: Is 10% .10 or .010? Do I subtract or add or multiply or divide?

Accurately achieving those two parts should mean 100% on that final assessment.

May I Also Suggest Teaching

If you are using a  discount  that means you are purchasing something, so go ahead and pair this lesson with  Sales Tax ,     Budget Lesson Units , and skills to using   Credit Cards  and  Debit Cards .

Looking for a year-long math curriculum of consumer math concepts?   See if this my blog post to see if the  Consumer Math Curriculum  is right for you! 

This lesson unit addresses the foundational skills of shopping and spending for life skills students who need to practice Comparing Prices when shopping , including checking for quality, quantity, and price.  

For educators using the co-teaching model math teachers in a general education classroom, the Discount lesson unit may provide appropriate materials to supplement practice for individual students after the whole class lesson plan.  

Blog Post Author

Heather is a former high school and transition special education educator with 15 years of experience in the classroom. She is passionate about creating high-quality, age-appropriate resources, sharing her knowledge of teaching with fellow educators, and helping Illinois families with disabled teens and young adults as they learn about and navigate the confusing world of benefits.

Are you ready to write better money-related IEP goals?

Yes, five skill practice worksheets for FREE! Functional reading comprehension, vocational, safety, kitchen & cooking, and student IEP transition plans.  

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It's a 4.8 Star rated functional math worksheet activity for a reason!

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Free resources, 4 real-life activities with money for functional math skills your students will love -and a free tool for you.

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Activities with money are a common staple in math classes for life skills students. But so many times, we focus on teaching what money is and its value, and we miss teaching students how to use it effectively.

Knowing how much coins and bills are worth is important. But being able to USE money in real-life situations is more engaging and more functional for students. These 4 fun activities with money are ways to practice these skills in a meaningful way in the classroom.

Restaurant Math: Using Menus for Activities with Money

Restaurant Math: Diner Money Unit is a fun real-life activity with ready-made menus already differentiated for 4 skill levels. Students complete task cards for how much money they would need to purchase items on the menu.

Each of the 4 menus has a different skill level. One has prices only in dollars with no change. Another has change in 25 cent increments. The third has change in 10 cent increments and the fourth has typical prices of all change options.

The 200 included task cards are also differentiated so that students find the price of buying one item on the menu, 2 items or 3 items. This works on basic addition as well as money skills. This way some students can make a purchase with just a dollar bill while others need more cash and can practice making change. And students who are able can use the cards with 2 or 3 items and practice their math skills as well as their money concepts.

This allows students who are just starting with counting bills or learning coin values to complete the same activity as a student who is more proficient at money exchange. Since it’s differentiated it’s easy to use the activities in small groups.

In addition to using task cards, you can have students use real money to pay their bill based on what they want to order. you can also extend it by giving students a set amount of money and asking them if they could afford to purchase certain items or collections of items.

This mirrors the real world situation of the way money would be used in a restaurant. It also helps students begin to understand the true value of money in the community.

Diner Math is available in my TpT store as a ready-made print and go activity. But, without it you can do similar activities with local restaurant menus or finding menus online.

Buy the Reinforcers: A Fun and Engaging Activity with Money

Another hands-on activity is to give students money and put prices on reinforcing or desired items. Using items you frequently use for reinforcers for students as something they can buy makes the exchange of money for items tangible. Typically our students learn best with hands-on activities like this. And it helps them to practice exchanging money for something like in a fun way.

You can make this activity easier or harder by changing out the price tags to easier (single or multiple dollar bills) or more complex (bills and change) prices. You can also have them learn to determine their correct change.

Determine More or Less Than with Store Flyers

This is one I did for a Quick Tip Tuesday a while back. Using grocery flyers from your mailbox or local store, cut out a variety of coupons with different values. Create a simple file folder with envelopes that are more or less than $1 or $5 (or change it out for different amounts of money over time). Students then have to determine if a coupon saves them more or less than $5. This can be a good independent work task, but it also is a great group money activity where you take votes or use response cards for students to answer.

If coupons in your flyers don’t lend themselves well to teaching this math concept, use sales prices with the picture of items from the flyer. You can also cut out the pictures from the flyers and give them prices. Using real-life activities like grocery shopping can be an effective way to help students generalize their money skills and concept of money to community settings.

Make Purchases at a Staged Grocery Store

Students love activities with money with real-life situations. It makes it more likely that they will use this important skill in a variety of ways. Regardless of grade level, students can make exchanges for purchases in a real store. But it can be very helpful to set up a mock store to practice in before going up to the real cashier in a grocery store.

This can be set up in a corner of your classroom. Or you can have them order groceries from a catalog. The catalog can be flyers you have gathered, or grab the store from my Grocery Store Megapack to set it up.

Have them create a grocery list and then find the price of each item. Depending on their skill level, students can complete this activity in different ways. For instance, younger students or those who are still working on value of coins, could practice making purchases for candy or smaller items at the store with lower prices.

Students with more advanced skills whose money concepts are more developed might make more complex purchases (e.g., with coupons or multiple items). They might even enjoy running the cash register and making change for other students’ purchases.

Tips for Activities with Money Instruction

You can supplement this instruction with money templates we have for free in the Free Resource Library . The templates allow you to do instruction around the value of each coin and help students by giving them a template that matches the price of what they need to buy. For instance, if they are buying a slinky for 75 cents, use the template for 75 cents. They can match the coins to the template as visual examples, match up the number of coins, and make the exchange.

When I set up fun activities like this, I really prefer to use real coins and bills as much as possible. Real money just feels different than play money and students know that. However, that’s not always possible, so sometimes plastic coins and printed paper has to make do. In general though, especially with older students, it’s nice to use real money because they can then use that same money to make purchase at the vending machine.

Fun Money Games

Hopefully this gave you some ideas of how to bring money into your math centers or just explore some fun ways to teach money skills to your students. Whatever method you are using to teach teaching money concepts to your students in special education, clearly money identification and coin value are a part of it. But it’s so important for students to undersand what money can do for them and how it work. We all have had times in the store when we don’t know if we have enough change in our wallet to make the purchase.

While this happens less often with debit and credit cards being used more, those could be an alternative method for making purchases for your students in special education as well. But it’s important to remember the importance of still understanding money amounts so that students learn whether they have enough money in their account to make that purchase.

• Read more about: Curriculum & Instructional Activities , Teaching Money Skills

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Teaching Functional Money Math Skills

Understanding money and its use is essential for everyone, including special education students. This is why this skill is almost always a part of a SPED curriculum.

In this article, we’ll learn why teaching functional money skills to special education students is so important. I’ll also share some useful tips and activities to help you teach these skills effectively!

Why is Teaching Money Skills Important?

We use money in our daily lives – when buying groceries, budgeting, or paying bills. Because of this, understanding money is clearly important.

Most of us pick up money skills from school, personal experiences, or by watching others. However, many Neurodivergent students will need extra help to learn money skills.

That’s why it’s important to make time for practicing money skills alongside more general math lessons. These skills are not just about recognizing the different types of money and their values or budgeting. Also, developing the practical and safety skills for handling money effectively ensures excellence in teaching!

Basic Money Math Scope and Sequence

There are SO many skills involved when it comes to teaching money. Don’t fall into the trap of teaching skills randomly!

A financial literacy scope and sequence is essential to guide WHAT you teach (and in what order). The order is important, because you need to teach the prerequisite skills before you can advance to skills that build upon the foundation.

You can use this  FREE Special Ed Financial Literacy Scope & Sequence  to guide you.

How to Teach Functional Money Math Skills Effectively

Struggling with where to begin? Once you’ve looked over the scope & sequence, you’ll have a good idea of how to get going.

But keep in mind that each student with a disability is different, with unique strengths and challenges. That said, you can adjust these ideas depending on the needs and abilities of your students.

Tip #1: Get a Baseline

Do you know what you should ALWAYS do before starting to teach (in any content area)? 

Find out what your students already know.

Use this self-grading set of Google Forms to assess your students in each of the areas covered in the free scope & sequence. You can return to this anytime after teaching the students, to see how they have progressed. Plus -it’s great data to keep on hand for future progress reports and assessments.

Tip #2: Start with the Basics

The best way to begin your money math instruction is by introducing your students to the different types of coins and bills. Before you can use money to make purchases, it’s important to understand the basics – like how a penny is different from a quarter, what a dollar bill looks like, and even money slang like “a hundred bucks.” I like to hang these money posters up and use them as a references as needed.

The easiest strategy for teaching these foundational skills is by showing real coins and bills to your students. Then, you can use worksheets, digital flashcards or task cards so they can practice identifying coins and bills.

Tip #3: Teach Simple Money Math Operations

Next, teach your special education students basic money math operations.

Start with teaching how to add and subtract with coins. For addition, show them how to combine coins with the same value. For subtraction, demonstrate how to make change. You can also practice skip counting with similar coins and bills, and as your students progress, you can then proceed to add different coins and bills!

Tip #4: Use Real-Life Examples

Have you ever taught money math using cut-out colored paper with written amounts on it? Well, that may look cute, but it’s actually not the best way to teach money skills. Using real-life examples with pretend (but real-looking) money makes learning more engaging and practical for your students.

First off, real money and real-life situations provide a concrete way for students to understand the concept of money. When they can see and touch the actual coins and bills, it becomes easier for them to grasp the value and purpose of money.

Next, by using real-life situations as your examples, you’re preparing your students for real-world situations like shopping, budgeting, and making change. They can take what they’ve learned from the classroom and apply it in the real world.

