After adjusting for inflation, education spending per student has nearly tripled over the past four decades. But while some states and districts have spent their additional dollars wisely-and thus shown significant increases in student outcomes-overall student achievement has largely remained flat.
To spark a national dialogue about educational productivity, the Center for American Progress attempted to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of almost every major school district in the country. Their report, “Return on Educational Investment,” measures the academic achievement a school district produces relative to its educational spending, while controlling for factors outside a district’s control, such as cost of living and students in poverty.
Key findings from the report include:
–Many school districts could boost student achievement without increasing spending if they used their money more productively.
–Low productivity costs the nation’s school system as much as $175 billion a year.
–Additional school dollars must be spent wisely to improve student outcomes.
While the report likely raises more questions than it answers, it is still quite thought provoking. How can systemic alignments to promote student achievement allow districts to leverage funding in support of outcomes? Core Education specializes in analysis of state and local educational systems to determine alignments that will promote cost-effective results. See http://www.coreeducationllc.com/page12.php for more information about our services.
For the”Return on Educational Investment” report, see http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/01/educational_productivity/report.html
A district-by-district interactive map is available here: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/01/educational_productivity/
