History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
On the education budget and the crisis in the states; or: What does money have to do with good public schools?
- 02-16-2011
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Blog by Dana Goldstein/Lady Wonk
In the documentary "Waiting for Superman," there's a clip in which Bill Clinton is shown campaigning in 1992 in front of a teachers' union group. Education reform, he tells the teachers, "is not about money. Except when it is about money." This is supposed to make us laugh and deride the received wisdom of the Democratic Party. After all, everyone knows Washington, D.C. has the highest per pupil spending in the country and some of the worst achievement outcomes. Everyone knows the United States is spending more per pupil than any country except Switzerland, yet our kids are getting their asses kicked by those smarty-pants Singaporeans. And it's true. Except when it isn't. Take a look at this scatter plot comparing per pupil spending to high school graduation rates. As you can see, some states--like D.C. and New York--are spending a heck of a lot and getting a heck of a little. But overall, as the good folks at the New America Foundation point out, there is no easy conclusion we can draw about the relationship between spending and academic achievement. (more...)
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