• You can start by doing a simulated grocery shopping inside the classroom. Have your students create a shopping list and budget for those items. Or if you have funds, take an actual grocery shopping trip . Head to a local grocery store with your students. This hands-on experience helps them understand the value of money in a real shopping scenario.

Introduce the concept of budgeting to your students. Explain how people have limited money to spend and need to make choices. Create budgets for different scenarios, like planning a weekly meal, a birthday party, or a community field trip. Help them understand how to allocate their money wisely.

• Create a pretend store in the classroom. Use play money that looks like real money. Use also a real-looking cash register if you can find one. Have the students take turns playing the roles of both shoppers and cashiers. And if you teach older students, why not bring this activity to the next level by hosting a student business? Student businesses are great for practicing money skills.

Tip #5: Use Effective Activities

Using different activities like worksheets, task cards, or digital activities can be very helpful when teaching money math skills. However, you have to make sure that these activities are effective.

An Effective Money Math Activity… 

• Is engaging and interactive
• Is aligned with learning objectives
• Uses real-life scenarios and examples
• Monitors progress through assessments
• Has multiple levels and differentiated instructions

Worksheets provide structured practice, allowing your students to apply what they’ve learned independently. These worksheets can also be made into digital versions which are interactive and visually appealing. You can even add an audio for students who have a hard time reading!

My personal favorite is task cards. They offer versatile, bite-sized challenges for the students because they can focus on one question at a time.

Empower Your Students with Money Math Skills

Teaching money math skills to special education students can be a rewarding experience.  By giving your students a strong start with the basics, throwing in relatable real-life examples, and getting them involved in fun activities, you’re not just teaching money math. You’re also helping them feel more in control of their own decisions, which is essential for their future. As they get the hang of handling money, it’s not just about doing well in class – it’s setting them up for a happier, more secure transition to adulthood. 

Exploring what to teach your transition students, and overwhelmed by the endless ideas?

Remember that your units of focus will depend on your students’ needs; you can build your own curriculum map for the year by using this guide in conjunction with your students’ IEP goals. 

You can get the Transition Roadmap Scope & Sequence here !

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Counting Money Lesson Plan for Special Education Students in an Inclusive Classroom

• Categories : Inclusion strategies for mainstreamed classrooms
• Tags : Special ed information for teachers & parents

Getting Started

Materials needed:

Play money or real coins, so each student (or small group) can count up to $1.00, using various coins

Scrap paper

Chalk and chalk board

Introducing the lesson:

Pass out materials to students and explain that you will be finding different combinations of coins that add up to either 50 cents or $1.00. Students with special needs can do up to 50 cents (or even 25 cents if needed).

Another lesson plan modification in the beginning of this math lesson is to give students fewer coins, or restrict the types of coins they have to work with. For example, only give students who need modifications dimes and nickels to work with.

You do not need any worksheets for these lessons or modifications.

The Body of the Lesson Plan

1. Start by asking students to make 25 cents using nickels. Walk around the room and observe your students’ work. If you notice students are having difficulty, you can make lesson plan modifications on the spot. Ask these students to count coins up to 10 or 15 cents instead. Remind students to count by fives. This is another tip that may help any students that are having troube.

2. Next ask students to make 25 cents using other combinations of coins. Once students are able to make 25 cents in a variety of ways, record these coin combinations on the chalk board.

3. Ask students to use dimes only to make 50 cents. Observe your students’ progress. If students are having difficulty, you can modify the lesson by helping them count by tens up to 50. You can also ask students to make a smaller number of cents with their coins.

4. After students have made 50 cents in a variety of ways, record these ways on the board. Draw attention to any patterns or similarities between the 25 cents and 50 cents combinations.

5. Continue with lesson plans for teaching counting with money in the same way until students are counting coins up to $1.00 . This lesson plan may take more than one math period to complete, depending on your students’ abilities.

Modifications

Depending on your students’ needs, one simpler way for students to count coins to $1.00 is to count dimes and practice counting by tens or to count nickels and practice counting by fives up to 100. They may need specific instruction on the fact that 100 is the same as $1.00. Don’t just assume they know or understand this.

If students are proficient at this skill, then they can start using combinations of coins. Again, it is simpler to ask them to use different coin combinations to make smaller amounts, such as 50 cents, first.

A Better Tomorrow

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Teaching Students About Saving Money: What You Want To Know

August 6, 2024

 Essential Financial Literacy for Kids

Learning to save money is a crucial skill. When students understand saving, they build a strong foundation for a bright financial future. In 2022, The Nation's Report Card on Financial Literacy gave Indiana a "B" grade. [1] Our students’ understanding isn’t bad, but it could improve. So, the more you teach students at home, the better. 

Early lessons in saving help young learners develop good habits that last a lifetime. Saving money means they can handle emergencies, avoid debt, and reach financial goals. Here’s what you need to know about teaching students about saving money. 

How To Teach Students About Saving & Spending

Teaching students about saving can be enjoyable and practical. You don’t have to make it a chore. To keep it simple, use basic financial principles as your guide. 

Start with these basic steps:

• Encourage them to set clear goals. Help students set short-term and long-term savings goals. This makes saving tangible and rewarding.
• Coach them on how to create a budget. Show students  how to make a budget . Teach them to track their income and expenses so they can see where their money goes.
• Use real-life examples. Share stories and instances that illustrate the benefits of saving. This makes the lessons more relatable and interesting.
• Help them open a savings account. Encourage students to  open a savings account . This introduces them to the banking system and helps them see their savings grow.
• Teach the difference between needs and wants. Help students understand the difference between essential expenses and things they just want. This helps them prioritize their spending.

Teaching students about saving can be enjoyable and effective when you take these simple steps.

Recommended:  The Best Financial Goals Examples for Students  

Tips for Teaching Children & Students About Saving Money

By starting early, making lessons fun, and leading by example, you can help students develop solid financial habits. Try to make it a rewarding progress, use technology, and stress the importance of financial literacy. Here's how you can make saving lessons effective and engaging for students.

1. Start Kids Early

It's never too early to start teaching kids to save. Even young children can learn the basics of saving. Use a piggy bank to show them how saving works. As they get older, introduce more complex concepts like interest and budgeting.

You might also like:  How To Teach Preschoolers About Money

2. Lead By Example

Students learn a lot by watching parents and mentors. Be a good role model when it comes to saving money. Show your students how you save and budget. 

Practice your own smart money habits, for example:

• Set aside a portion of your paycheck for savings.
• Create a monthly budget  and stick to it.
• Use coupons and shopping sales to  save money .
• Save up for big purchases instead of using credit.

At every opportunity, share your financial goals and explain the ways you work to achieve them.

You might also like:  What’s a Financial Checkup and Do I Need One?  

3. Reward Saving Money

Positive reinforcement works wonders. When students reach their savings goals, reward them. This can be something small, like a treat or an outing. Rewards motivate students to keep saving. 

Keep in mind that  interest-earning savings accounts ,  certificates of deposit , and  money market accounts  grow automatically. The earnings on these accounts can be enough that you don’t need to offer personal incentives. 

You might also like:  What is a Money Market Account and How Does It Work?  

4. Make Lessons Fun 

Learning about money doesn't have to be boring. Use games and activities to make saving fun. For example, play a savings challenge where students save a small amount each week. Then, see who saves the most by the end of the month.

Active learning means getting students involved in the learning process, not just listening to lectures. According to the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, interactive lessons help students learn better, think critically, remember more, enjoy learning, solve problems, and recall information. [2]

5. Use Technology to Teach Kids

There are many apps and online tools that can help teach your child about managing their student finances. Find age-appropriate tools that make learning about saving interactive and engaging.

Helpful savings tools might include: 

• Digital banking apps  that show real-time savings growth.
• Financial literacy games that make learning fun.
• Budgeting apps designed for kids.
• Interactive resources  that teach money management skills.
• Virtual piggy banks to track savings progress.

With technology, teaching students about saving can be much easier. 

You might also like:  Centier to You Launches Free, Online Budgeting E-Course

6. Discuss the Importance of Financial Literacy

Explain why financial literacy is important. Knowing how to manage money affects every part of life, from paying for college to buying a home. Stress that being financially literate means having control over their future. 

Explain to students that saving will help them: 

• Save for emergencies.
• Plan for big expenses. 
• Avoid debt.

With good money skills, your student can make smarter financial decisions and achieve their goals.

Recommended:  Free How to Save Online Course and Tips at Centier To You

Guide Your Student to a Bright Future With Centier's Help

Teaching students & kids about saving money equips them with essential life skills. They learn to set goals, make budgets, and prioritize spending. These lessons help them become financially responsible adults. Start teaching kids about money early, make it fun, and use real-life examples. Remember, the habits they form now will shape their financial future.

Ready to guide your student to a brighter financial future? Centier is here to help, every step of the way. Bring your student into a branch today to  open a free student checking account with Centier Bank . 

Sources: 

[1]  https://www.indianasenaterepublicans.com/teaching-students-financial-literacy-1 

[2]  https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/evidence-based/active-learning.html 

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Free Printable Money WorkSheets

Summer will be here before you know it. If you want your student/ child or individual to continue practicing math skills, I have provided below 4 money sheets that you can printout and make several copies. The money sheets allows the child to work on both IEP and ISP goals including:

• Identifying coins
• Matching coins
• Visual discrimination
• Transition skills
• Visual learners

Burger King.Worksheet. This is a fun activity especially for children, students and adults that enjoy going to Burger King. The individual will choose the picture and subject the cost of the item from $10.00.  This activity people with dysgraphia, increase money skills, attention skills, task initiation skills and works well as a pre-trip to Burger King. focusing on transition skills.

