Study: States Spending More On Education Doesn't Lead To Better Test Scores

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, State Budget Solutions (SBS), a nonprofit organization advocating for fundamental reform of state budgets and a project of Sunshine Review, released an extensive educational study examining whether continually increasing funding for education guarantees improved student performance. The state-by-state analysis found that from 2009-2011, the states that spent the most money as a percentage of total spending did not produce students with better ACT scores or graduation rates. 

"In 2010, total annual spending on education exceeded $809 billion dollars. That amount is higher than any other industrialized nation, and more than the spending of France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia combined. However, our study clearly shows that spending money isn't going to achieve the results that taxpayers are funding and parents are wanting," said Bob Williams, President of State Budget Solutions.

State Budget Solutions researchers analyzed the national trends in education from 2009 to 2011 by conducting a state-by-state analysis of education spending as a percentage of total state spending, and a comparison of average graduation rates and average ACT scores per state. The study focused on the percentage of total spending that each state allocates towards education. Education spending includes the funding that state and local governments generate, as well as additional federal contributions.

From 2009 to 2011 the national average for state educational spending as a percentage of total spending dropped from 30 percent in 2009 to 29.3 percent in 2011. The top state spenders across all three years were Texas, Vermont and Arkansas, all spending at least 4 percent more than the national average. Michigan made the top five in 2010 and 2011. Virginia earned the #4 and #5 position in 2009 and 2011, respectively. 

The states that spent the least as a percentage of total spending during 2009-2011 were Alaska, which came in last all three years, Hawaii and Tennessee. New York and Massachusetts also made the bottom five in 2010 and 2011.

For states that spent the most, only Vermont saw significant results from 2009 to 2011.  In fact, four out of the five states spending the most on education failed to produce correspondingly high graduation rates or ACT scores. Arkansas remained in the top five states in spending for all three years, yet Arkansas' average ACT scores consistently fell below the national average, and continue to decline annually. In 2010 and 2011, Texas ranked first in the nation in spending, 36.9 percent each year, but fell below the national average in graduation and ACT scores.

Similarly, states spending the lowest percentage of total funds on education did not fail with regard to performance measures.  In 2009, 2010 and 2011, 45 states spent more on education as a percentage of total spending than did Massachusetts, yet Massachusetts ranked first in the nation for the highest average ACT scores all three years.

"Many states resort to throwing money at education in a poor attempt to improve test scores and graduation rates. Instead, educators and elected officials need to look at what is working in various states with high ACT scores and graduation rates. What they will see is that states taking a more active role in educational outcomes produce better performance results. Taking a more active role in education includes developing flexible, practical education plans tailored to state students or prioritizing school district transparency to minimize waste and fraud," said Williams.

According to State Budget Solutions, from 1970 to 2012, total average per pupil expenditures in the United States more than doubled.  Between 1984 and 2004, real expenditures per pupil increased by 49 percent, mimicked by federal and state spending, which increased 138 percent since 1985. At the state level, K-12 education currently accounts for nearly a third of total state spending annually.

To see the full study click here.

To read Bob Williams full bio click here 

About State Budget Solutions

The State Budget Solutions is non-partisan, positive, pro-reform, proactive and anchored in fundamental-systemic solutions. State Budget Solutions is a project of Sunshine Review, a national, nonprofit pro-transparency organization. The goal is to successfully engage political journalists/bloggers, state officials and opinion leaders in a new way of thinking about state government and budgets, fundamental reforms, transparency and accountability. Sharing studies and articles, data sets, anecdotes, and compelling narrative about what is happening in state and local budgets, The State Budget Solutions presents and disseminates information about every aspect of coming fiscal and economic disasters and, more importantly, highlights fundamental reforms to avoid them.

Check out StateBudgetSolutions.org for more information.

SOURCE State Budget Solutions