@EmpowerMS – Education Analysis: Do Results Follow Spending?

But this is not an isolated example. Many of the school districts that spend the most money per student have the lowest test scores, graduation rates, and rankings from the Mississippi Department of Education. On the flip side, many of the top performing school districts spend significantly less than the state average.

YOU CAN FIND A FULL LIST OF WHAT EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SPENDS PER STUDENT HERE

In Mississippi, average per pupil spending in 2013 was $8,932, which includes local, state, and federal dollars. Here is a look at the average spending by accountability ranking classification:
– The average per pupil spending for A rated school districts is $8,499.71
– The average per pupil spending for B rated school districts is $8,674.10
– The average per pupil spending for C rated school districts is $10,074.55
– The average per pupil spending for D rated school districts is $9,994.50
– There were no F rated school districts in 2014.

Like gas in a car, it takes money to run a classroom. And perhaps it requires more money to run a school district in a high poverty area. But just as pouring more gas into a car will not make it run faster or more efficiently, simply increasing spending on education will not solve our education woes.

We must fund our schools. No one is arguing against that. In fact, the legislature has poured more money into K-12 education in the last four years than ever before. But money alone won’t solve this. Our public education challenges run deep. Improving academic results will require innovation solutions and evidence-based, student-centered reforms, some of which the legislature has already implemented. Mississippi has a long way to go, but we are headed in the right direction.

EmpowerMS
8/24/15