Matching Dimes Worksheet – The matching dime activity is great for goals on counting and identifying a time. it is useful for children adults that are visual learners and provides hands on materials. The students learning ability will increase with the use of actual dimes.

Circle Nickle Worksheet – This worksheet give the individual an opportunity to work on counting, identify various coins as well as explaining the value of the coin. The worksheet also provides additional support and increases visual discrimination skills.

Dime Counting – helps the child, student or adult with special needs practice counting skills and visual memory.

My plan for the rest of the year is to provide you with more resources that are more functional and allows you to download information.

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With foundation grants, the teachers drive how money is spent

Instead of reaching into their pockets to provide for their students, teachers should reach out to their local education foundation.

“We know that the tax dollars can only go so far,” said Stephanie Hudson, executive director of the Twin Falls School District Education Foundation. “If the teachers in the classroom want to provide that next level of really enriching learning, they’re going to need that funding.” 

Her foundation is one of many across Idaho that supplement school district budgets that often fall short.

Usually foundations offer grants to teachers, typically from $500 to $1,000, for classroom supplies or projects. In the Moscow School District, for example, foundation dollars set up a mock store to help special education students learn to manage money. 

Foundations also support families in need, facilitate staff recognition programs and offer college scholarships.

Sandpoint’s Panhandle Alliance for Education (PAFE), celebrating its 20th anniversary, has awarded over $2 million dollars in teacher grants. 

“To (teachers), it makes a huge difference,” said Amy Longanecker, PAFE’s executive director. “They feel supported, like they have a fan club in PAFE.”

School foundations are now nearly ubiquitous across the state and play an essential behind-the-scenes role in school funding.

And it’s the teachers who drive how money is spent.

Read more here about how education foundations evolved in Idaho.

“we could not do it without them”: education foundations spark innovation.

Jeralyn Mire, a post-secondary counselor at Sandpoint High School, has been awarded a number of grants from the foundation and said the funds help her to experiment with new approaches. 

For example, she started a program called “community connections” that involved taking teachers out into the community to talk to employers about  the skills they seek in employees. Teachers were then able to use that knowledge to better inform their teaching practices. 

Another example is a senior night in which students get a career, mock money, student loans, and bills and then learned how to budget their money. 

“We could not do it without them,” Mire said of PAFE’s support. “It just helps bring life and real-world application and excitement to learning. It just helps students so much.”

PAFE helps get these initiatives off the ground, and then long-term funding is usually picked up by the district or corporate sponsors once they see the event’s effectiveness. 

“Districts are more likely to fund what’s tried and true and efficient,” Mire said. “There’s not a lot of excess funds to try things in traditional education.”

The foundation has also worked to support learners before they enter the K-12 system (with early learning initiatives) and after they leave (with efforts to increase go-on rates to colleges and trade schools). 

The foundation’s Born to Read program, for example, provides every newborn with a packet of books and a library card. 

PAFE is now focused on creating a more robust CTE program. 

“We always listen to educators,” Longanecker said. “It’s never our idea, we don’t tell them what to do – they approach us.”

Ruby Jackson, a special education and Title I teacher at Paradise Creek Regional High School in Moscow, said her local foundation has been a “much needed support” for “new and innovative experiential learning projects.”

For example, the foundation funded the purchase of new kitchen appliances so the alternative school’s students could get hands-on cooking experiences every year. The appliances also mean the school can better collaborate with the University of Idaho’s Eat Smart Idaho nutrition program.

Jackson’s school serves at-risk youth, and she said its important to engage them in exploratory, experiential, hands-on learning — and the grants she’s received help make that possible.

Foundations are behind awards, scholarships, and more

The Boise Public Schools Foundation raises about $3.5 million each year and gives that money right back to schools, students, and teachers, for needs ranging from computer intervention programs, to all-day kindergarten, to redoing Capital High School’s planetarium.

Foundation funds can also be used to help families in need, whether that’s to repair a vehicle, subsidize expensive housing costs, or pay a utility bill. School counselors and social workers identify those families in need and link them with foundation funds.

Foundations are often behind staff recognition programs as well. The Twin Falls School District Education Foundation organizes a teacher-of-the-month program, and acknowledges each winner in person by visiting their classroom or surprising them at a staff meeting. One of those finalists is then entered into Idaho’s teacher-of-the-year competition. 

“Our hope is that (teachers) feel seen,” Hudson said. “In the day-in, day-out, there’s not a lot of recognition for teachers.”

Most foundations also offer college scholarships for graduating seniors. The Moscow Education Foundation awards two scholarships per year for students to attend the University of Idaho or a tech school in Idaho. 

The Lewiston Independent Foundation for Education (and many other foundations) also funds social service needs (such as clothing, shoes, or homeless lodging), field trips, and classroom supplies – “whatever is needed to support the district,” according to office secretary Carla Gomez, who is the organization’s only paid employee. The organization put about $167,000 back into the community last year.

“Anything we can do collectively or individually for students in the state is a good thing,” Gomez said.

Jennifer Henderson, the executive director for the Boise foundation, would agree.

“I want kids to have the most amazing educational experience they can have,” she said. “We could have lawyers, bankers, or the future president walking around our halls right now … There’s no more important place to park your money.”

Carly Flandro

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Racing to Spend Aid for Homeless Students, Schools Get Creative

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Districts are rushing to commit their remaining shares of $800 million in one-time federal aid for homeless students before a September deadline, working with advocacy groups to identify their most pressing priorities.

Districts have until Sept. 30 to obligate those funds, which must be spent by Jan. 31, 2025, unless their state applies for an extended liquidation waiver , which would give administrators until March 2026 to spend money they’ve committed to purposes like ongoing vendor contracts.

The aid, provided as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, gave schools needed resources to identify students experiencing homelessness and to address barriers to attendance, engagement, and academic success, advocates said. Congress provided the funding in addition to nearly $190 billion in general K-12 aid known as ESSER—Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief.

“There is real urgency to maximize the use of these funds for children who have very significant needs,” said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, an organization that advocates for students experiencing homelessness. “We know that the numbers [of homeless students] are going to show an increase. Homelessness is actually higher now than it was before the pandemic.”

As of Aug. 1, about 43 percent of the targeted funding had not been spent, according to the most recent federal data , which may not account for all of the aid that has been committed due to lags in reporting.

An unprecedented surge in aid

The COVID-related aid is about six times higher than the typical annual appropriation for the federal McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, and it reached schools that don’t receive that targeted funding in a typical year.

Despite great need, some districts have not yet used all of the funds due to delays in federal guidance about acceptable uses and logistical challenges in obligating it, especially in those school systems without robust existing programs for students experiencing homelessness.

“McKinney only reaches 1 in 5 school districts, and this is getting to over half of school districts,” Duffield said. “So you had districts who were getting the funds where, in some ways, it was like starting a whole new program because they’d never had them before.”

The spending deadline approaches as federal data show a continued increase in numbers of students experiencing homelessness, which includes students who are “doubled up” in houses with other families, sleeping on couches or in motels, or in other temporary arrangements. Public schools enrolled 1.2 million homeless students in the 2021-22 school year, the data show. That’s a little more than 2 percent of students.

Families may not realize their temporary housing arrangement qualifies them as homeless or that their children are eligible for additional services and supports. Typically, schools use McKinney-Vento funding to pay for coordinators who help identify those families, connect them to community supports, and provide things like school supplies, shoes, laundry tokens, and bus passes to help students attend school.

In addition to those uses, federal officials gave schools the freedom to spend the emergency aid on a broader array of expenses, like covering unexpected car repairs so parents can continue driving their children to school, providing internet hotspots to allow students to do homework without home internet access, and paying for the occasional emergency, short-term motel stay when families have no other safe option.

“A relevant consideration regarding ‘short-term’ might include ensuring a student can complete a week of school before a housing change,” the U.S. Department of Education said in a September 2023 letter.

Advocates have pressed Congress to allow schools to apply those same flexibilities to their ongoing aid for homeless programs after the one-time COVID-related funds expire. They are also racing to help administrators meet the September spending deadline so that they can spend the unprecedented surge wisely, Duffield said.

Schools use aid for bus passes and counseling contracts

With proper documentation, districts can use their share of funding to pay for grocery store gift cards, bus passes, and laundry tokens that can be distributed and used even after the liquidation deadline, SchoolHouse Connection said in recent guidance.

That guidance outlines low-, medium-, and higher-cost options for a range of spending priorities. Among the recommendations :

• To help students with transportation, schools could consider gas cards to help families, bikes for students, or contracts with bus services.
• To help identify students, schools could use funds to print posters, provide staff training, or contract with community organizations to help with outreach.
• To help with technology, schools could pay for everything from prepaid phone cards to creating spaces for families to use the internet after school hours.
• To improve training and staff capacity, districts could pay stipends for professional development, pay conference registration fees, or contract with vendors to assess their current offerings for homeless students and determine how to improve their programs and coordination with outside agencies.
• To provide families with needed supplies, schools can stock up on items like feminine hygiene products, clothing, and in-school washers and dryers for student laundry.
• Funds can also be used for academic supports like tutoring, fees for dual-enrollment programs, and contracts with community organizations to provide services like counseling.

“We’ve got 60 days to really pay close attention to what the needs of students are and to make sure these funds get used to help them,” Duffield said.

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Money Skills Printable Packet for Students with Special Needs

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Description.

Teaching Money is such a hard skill for students with special needs. Using visual aides helps students understand how to count money in isolation and combined. This packet is an awesome resource that is completely PRINTABLE! Seriously! Just Print and go!

