Abstract
The Problem. The intent of the study was to determine if there were meaningful relationships between selected variables and the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) percentage of high school student enrollment of 304 California districts during the year 1977-78. The selected variables were size of district, average class size, urbanity-suburbanity-rurality, student ethnicity, and use of home-contact attendance officials. It was hypothesized that correlations may exist and that they result in an inequity of district ADA apportionment funding from the State of California. The study attempted to answer the following questions: (1) What is the ratio, stated in percentages, of attendance to enrollment of the 304 school districts in this study? (2) What is the relationship of size of district, by enrollment, to attendance percentage? (3) What is the relationship of district average class size to attendance percentage? (4) What is the relationship of urban, suburban, and rural district setting to attendance percentage? (5) What is the relationship of student ethnicity to attendance percentage? (6) What is the relationship of district utilization of home-contact attendance officials to attendance percentage? Methodology. Data were collected from reports issued by the California State Department of Education and by means of a questionnaire mailed to 375 California unified and high school districts. Spearman, Kendall, and stepwise multiple regression correlational techniques were used to yield findings that answered questions posed by the study. Selected Results. (1) The ADA percentage for the 304 study districts ranged from .650 to just under 1.000. (2) The mean ADA ratio was .942. (3) The range of ADA percentages resulted in significant differences in the proportionate amount of ADA apportionment income received by the study districts. (4) There was not a strong correlation between each of the variables of district size, average class size, urbanity-suburbanity-rurality, and use of home-contact attendance officials to ADA percentage. (5) The relationship of student minority ratio to ADA percentage was meaningful. Selected Conclusions. (1) The range of ADA percentages resulted in an inequitable distribution of ADA apportionment revenue by the State. (2) The inequitable distribution of ADA apportionment revenue is partially responsible for the current financial disparity among school districts. (3) There is not a significant relationship between ADA percentage and size of district, average class size, or urbanity-suburbanity-rurality. (4) A meaningful relationship exists between ADA percentage and the percentage of minority students within a district. (5) Employment of attendance officials as defined in this study is not a step that will enable a district to predict that it will have a high Average Daily Attendance ratio to student enrollment. (6) Districts with larger ratios of minority students are receiving lower proportions of ADA apportionment revenue.