Public Education Funding and Achievement Grow
Opponents of increased funding for public schools often
fall back on the argument that “money doesn’t
matter” in education. Commentator Frederick Hess
put the case bluntly in an article for The American
Enterprise magazine: “After-inflation school
spending has more than tripled since 1960,” he
claimed, and argued that these increases in spending
“have not been matched by improved student achievement”
– pointing to NAEP test scores.
Debunking These Two Myths
Despite the frequent repetition of these charges, both
allegations are grossly inaccurate. Over the past 40
years, education funding has increased by much less
than Hess claims, and student achievement across the
country has been increasing. Scores on the national
NAEP exams show significant increases – particularly
by minority students – over the last 35 years.
Richard Rothstein on Spending
In a series of studies examining the increases in education
expenditures over the past four decades, Richard Rothstein
has made some startling findings. Rothstein, of the
Economic Policy Institute, concludes
“real spending” on education only increased
62 percent between 1967 and 1996. This represents a
significant increase in resources, but nowhere near
the doubling or tripling that some suggest. He is currently
working on a follow-up study – expected this spring
– that will cover data through 2004.
Where is the Money Going?
Rothstein next looks at where this additional money
is going, basing his analysis on nine school districts
chosen to be representative of the nation. Examining
data on the districts’ expenditures, he found
the following breakdown of spending increases:
- 40 percent went to special education;
- 14 percent went to other special needs programs,
including ELL programs, attendance and counseling
support, alternative education, compensatory education,
and other programs for “at risk” students;
- 9 percent went to food services, in great part
due to expanded school breakfast and lunch programs;
- 14 percent went to expansion of non-classroom programs,
including health services, school security, transportation,
and athletics;
- “Overhead” – administrative and
maintenance costs – was an insignificant part
of the increase.
The remaining 23 cents on each dollar added to expenditures
went to regular education classrooms, and over half
of that went to teacher compensation. One of the primary
drivers of increases in teacher compensation was benefits,
which went from 9 percent to 21 percent of total compensation
costs. Another important factor was an increase in the
average experience and credentials – and thus
market value – of teachers. Hiring more teachers
in order to decrease class sizes was only a limited
part of the increase.
Finally, Rothstein’s analysis showed that the
extra money is not necessarily reaching the students
who need it the most. The suburban districts in his
study averaged a 37 percent increase in regular education
expenditures over the time period studied, with one
district as high as 98 percent. The urban districts
he studied, on the other hand, averaged a much smaller
11 percent increase in regular education funding, with
Los Angeles actually registering a 19 percent decrease.
Rothstein’s analysis should not be construed
as saying that there has not been any increase in funding
for public schools. On the contrary, his analysis shows
that significant funding increases have been made. The
money spent on health services, providing students with
free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch, targeted
special-needs programs, and more highly qualified teachers
has almost certainly resulted in significant improvement
in the ability of many students to learn. His research
indicates that education spending has increased in the
past 40 years, but in a controlled and directed manner.
Parallel Gains in Test
Scores
The next question for confirming or dispelling myths
is whether the funding increases have been paralleled
by increases in student test scores. The answer to this
question is a resounding “yes.”
While the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational
Progress) is not by any means a comprehensive measure
of student performance, it does provide an easily measured
and well-reported set of data that tracks student performance.
Historical
NAEP data show significant upwards trends in almost
all areas.
Critics, however, point to what they call only minor
improvement: in the past 35 years, fourth graders have
only improved by 11 points and eighth graders by 7 points
on the NAEP reading assessment. Student gains, however,
lie hidden by a phenomenon that researchers –
prominently Gerald Bracey, Associate Professor at the
George Mason Graduate School of Education – call
“Simpson’s
paradox.”
Simpson’s paradox occurs when, due to a changing
sample population, a global average can remain stable
while every demographic group in the sample is showing
changes. For example, Hispanic students – who
tend on average to perform lower than white students
on NAEP – were not even counted as a separate
demographic group in NAEP data until 1973; today, more
than one in every six public school students is Hispanic.
Even though Hispanic students have made large gains
on NAEP, the increasing population has had the effect
of bringing down the “average.” Furthermore,
a much higher percentage of children today are born
in single-parent or unwed-parent homes – factors
that tend to provide additional hardships for a student.
Averages can hide the gains these “at-risk”
students are making.
Looking beyond Simpson’s paradox, one sees dramatic
increases. Between 1971 and 2005, average eighth grade
reading scores increased 10 points for white students,
14 points for Hispanic students, and 21 points for black
students. The fourth grade reading score average hides
a 15 point increase for white students, a 20 point increase
for Hispanic students, and a 30 point increase for black
students. The gains become even more dramatic when looking
at math scores, where the average improvement itself
is much more marked.
Defending the Successes of Public Education
Critics of public education perpetuate a myth of an
increasingly inefficient and failing system of public
education in this country. “Proving” that
public education is a waste of resources might be a
way to gain support for privatization of education.
However, the public schools are serving increasingly
diverse student bodies and are now educating students
(such as special education students) that a generation
ago would have been ignored. In the past few decades,
public schools have seen a modest but significant increase
in funding, and this money has been paralleled by steady
improvements in student test scores.
Prepared by Matthew Samberg, December 19, 2006
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