Included in the product:

• Pre and Post Test
• Cover page to make personalized packets
• Matching coin to coin
• Matching font and back of coin
• Matching coin to value
• Coin writing: name and value
• Counting by 5’s practice page
• Teaching Page
• Counting Pennies
• Counting Nickels
• Counting Pennies and Nickels
• Counting Dimes
• Counting Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes
• Counting Quarters
• Counting a variety of coins
• More or less value

Please note this is for a digital download. No hard good will be sent to you. You will need to print and assemble.

This is NOT an editable product.

This product is for personal use only, please do not distribute, post, or sell. If you would like to purchase for more than one teacher, please look into the license to purchase at a discount!

Check out these other products that might interest you!

• Special Education 3rd Grade Math full year bundle
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Please let me know if you have any questions prior to purchasing.

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The Moscow Education Foundation is very excited and pleased to announce the awarding of academically-based grants to the following teachers:

Prior Awardees: 

2023-24 2nd Term – Spring

• Paul Brandenstein, Paradise Creek Regional High School, economics supplemental books
• Cyndi Faircloth, Moscow Middle School, wooden looms for foreign language projects
• Ruby Jackson, Paradise Creek Regional High School, support outdoor elective course
• Soona Schmidt, Moscow Middle School, earbuds for students 6th thru 8th grade
• Brian Smith / Jenni Hightower, Paradise Creek Regional High School, support student-led education in social skills

2023-24 1st Term – Winter

• Faye Nagler, elementary schools librarian: update globes, selves and browsing bins in all elementary school libraries.
• Megan Bueller, Lena Whitmore: “A New Home for Rusty” will create a self-sustaining classroom pet project for Rusty, the 2nd grade’s bearded dragon. There will be a new, larger terrarium, a self-sustaining garden and three self-sustaining insect-growing modules.
• Rebecca Sager, West Park. Imaginative play materials
• Leah Villegas, West Park. Imaginative play and adaptive skills materials.

2023-24 1st Term – Fall

During the current school year (thru 10 Dec.) the MEF has awarded grants to these teachers/schools to enhance learning opportunities for Moscow School District students:

• Joint grant to Chimena Zarija (teacher-librarian) / Dina Espy, (Spanish & world languages teacher), Moscow High School (MHS). Update world-language and Spanish resources in the MHS library and in the classroom
• Doug Ackley, MHS PE instructor. Purchase a set of 30 National Outdoor Leadership School books on wilderness medicine for MHS Outdoor Education class.
• Carly Bean, Extended Learning Facilitator & BearMUN Advisor, MHS. Funds for student travel and scholarship for regional Model UN conference in Seattle.
• Andrea Falk, Lena Whitmore Music Specialist. Purchase a large specialty carpet for music room to replace the current too-small and inappropriately-constructed carpet.
• Randi Frederick, electives teacher, Moscow Middle School (MMS). Update outdated equipment to allow yearbook students to photograph and print pictures with fewer technical difficulties.
• Alex Grieg, social studies teacher, MHS. Purchase additional grade-appropriate reading and curricular material about WW 1
• Lindsey Lee, 4th grade teacher, Lena Whitmore. Support of Knitting Club by buying supplies and facilitating service learning
• Faye Nagler, Enrichment Specialist, West Park. Develop STEAM, robotics and computer science literacy
• Ana Payne, West Park Title 1 teacher. Purchase of developmentally-approproate chairs for the Title 1 classroom.
• Meghan Raney, counselor, Lena Whitmore. Support the formation of an art club at Lena for 3rd-5th grade students
• Kathy Stefani, A.B. McDonald. Purchase baritone ukeleles for ukelele orchestra
• John Thill, teacher and coach, MMS. Support of sports/video broadcasting elective at MMS

Spring 2021

• Sheryl Gomez, McDonald: $500 for development of a classroom store for special education students.  Students will be able to earn “money” (realistic simulated money) by helping in the classroom and doing extra chores.  They will then learn to spend money (counting correctly), pay, and make correct change.  
• Doug Ackley, MHS: $554.70 to purchase instructional materials to support self-defense instruction which is designed to enhance self-confidence, increase situational awareness, develop more informed decision making, and conflict resolution skills, and as a last resort, physical defense of self or others.  
• Faye Nagler, Russell: $600 for a revitalization of the classic literature collection (much in need of updating and replacement)  
• Patty Pancheri, McDonald: $564.46 for the purchase of book bags, bookmarks, and leveled books to read over the summer for students to who have received extra support in reading throughout the year.  

2020 and earlier

• Kendra McMillan, Lena: $430 for two Chrome Books to be checked out to families to support academics—home/school connection
• Brian Smith, West Park: $500 to purchase math and language arts manipulative materials to be sent home for families to enhance academics in the home environment and support the home/school connection.  Math kits; magnetic letters and numbers; etc.
• Carly Bean, MHS: $600 to help support the digital participation in the Pacific Model United Nations Conference.  It is exciting that students are referred to as “delegates,” who will work on group communication, conflict resolution, consensus building, critical thinking, public speaking, and listening skills while addressing real world problems.  This is a wonderful opportunity for participants! So glad they have been able to make this digital!
• Jana Horne, McDonald: $480 to purchase Seesaw Plus for Online Learning to support academic areas of math, reading, writing, science, social studies, and social/emotional learning for primary students. Excellent opportunity to enhance the home/school connection.
• Jayne Ching Hui Wang, Lena: $233 to purchase Multicultural Books (biographies, nonfiction, fiction) for first graders.  The topic of celebrating and appreciating diversity is so important, and first grade is a great time for this area of focus!
• Lisa Belknap, Lena: $225 to purchase materials for development of an online Virtual Art Gallery to support the academic areas of art, science, reading and math for third graders. Wonderful opportunity to enhance the home/school connection!
• Kara Ardern: Math Power Packs, West Park: $585 to purchase take home math kits for Title I students to develop number sense and mathematical thinking.  This offers an excellent opportunity to strengthen the home school connection for students in grades K-2.
• Tiffany Ringo, Lena:—$424 to purchase academic Osmo games for third graders.  This purchase enables each student to work with Osmo without sharing—critically important in the era of Covid!
• Erik Brynestad, MHS: $599.41 for purchase of High interest, low readability books for special education students.  
• Melissa Kirkland, MHS: $143.68 in resources for Advanced Speech students to build an in class library for the purpose of enhancing public speaking skills.  
• Paula Karr, Lena: $332.47 to purchase resources for an after school Board Game Club for students in grades 2-5.  Board games encourage appropriate social interaction, critical thinking, problem solving, and enhancement of reading and math skills.  
• Kathy Stefani, McDonald: $500 for the purchase of ukuleles to replace those that are permanently damaged.
• Matthew Pollard, PCRHS: $585.40 for the purchase of Straw Rocket Launchers for your Mission to Mars Challenge.   We are pleased to support learning in the areas of engineering, science, and art (to some degree!). Good luck and happy launching! 
• Matthew Haley and Harper Wallins, MMS: $500 for the purchase of supplies to support your bi-cultural communication project with students from India.  It is impressive that the entire social studies department is participating.  We believe this will improve students’ literacy skills, and even some art!  We also believe that this project will help our students realize differences and similarities among us all–and hopefully gain an appreciation of another culture.  We like the idea of helping our students to become global thinkers and to make the countries of the world seem a bit more connected.
• Lacey Watkins, Title I: $338.75 for the purchase of multicultural dolls for kindergarten students.  We are hopeful that students will gain an awareness and appreciation of other cultures.  I know it is sometimes difficult to measure success with kindergarteners, but I would love to hear about those “teachable moments,” and student comments that indicate alliance with your objectives.  We appreciate your efforts to make students more globally aware at a very young age.
• Kathy Baxter, PCRHS: $600 for the purchase of Sphero Robots for your STEM project.  We are pleased to support learning in the areas of technology, engineering, science, and problem solving.  We like the collaboration component whereby students at PCRHS will teach students at Lena Whitmore and donate the robots to STEM teacher Janice Weesner.
• Faye Nagler, District Elementary Librarian: $600 for the purchase of state reference books for all elementary libraries.  We understand there will be a  focus on 3rd-5th grade social studies curriculum (with an emphasis on 5th grade).  We understand that the books will be stored at Lena Whitmore but will be shared easily among schools through interlibrary loan–I am sure they will be needed by all.
• Kathy Vietmeier, West Park: $600 for the purchase of an iPad and three Sphero robots to help students increase their understanding of computer coding and the connection of math skills (geometry and measurement) to real world problem solving. We are pleased that this STEM opportunity will benefit all three 2nd grade classrooms at West Park Elementary.
• Carly Bean, MHS: $600 to help support the travel of 45 students to the Pacific Model United Nations Conference in Seattle.  It is exciting that students are referred to as “delegates,” who will work on group communication, conflict resolution, consensus building, critical thinking, public speaking, and listening skills while addressing real world problems.  This is a wonderful opportunity for participants!
• Michelle Tanner and Sam Hoogsteen, Moscow High School teachers, were each awarded $500 for the purchase of multiple copies of the book, Boys in the Boat to extend a meaningful learning opportunity to U.S. History students.  This book offers a deeper understanding of the period in our country’s history prior to the onset of World War II.
• Luella Stelck, Lena Whitmore teacher, was awarded $500 to support Lena’s STEAM Day event. (STEAM=Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics)  Items needed for hands-on learning will be purchased for this exciting day of learning about integrated subjects and future career possibilities.
• Doug Ackley, MHS teacher, awarded $500 for supporting an extension to the Fundamentals of Fitness course.  This extension will provide an opportunity to a targeted group of students who would derive benefit in the areas of self-defense and dance.  The instruction is designed to result in a “reduced anxiety” learning situation, and to offer a lifetime of benefit.  Doug is supporting students who require a differentiated instructional opportunity.
• JoyAnn Riley, new MHS teacher, was awarded $250 to purchase instructional posters in the areas of literature, grammar, punctuation, essay writing, and more.  These resources will provide students instant information that can be referred to again and again.
• Pepper Abbott and Ashely Payton, McDonald teachers, were each awarded $459.80 for the purchase of Hokki stools to enable their “wiggle worm” learners to be able to move and learn simultaneously.  These personalized seating options have proven effective for children who have great difficulty sitting still and focusing.
•  Melica Haarr, Lena teacher, was awarded $500 to support special needs learners in the area of physical education.   Lesson plans by Tasks Galore will be purchased to help students gain independence and a sense of success that will extend beyond physical education into classroom learning and their futures.
• Mary Kay Merten, Moscow High School Special Education Teacher: $442 for two charging stations to support the use of Chrome Books for online academic remediation and digital agendas to enhance student/parent/teacher communication.
• Melissa Kirkland, Moscow High School Speech Teacher: $136 for purchase of Yeti Podcasting Mics to enable students to have a more professional experience when recording their individual podcasts.
• Janice Weesner, Lena Whitmore Elementary School Third Grade Teacher: $500 to support an after-school STEAM Club (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) for 3 rd graders.  Students will engage in  STEAM investigations, learn about STEAM professions, and how STEAM efforts contribute to society.
• Jim Rizzuto, Paradise Creek Regional High School: $496 to support the Bicycle Mechanics Proficiency Program, whereby all PCRHS students will gain skills in the areas of health, math, engineering, and safety, as well as problem solving.
• Faye Nagler, Russell Elementary School Librarian:  $500 to support the purchase of updated social studies books for the Russell School Library. The focus will be for revitalizing the United States and State of Idaho geography and history reference section for students in grades 3-5.
• Doris Wear, Moscow High School Librarian: $289 to support the formation of a Student Productivity Center in the High School Bear Library. Purchases include a binding machine, multi-page hole punch, and paper cutter to support students in the development of professional products for required assignments and projects.
• Carly Bean, Moscow High School Extended Learning Teacher: $500 to enable selected students to participate in the Model United Nations Conference in Seattle.  This program enhances student problem solving skills in alignment with current global issues and provides meaningful real-life preparation for the future.
• Paula Karr: $370 to support a West Park kindergarten and second grade buddy system designed to reinforce mathematical concepts.
• Kathy Stefani: $500 to support vocal opportunities for McDonald intermediate students.
• Faye Nagler: $398.99 to support West Par first and second graders in learning and utilizing computer programming and coding to gain knowledge and conceptual awareness in the areas of science, technology, engineering design, and math.

