What is the Quality Education Model?
The Quality Education Model was a venture put forth by the State Legislature to determine what a adequate quality education would cost.
After the passing of Measure 5, the Oregon state legislature became much more responsible for funding K-12 schools. According to a legislative brief, "In 1997, Speaker of the House, Lynn Lundquist, appointed a committee to determine the cost of a quality education for every student, rather than basing funding decisions on historical levels and guesswork. The committee, consisting of educators, parents, business leaders, and legislators, met over the next biennium in an attempt to craft a reliable tool on which to base a kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) budget, one that would correlate funding with student performance. The committee presented its findings to the 1999 Legislative Assembly in the form of the Oregon Quality Education Model."
After the passing of Measure 5, the Oregon state legislature became much more responsible for funding K-12 schools. According to a legislative brief, "In 1997, Speaker of the House, Lynn Lundquist, appointed a committee to determine the cost of a quality education for every student, rather than basing funding decisions on historical levels and guesswork. The committee, consisting of educators, parents, business leaders, and legislators, met over the next biennium in an attempt to craft a reliable tool on which to base a kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) budget, one that would correlate funding with student performance. The committee presented its findings to the 1999 Legislative Assembly in the form of the Oregon Quality Education Model."
The Oregon legislature has not been able to fund K-12 education at QEM levels. According to the same above brief, "For the 2009-2011 biennium, costs for full implementation of the model were estimated to be $8.347 billion in state resources. This level of funding would result in a per-student (weighted) funding of $7,880 the first year of the biennium and $8,212 in the second year.The 2009 Legislative Assembly’s appropriation for public K-12 education for the 2009-2011 biennium was $6 billion, $2.35 billion below the level recommended by the QEM."
Legislative Brief:
| qembrief.pdf |
Revised QEM Document:
| revised-final-quality-education-model-october-2010-.pdf |