We’re excited to have celebrated another semester of truly amazing teachers and their commitment to Moscow’s students. Another round of grant opportunities will be offered in November, so please let your staff know! More information to come as soon as school resumes in the fall.

Interested in helping or becoming part of the foundation.

Individuals and businesses can donate to the 501(c)(3) public charity.

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The ‘Orgasm Gap’ Isn’t Going Away for Straight Women

A new study suggests they still have fewer orgasms during sex than men do, even with age and experience.

By Catherine Pearson

Sex researchers and therapists have long known that women in heterosexual relationships tend to have fewer orgasms than men do. A large new study suggests that this “orgasm gap” persists — and does not improve with age.

The Numbers

The research, published recently in the journal Sexual Medicine, found that across all ages, men of all sexual orientations reported higher orgasm rates during sex — from 70 to 85 percent — compared with 46 to 58 percent for women. Lesbian and bisexual women between ages 35 and 49 reported higher orgasm rates than their heterosexual counterparts.

The analysis included data from eight Singles in America surveys, which are funded and conducted by Match.com annually in collaboration with The Kinsey Institute, the sexuality and relationships research program at Indiana University. The sample included more than 24,000 single Americans between the ages of 18 and 100.

Researchers were especially interested in the question of whether orgasm rates vary by age. Amanda Gesselman, a research scientist with the Kinsey Institute and lead author on the study, said she thought the team might find evidence that the orgasm gap narrows as women develop confidence and learn what they like (and, perhaps, their partners develop skills to help pleasure them).

However, while older gay and bisexual men and lesbian women did have higher orgasm rates, “we really didn’t see evidence of closing the orgasm gap overall,” she said, adding that she hopes future studies will explore the age-orgasm connection further.

“We really, as a society, sort of prioritize men’s pleasure and undervalue women’s sexual pleasure,” Dr. Gesselman said. “And I think that contributes to consistent disparities.”

The Limitations

Emily Nagoski, a sex educator and author of the book “Come Together” — who did not work on the new study — said a limitation of the study was that the survey asked: “When having sexual intercourse in general, what percentage of the time do you usually have an orgasm?” But it did not provide a more specific definition of what “sexual intercourse” means.

Research shows the majority of women require some form of clitoral stimulation in order to orgasm. So if straight women defined “sexual intercourse” as vaginal penetration alone, it makes sense that there was a significant gap in orgasm rates, she said.

A more revealing question might be, “What percentage of the sex you have do you like?” Dr. Nagoski said. “Orgasm is not the measure of a sexual encounter. Pleasure is the measure of a sexual encounter.”

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Education Spending

How is education financed how much do we spend on it what are the returns.

In most countries basic education is nowadays perceived not only as a right, but also as a duty – governments are typically expected to ensure access to basic education, while citizens are often required by law to attain education up to a certain basic level. 1

This was not always the case: the advancement of these ideas began in the mid-19th century, when most of today’s industrialized countries started expanding primary education, mainly through public finances and government intervention. Data from this early period shows that government funds to finance the expansion of education came from a number of different sources, but taxes at the local level played a crucial role. The historical role of local funding for public schools is important to help us understand changes – or persistence – in regional inequalities.

The second half of the 20th century marked the beginning of education expansion as a global phenomenon. Available data shows that by 1990 government spending on education as a share of national income in many developing countries was already close to the average observed in developed countries. 2

This global education expansion in the 20th century resulted in a historical reduction in education inequality across the globe: in the period 1960-2010 education inequality went down every year, for all age groups and in all world regions. Recent estimates of education inequality across age groups suggest that further reductions in schooling inequality are still to be expected within developing countries. 3

Recent cross-country data from UNESCO tells us that the world is expanding government funding for education today, and these additional public funds for education are not necessarily at the expense of other government sectors. Yet behind these broad global trends, there is substantial cross-country – and cross-regional – heterogeneity. In high-income countries, for instance, households shoulder a larger share of education expenditures at higher education levels than at lower levels – but in low-income countries, this is not the case.

Following the agreement of the Millennium Development Goals, the first decade of the 21st century saw an important increase in international financial flows under the umbrella of development assistance. Recent estimates show that development assistance for education has stopped growing since 2010, with notable aggregate reductions in flows going to primary education. These changes in the prioritization of development assistance for education across levels and regions can have potentially large distributional effects, particularly within low-income countries that depend substantially on this source of funding for basic education. 4

When analyzing correlates, determinants and consequences of education consumption, the macro data indicates that national expenditure on education does not explain well cross-country differences in learning outcomes. This suggests that for any given level of expenditure, the output achieved depends crucially on the mix of many inputs.

Available evidence specifically on the importance of school inputs to produce education, suggests that learning outcomes may be more sensitive to improvements in the quality of teachers, than to improvements in class sizes. Regarding household inputs, the recent experimental evidence suggests that interventions that increase the benefits of attending school (e.g. conditional cash transfers) are particularly likely to increase student time in school; and that those that incentivize academic effort (e.g. scholarships) are likely to improve learning outcomes.

Policy experiments have also shown that preschool investment in demand-side inputs leads to large positive impacts on education – and other important outcomes later in life. The environment that children are exposed to early in life, plays a crucial role in shaping their abilities, behavior, and talents.

Historical perspective on financing education

When did the provision of education first become a public policy priority.

Governments around the world are nowadays widely perceived to be responsible for ensuring the provision of accessible quality education. This is a recent social achievement. The advancement of the idea to provide education for more and more children only began in the mid-19th century, when most of today’s industrialized countries started expanding primary education.

The following visualization, plotting public expenditure on education as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for a number of early-industrialized countries, shows that this expansion took place mainly through public funding. Our topic page on global education provides details regarding how this expansion in funding materialized in better education outcomes for these countries.

How did the US finance the expansion of public education?

Public schools in the US educate more than 90% of all children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools. 5

This is the result of a process of education expansion that relied heavily on public funding, particularly from local governments. The visualization shows the sources of revenues for public schools in the US over the last 120 years.

As can be seen, states and localities are – and have always been – the main sources of funding for public primary education in the US. In fact, we observe three broad periods in this graph: there is first a period of stable revenues until 1920, then a period of sharp growth and decline during the interwar years, and then a period of substantial growth since the Second World War, slowing down in the 1970s. In all these periods, federal funding was always very small.

Disaggregated data from the last couple of decades gives further insights into the specific sources of local revenues for schools in the US: the largest part comes from property taxes (about 80% of local revenues came from property taxes in 2013), while only a very small part comes from fees and donations (private funding for public schools, which is considered a local revenue, amounted to less than 2% of total public school revenues in 2013). This heavily decentralized system relying on property taxes has the potential to create large inequalities in education since public schools in affluent urban areas are able to raise more funding from local revenues. Indeed, a significant part of the debate on education inequalities in the US today focuses on the importance of increasing progressive federal spending to reduce inequalities in public school funding. 6

How did France finance the expansion of public education?

The case of the US above shows that funding for public schools has been historically a responsibility of local governments. In other countries, such as France, the expansion of public education also took place initially with resources from local governments, but relatively quickly the fiscal burden was shifted to the national level. In France, this transition was associated with a sharp jump towards universal access and a concomitant reduction in regional inequalities.

The following visualization from Lindert (2004) 7 provides evidence of the French experience. As we can see there are three distinct periods: education spending was initially low and mainly private, then in 1833 funding began growing with local resources after the introduction of a law liberating communes to raise more local taxes for schools, and finally in 1881 the national government took over most of the financial responsibility after the introduction of a new law that abolished all fees and tuition charges in public elementary schools. In the source book, Lindert (2004) provides further evidence of how this transition towards centrally funded public education reduced north-south inequalities in France.

In the US growth in education expenditure was characterized by growth specifically in the public sector

A comparison of expenditure between public and private education institutions is helpful to contextualize the role the public sector played in the process of education expansion in industrialized countries. The following graph does this using data from the National Center for Education Statistics in the US.

It shows that during the years 1950-1970 – a period of substantial growth in education expenditure in the US – expenditure grew specifically in the public sector. 9

When did the expansion of basic education become a global phenomenon?

The second half of the 20th century marked the beginning of education expansion as a global phenomenon. The visualization shows government expenditure on education as a share of national income for a selection of low and middle-income countries, together with the corresponding average for high-income countries, for more than the last half-century. As can be seen, spending on education in many developing countries has become similar to the average observed in developed countries in recent decades.

It is important to point out that the remark above makes reference to convergence in expenditure relative to income . To the extent that low-income countries remain poorer than high-income countries, gaps in levels of expenditure per pupil are persistently large. Indeed, cross-country heterogeneity in education expenditure per pupil is currently much higher than heterogeneity in expenditure as a share of GDP. 10 One factor contributing to the slower convergence of expenditure per pupil in real terms is the fact that teachers' salaries – the main component of education expenditure, as discussed below – are much higher in high-income countries because labor has a higher opportunity cost in these countries. In general, the opportunity cost of labor is a key variable that governments in developing countries should factor in when deciding whether to expand education now, rather than later.

Education inequality is falling around the world

An important consequence of the global education expansion is a reduction in education inequality across the globe. The following visualization shows this through a series of graphs plotting changes in the Gini coefficient of the distribution of years of schooling across different world regions. The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality and higher values indicate higher inequality – you can read about the definition and estimation of Gini coefficients in our related article . The time-series chart shows inequality by age group.

It can be seen that as inequality is falling over time, the level of inequality is higher for older generations than it is for younger generations. We can also see that in the reference period education inequality went down every year, for all age groups and in all world regions.

Have gains from historical education expansion fully materialized? The breakdown by age gives us a view into the future: as inequality is lower among today's younger generations, we can expect the decline of inequality to continue in the future. Thus, further reductions in education inequality are still to be expected within developing countries; and if the expansion of global education can be continued, we can speed up this important process of global convergence.

Education inequality can decline rapidly across all levels of education – South Korea is an example

The experience of South Korea shows that it is possible to reduce education inequality rapidly across all levels of education.

The following visualization shows two graphs comparing the concentration of years of education in South Korea between the years 1970 and 2010. To be precise, each of these graphs shows an education Lorenz curve: a plot showing the cumulative percentage of the schooling years across all levels of education on the vertical axis, and the cumulative percentage of the population on the horizontal axis.

As can be seen, in 2010 education was much less concentrated than in 1970, not only because there was a smaller share of individuals without schooling (shown at the bottom of the chart), but also because there was a smaller share of individuals concentrating large proportions of school-years at higher levels of education. Indeed, in only 40 years South Korea was able to double the mean years of schooling (from 6 to 12 years) and at the same time get remarkably close to the 45-degree line marking the hypothetical scenario of perfect equality of schooling.

Financing of education across the world

Is funding for education expanding.

The last two decades have not a clear trend in the share of income that countries devote to education.

The following chart plots trends in public expenditure on education as a share of GDP. We can see an upward trend in some countries, but a downward trend in others.

However, as incomes – measured by GDP per capita – are generally increasing around the world, this means that the total amount of global resources spent on education is increasing in absolute terms.

Is additional funding for education taking resources from other sectors?

The following visualization shows government expenditure on education as a share of total government expenditure. The available data also does not suggest a discernible global pattern here.

The data does suggest, however, that there is large and persistent cross-country heterogeneity in the relative importance of education vis-a-vis other sectors, even within developing countries.

European countries tend to assign a lower share of public budgets to education, relative to the amount of their income that is devoted to education

Generally speaking, countries that spend a large share of their income on education also tend to prioritize education highly within their budgets.

The following visualization presents a snapshot of government spending on education around the world. Specifically, this graph plots government expenditure on education as a share of GDP on the horizontal axis, and government expenditure on education as a share of total government expenditure on the vertical axis.

As we can see, there is a positive correlation, but regional differences are stark: for almost every level of spending as a share of GDP along the horizontal axis, countries in Europe spend a smaller budget share on education.

In European countries the weight of primary education within total education spending is lower than in other countries

In comparison to countries where education started expanding later, European countries tend to assign relatively more of their government education budgets to the secondary and tertiary levels, while at the same time devoting relatively less of their general government budgets to education as a whole.

This can be appreciated in the following visualization, where the prioritization of primary education (i.e. the share of primary education within the education budget) is plotted against the overall prioritization of education (i.e. the share of education within the entire government budget).

It can be seen that European countries are mostly located in the upper left. There is a weak positive correlation between the variables, both across all countries and across European countries.

In high-income countries, households shoulder a larger share of education expenditures at higher education levels than at lower levels – but in low-income countries, this is not the case

The following visualization shows the percentage of total education expenditures contributed directly by households in 15 high-income countries and 15 low or middle-income countries.

The top chart in this figure, corresponding to high-income countries, shows a very clear pattern: households contribute the largest share of expenses in tertiary education, and the smallest share in primary education. Roughly speaking, this pattern tends to be progressive, since students from wealthier households are more likely to attend tertiary education, and those individuals who attend tertiary education are likely to perceive large private benefits. 13

In contrast, the bottom chart shows a very different picture: in several low-income countries households contribute proportionally more to primary education than to higher levels. Such distribution of private household contributions to education is regressive.

Recent funding structures in OECD countries

Primary education continues to be publicly funded in industrialized countries.

We have already mentioned that those countries that pioneered the expansion of primary education in the 19th century – all of which are current OECD member states – relied heavily on public funding to do so. Today, public resources still dominate funding for the primary, secondary, and post-secondary non-tertiary education levels in these countries.

The visualization presents OECD-average expenditure on education institutions by source of funds. 14

Publicly funded pre-primary education is more strongly developed in the European countries of the OECD

High-income countries tend to have better-developed pre-primary education systems than lower-income countries. However, within high-income countries, there is substantial heterogeneity in the extent to which pre-primary education is publicly financed.

The visualization presents expenditure on pre-primary educational institutions as a share of GDP across the OECD.

As can be seen, publicly funded pre-primary education tends to be more strongly developed in Europe than in the non-European countries of the OECD.

Where does funding for education go to?

The largest part of funding devoted to education in OECD countries goes to finance current expenditures, mainly compensation of staff – specifically, teachers. The following two charts, taken from the OECD's report Education at a Glance (2015) , highlight the labor-intensive nature of education. In the lower levels of education (i.e. primary, secondary, and post-secondary non-tertiary) the share of current expenditure is very large and exhibits little cross-country variation – between 90 and 97 percent of total expenditure corresponds to current expenditure across all of the OECD countries. In higher levels of education (i.e. tertiary) there is more cross-country variation, but current expenditure still dominates by a large margin across all countries.

What drives current expenditure on education?

In the figures above we noted the importance of current expenditure in the production of education. The following table provides further details regarding the type of expenditures that comprise current spending. Specifically, this chart shows a breakdown of expenditure for tertiary-level institutions in the US (public and private), during the period 1980-1997. It shows that instruction accounts for almost half of expenditure; and while there are some small differences across sectors, there is a fair amount of stability in expenditures across time. This serves as a benchmark for lower education levels, where instruction takes an even larger share of expenditure. 15

International financing flows

Education financing in developing countries has been bolstered by development assistance.

Following the agreement of the Millennium Development Goals, the first decade of the 21st century saw an important increase in international financial flows under the umbrella of development assistance (often also called development aid, or simply 'aid').

The following chart shows total OECD development assistance flows for education by level, in constant 2013 US dollars, for the period 2002-2013. As it can be seen, there are two distinct periods: in 2003-2010 flows for education increased substantially, more than doubling in real terms across all levels of education; and in the years 2010-2013 funding for basic education decreased , while funding for secondary and post-secondary education remained relatively constant. For many low-income countries, where development assistance contributes a substantial share of funding for education, this marked change in trends is important. As a reference, in 2012 development assistance accounted for more than 20 percent of all domestic spending on basic education in recipient low-income countries. 17

The share of development assistance for education going to Sub-saharan Africa has decreased

The reductions in development assistance funds for primary education have been coupled with important changes in regional priorities. Specifically, the share of development assistance for primary education going to sub-Saharan Africa has been decreasing sharply since the agreement of the Millennium Development Goals.

The following chart shows this: sub-Saharan Africa’s share in total aid to primary education declined from 52 percent in 2002 to 30 percent in 2013, while the continent’s share in the total number of out-of-school children rose from 46 percent to 57 percent.

This pattern is something specific to the education sector within the broader development assistance landscape: in the healthcare sector, the overall slowdown of flows started a couple of years later, was less abrupt, and affected proportionally less the sub-Saharan countries. 18

Indeed, recent studies further highlight that development assistance for education is significantly different from assistance for healthcare in other ways: the education sector attracts less earmarked funding through multilaterals, and includes a smaller proportion of resources that developing governments can directly control for programming. 19

You can read more about development assistance for healthcare in our article on healthcare spending .

Development assistance priorities have the ability to increase or reduce expenditure inequalities

We mentioned above that public spending on education has translated, in the long run, into lower inequality in education outcomes across most of the world. But for any given country, with a given income distribution and demographic structure, the extent to which public spending on education contributes to reducing inequality depends crucially on the way in which spending is focused across education levels.

The recent UNICEF report The Investment Case for Education and Equity shows that in low-income countries, on average 46 percent of public resources are allocated to the 10 percent of students who are most educated – while this figure goes down to 26 and 13 percent in lower-middle and upper-middle income countries respectively.

The following visualization shows further details on the concentration of public spending across different countries. The vertical axis shows the percentage of public education resources going to the 10% most educated or 10% least educated students – as we can see expenditure is heavily concentrated at the top in many low-income countries.

The earlier remarks about trends in international education financing flows (namely that aid is very important in low-income countries, and that a relatively low and shrinking share of aid is going to primary levels), suggest that inequality in public spending may worsen in low-income countries. Yet development assistance priorities have the ability to change this. 20

What determines educational finance?

The big picture, why do governments finance education.

One of the reasons to justify government intervention in the market for education, is that education generates positive externalities. 21 This essentially means that investing in education yields both private and social returns. Private returns to education include higher wages and better employment prospects. Social returns include pro-social behavior (e.g. volunteering, political participation) and interpersonal trust .

The following chart uses OECD results from the Survey of Adult Skills to show how self-reported trust in others correlates with educational attainment. More precisely, this chart plots the percentage-point difference in the likelihood of reporting to trust others, by education level of respondents. Those individuals with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education are taken as the reference group, so the percentage point difference is expressed in relation to this group.

As we can see, in all countries those individuals with tertiary education were by far the group most likely to report trusting others. And in almost every country, those with post-secondary non-tertiary education were more likely to trust others than those with primary or lower secondary education. The OECD's report Education at a Glance (2015) provides similar descriptive evidence for other social outcomes.

The conclusion is that adults with higher qualifications are more likely to report desirable social outcomes, including good or excellent health, participation in volunteer activities, interpersonal trust, and political efficacy. These results hold after controlling for literacy, gender, age, and monthly earnings.

Do countries that spend more public resources on education tend to have better education outcomes?

Education outcomes are typically measured via 'quantity' output (e.g. years of schooling) and 'quality' output (e.g. learning outcomes, such as test scores from the Programme for International Student Assessment – PISA).

The following visualization presents three scatter plots using 2010 data to show the cross-country correlation between (i) education expenditure (as a share of GDP), (ii) mean years of schooling, and (iii) mean PISA test scores.

At a cross-sectional level, expenditure on education correlates positively with both quantity and quality measures; and not surprisingly, the quality and quantity measures also correlate positively with each other.

But obviously correlation does not imply causation: there are many factors that simultaneously affect education spending and outcomes. Indeed, these scatterplots show that despite the broad positive correlation, there is substantial dispersion away from the trend line – in other words, there is substantial variation in outcomes that does not seem to be captured by differences in expenditure.

Does cross-country variation in government education expenditure explain cross-country differences in education outcomes?

The following visualization presents the relationship between PISA reading outcomes and average education spending per student, splitting the sample of countries by income levels.

It shows that income is an important factor that affects both expenditure on education and education outcomes: we can see that above a certain national income level, the relationship between PISA scores and education expenditure per pupil becomes virtually nonexistent.

Several studies with more sophisticated econometric models corroborate the fact that expenditure on education does not explain well cross-country differences in learning outcomes. 25

School inputs

Each education system is different, but improving teacher quality is often more effective in improving learning outcomes than increasing the number of teachers per pupil.

A vast number of studies have tried to estimate the impact of classroom resources on learning outcomes.

The following table summarizes results from the systematic review in Hanushek (2006). 26 In this table, the left-hand side summarizes results from econometric studies focusing on developing countries, while the right-hand side presents evidence from the US (where studies have concentrated extensively).

We can see that for all listed inputs and across all countries, the share of studies that have found a positive effect is small – in fact, the majority of studies find either no effect or a negative effect. This clearly does not mean that these classroom resources are not important, but rather that it is very difficult to know with confidence when and where they are a binding constraint to improve learning outcomes.

A first conclusion, therefore, seems to be that context and input mix are fundamental to improving outcomes – even in developing countries where the expected returns to additional resources is large across the board.

Taking the ratio of positive to negative effects detected in the literature as a proxy for what tends to work best, we can derive a second conclusion from the table: spending more resources on better teachers (i.e. improving teacher experience and teacher education) tends to work better to improve learning outcomes than simply increasing the number of teachers per pupil. This seems to be true both in developed and developing countries.

This last conclusion is consistent with the main message from the OECD's report Does money buy strong performance in PISA? , which points out that countries that prioritized the quality of teachers over class sizes performed better in PISA tests. 27

This is is also consistent with a recent high-quality study on the impact of teacher quality on test scores using data from the US, which suggests that improvements in teacher quality can causally raise students’ test scores. 28

Remedial teaching can yield substantial improvements in learning outcomes

Education in low-income countries is particularly difficult because there is substantial heterogeneity in the degree of preparation that children have when they enter school – much more so than in high-income countries.

Evidence from policy 'experiments' in developing countries suggests remedial teaching, in the form of assistants teaching targeted lessons to the bottom of the class, can yield substantial improvements in learning outcomes.

The following visualization summarizes the effects of four different policy treatments within the so-called Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI) in Ghana – this is an initiative that evaluated four different such remedial teaching interventions. 30

The units in this figure are standard deviations of test results. The first two sets of estimates correspond to the test-score impacts of enabling community assistants to provide remedial instruction specifically to low-performing children, either during school or after school. The third set of estimates corresponds to test-score impacts of providing a community assistant and reducing class size, without targeting instruction to low-performing pupils. The last set of results corresponds to testing the effect of training teachers to provide small-group instruction targeted at pupils’ actual learning levels.

As we can see, while all interventions had a positive effect, the lowest impacts – across all tests – come from the non-targeted 'normal curriculum' intervention that reduced class sizes, and from the intervention that provided training to teachers on how to engage in targeted remedial teaching themselves. This suggests that the improvements in outcomes were caused by the combination of targeted instruction and TCAs who, unlike teachers, were specifically dedicated to this purpose. These results are consistent with findings from across Africa, suggesting that teaching at the right level causes better learning outcomes in a cost-effective way. 31

Are pay-for-performance teacher contracts an effective instrument to improve learning outcomes?

We have already made the point that the bulk of education expenditure goes specifically towards financing teachers. We have also pointed out that improving teacher quality may be a particularly good instrument to improve teaching outcomes. This leads to a natural question: are pay-for-performance teacher contracts an effective instrument to improve learning outcomes? A growing body of literature in the economics of education has started using randomized control trials (i.e. policy 'experiments') to answer this question. Glewwe and Muralidharan (2016) provide the following account of the available evidence:

"Results suggest that even modest changes to compensation structures to reward teachers on the basis of objective measures of performance (such as attendance or increases in student test scores) can generate substantial improvements in learning outcomes at a fraction of the cost of a "business as usual" expansion in education spending. However, not all performance pay programs are likely to be effective, so it is quite important to design the bonus formulae well and to make sure that these designs reflect insights from economic theory." 33

The conclusion is that well-designed pay-for-performance contracts are a cost-effective instrument to boost test scores; but this does not mean that they are necessarily effective at achieving other – perhaps equally important – objectives of time spent in school. In simple words, it is possible that pay-for-performance yields 'teaching to the test'.

Other incentive mechanisms, such as community-based monitoring of teachers, have been proposed as an alternative. Glewwe and Muralidharan (2016) also provide a review of the – somewhat limited – available evidence on such alternative incentive mechanisms. 34

Household inputs

School attendance and student effort are responsive to incentives.

Demand-side inputs are as important as supply-side inputs to produce education. Attending school and exerting effort are perhaps the most obvious examples: without these inputs, even the best-endowed schools will fail to deliver good outcomes.

The table summarizes information on different demand-side investments that have been shown to successfully improve quality and quantity outcomes. More precisely, this table gathers evidence from randomized control trials in developing countries, as per the review in Glewwe and Muralidharan (2016). The reported figures correspond to positive/negative significant/insignificant estimates across a set of available experimental studies (bear in mind some studies estimate more than one effect – e.g. by measuring outcomes at several points in time).

As we can see, the evidence suggests interventions that increase the benefits of attending school – such as conditional cash transfers – are likely to increase student time in school. And those that increase the benefits of higher effort and better academic performance – such as merit scholarships – are likely to improve learning outcomes. 35 .

Targeting health problems can be a particularly cost-effective way of increasing school attendance

In many low-income countries, health problems are an important factor preventing children from attending school.

The following visualization presents a comparison of the impact that a number of different health interventions have achieved in different countries – together with some non-health-related interventions that serve as references. The height of each bar in this graph reflects the additional school years achieved per hundred dollars spent on the corresponding intervention; so these estimates can be interpreted as a measure of how cost-effective the different interventions are. 37

We see that treating children for intestinal worms (labeled 'deworming' in the chart) led to an additional 13.9 years of education for every $100 spent in Kenya; while a program targeting anemia (labeled 'iron fortification') led to 2.7 additional years per $100 in India. These interventions seem to be much more cost-effective in improving test scores than conditional cash transfers, free school uniforms, or merit scholarships. 38

Of course, ranking these interventions is not trivial since most programs achieve multiple outcomes – indeed, we have already discussed that remedial teaching is generally effective to increase test-scores, although here we see a particular instance where it had no impact on school attendance.

Nevertheless, health interventions seem to be particularly interesting, since they lead to substantial achievements in both education and health outcomes. 39

How important are pre-school investments?

The environment that children are exposed to early in life plays a crucial role in shaping their abilities, behavior, and talents. To a great extent, this is what drives large and remarkably persistent gaps in education achievement between individuals in the same country, but in different socioeconomic environments. Cunha et al. (2006) provide a detailed account of the theory and evidence behind this claim and discuss its implications for the design of education policies.

In the chart, we see the impacts of the Perry Preschool Program – a flagship experimental intervention study, designed to test the impact of preschool education on subsequent education outcomes. 41

The chart shows disadvantaged children participating in the preschool program (the 'treatment group') had higher grades and were more likely to graduate from high school than the reference control group. Moreover, they spent substantially less time in special education. Other programs have similarly shown evidence of very large and persistent returns to early education interventions.

Interactive Charts on Education Spending

See the Wikipedia entry on compulsory education for a table of the ages of compulsory schooling around the world.

As per estimates from Adam Szirmai, (2015) The Dynamics of Socio-Economic Development .

As per estimates of Gini coefficients for the distribution of school years in Crespo Cuaresma, J., KC, S., & Sauer, P. (2013). Age-specific education inequality, education mobility and income growth (No. 6). WWWforEurope.

As per estimates reported in Steer L. and K. Smith (2015), Financing education: Opportunities for global action . Center for Universal Education.

As per 2015 enrolment estimates from the NCES.

An article from the Huffington Post highlights this point, including interesting visualizations documenting the important role that federal funding plays in reducing expenditure inequalities.

Lindert, Peter H. Growing public: Volume 1, the story: Social spending and economic growth since the eighteenth century . Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Lindert, Peter H. Growing Public: Volume 1, the story: Social spending and economic growth since the eighteenth century . Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Bear in mind that the estimates from the National Center for Education Statistics are not broken down by source of funds. Rather, they show expenditure by type of institution – which is not equivalent, since public institutions may spend private resources, and vice versa.

In 2010, high-income countries spent 6721 US PPP dollars per primary school pupil. Low-income countries, in contrast, spent 115 US PPP dollars per pupil (UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2014).

Jesus Crespo Cuaresma, Samir K.C., and Petra Sauer (2013) – Age-Specific Education Inequality, Education Mobility and Income Growth . WWWforEurope working paper; Working Paper no 6.

Data from Petra Sauer (2016) – The Role of Age and Gender in Education Expansion . Working Paper.

Strictly speaking, for this spending pattern to be truly progressive there must be subsidies or income-contingent loans to guarantee that low-income students can also access tertiary education and reap the private benefits from this type of investment.

The OECD provides country-specific figures. However, there is relatively little variation across OECD countries in this respect. This is explained by near-universal enrolment rates at these levels of education and the demographic structure of the population.

This is a stylized fact of OECD education spending. In all the OECD countries, the share of spending devoted to the compensation of teachers is by far the largest component of current expenditure. Moreover, expenditure on teachers' compensation is larger at the combined primary, secondary, and post-secondary non-tertiary levels of education than at the tertiary level. See Table B6.2 in Education at a Glance (2015) for details on the breakdown of current expenditure across all OECD countries by education level.

Welch, F., & Hanushek, E. A. (2006). Handbook of the Economics of Education, Two Volumes. North Holland.

Steer L. and K. Smith (2015), Financing education: Opportunities for global action . Center for Universal Education. Available Online from the Brookings Institution

The share of development assistance going to sub-Saharan Africa has decreased as a whole – from 55 percent in 2002 to 40 percent in 2013 –, but as we note the drop specifically for primary education has been steeper.

Steer L. and K. Smith (2015), Financing education: Opportunities for global action . Center for Universal Education.

The conclusion from these figures is that, while public spending does reduce education inequality in low-income countries, remaining inequalities could be further reduced by shifting resources towards lower levels of education. This evidently does not mean that resources should be shifted – low-income countries and aid donors may have other objectives apart from reducing inequality. But the case for reducing inequality at the bottom is very strong, and some studies suggest that returns to education at the primary level might be higher than at post-primary levels in low-income countries (for a discussion of the vast literature on returns to education, and the ongoing debate on the validity of estimates, see Heckman, J. J., Lochner, L. J., & Todd, P. E. (2006). Earnings functions, rates of return and treatment effects: The Mincer equation and beyond. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 1, 307-458. ).

That positive externalities justify government intervention in the provision of education is essentially an efficiency argument. The logic is that individuals may not spend enough on education because they fail to internalize the positive effect that their education has on other people. But there are, of course, also equity arguments to justify government intervention in the provision of education – for instance, reducing inequality in education may be of intrinsic value, or may be instrumental in reducing inequalities in other outcomes.

As per the source notes: "Percentage-point difference reflects the relative change of reporting to trust others compared to the reference category. For example, in Norway, the percentage of individuals with tertiary education reporting to trust others increases by 20 percentage points compared to someone who has upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education. Similarly, after accounting for literacy proficiency, the percentage of individuals with tertiary education increases by 16 percentage points compared to someone who has upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education."

Data on expenditure corresponds to 2010 total government education expenditure across all levels, as a share of GDP (source: World Bank Education Statistics). Data on PISA scores corresponds to 2010 mean average test scores across categories – mathematics, reading, and science (source: OECD PISA). Data on years of schooling corresponds to 2010 mean years of schooling for the population aged 15 and over (source: Barro Lee Education dataset)

Does money buy strong performance in PISA? - OECD. Available online here .

For a discussion of the evidence supporting this claim, see Hanushek, E. A., (2006). School Resources. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 2.

Hanushek, E. A., (2006). School Resources. Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 2. Elsevier.

This claim is clearly only descriptive since there are many underlying variables that simultaneously drive teacher characteristics and student outcomes in any particular country. Indeed, most of the available evidence on whether teacher quality and quantity matters is difficult to interpret causally, as it is hard to find instances where teacher quality/quantity varies exogenously. A recent study concludes on the topic: "teachers vary in many ways, but we found no high-quality studies that have examined the impact of teacher characteristics on student learning or time in school" (source: page 696, Glewwe, P. and Muralidharan, K. (2016) Improving Education Outcomes in Developing Countries: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Policy Implications . Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 5. )

Chetty, Raj, John N. Friedman, and Jonah E. Rockoff. 2014. “Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I: Evaluating Bias in Teacher Value-Added Estimates.” American Economic Review, 104(9): 2593-26

Hanushek, E. A., (2006). School Resources. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 2.

Further details in Innovations for Poverty Action, 2014. I mplementation Lessons: The Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI) .

For further details, see: Glewwe, P. and Muralidharan, K. (2016) Improving Education Outcomes in Developing Countries: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Policy Implications . Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 5. Elsevier. (Link to working paper)

Innovations for Poverty Action (2014). Implementation Lessons: The Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI) .

Glewwe, P. and Muralidharan, K. (2016) Improving Education Outcomes in Developing Countries: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Policy Implications . Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 5. Elsevier.

They conclude that "evidence on the impact of monitoring on time in school is scarce and not encouraging...[while] the evidence of the impact of monitoring on student learning is only somewhat more encouraging"

See Glewwe and Muralidharan 2016 for further details on the underlying policy interventions, plus further evidence and discussion of results

Glewwe, P. and Muralidharan, K. (2016) Improving Education Outcomes in Developing Countries: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Policy Implications . Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 5. Elsevier. (Link only to working paper)

Bear in mind that the reported gains in school years are a measure of the total impact of the program across the treated population, rather than impact per treated student. Further information on cost-effectiveness analysis is available from the source of the graph.

Further details on all interventions available in: Dhaliwal, I., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Tulloch, C. (2013). Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis to inform policy in developing countries: a general framework with applications for education . Education Policy in Developing Countries, 285-338.

For an analysis of the literature on the impacts of mass deworming see: Croke, Kevin, Joan Hamory Hicks, Eric Hsu, Michel Kremer, and Edward Miguel. 2016. “ Does Mass Deworming Affect Child Nutrition? Meta-analysis, Cost-effectiveness, and Statistical Power .” Working Paper.

Dhaliwal, I., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Tulloch, C. (2013). Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis to inform policy in developing countries: a general framework with applications for education . Education Policy in Developing Countries, 285-338.

More specifically, the Perry preschool 'experiment' consisted of enrolling 65 randomly selected black children in a pre-school program, and comparing their outcomes later in life against those achieved by a control group of roughly the same size. The treatment consisted of a daily 2.5-hour classroom session on weekday mornings and a weekly 90-minute home visit by the teacher on weekday afternoons to involve the mother in the child's educational process. More information and details on the intervention are available in Cunha et al. (2006).

Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., Lochner, L., & Masterov, D. V. (2006). Interpreting the evidence on life cycle skill formation . Handbook of the Economics of Education, 1, 697-812.

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