Spending more in American schools may not lead to better student performance, according to a recent analysis of over 12,000 school districts. In fact, the findings suggest the opposite: increased spending doesn’t necessarily correlate with improved outcomes.
The examination conducted by Open the Books specifically measured reading and math proficiency among fourth and eighth graders against trends in district payroll growth from 2019 to 2023. Surprisingly, as salaries increased, many districts experienced declines in performance.
The report implies that while schools hope that raising salaries will enhance student success, evidence is lacking. In fact, it appears that the opposite effect may be occurring.
Among the six states with the highest salary increases—over 23%—three ranked in the top five for the largest declines in student performance, with one ranking as the sixth largest loser.
Only one state, Utah, which increased pay by 62%, showed a slight increase in performance, just 3%. Vermont, despite having a 74% increase in payroll, saw a drop of 13%, which marked it as one of the largest declines in the nation.
In contrast, Hawaii kept payroll growth at a mere 1.5% and managed to achieve the highest student gains at 14%.
It’s important not to point fingers solely at Covid for these issues. Students nationwide may have lost some ground, but variations in achievement rankings indicate that results differ across various conditions.
Interestingly, New York spends more per student than any other state, yet the resulting test scores remain average.
So, why does increased financial support not seem to yield better performance?
Reports suggest that some benefits do emerge from higher teacher salaries, particularly when those increases are aligned with performance metrics. Yet, there seems to be a growing concern that non-teaching staff salaries are outpacing those of teachers.
For instance, Maine saw a 19% payroll increase but experienced a noticeable drop in NAEP test scores. Portland, its largest district, now has salaries for administrators that are more than four times those of teachers.
Maryland rolled out a substantial 10-year, $30 billion education initiative, but the results were disappointing. Much of the funding seemed to support programs that focused on inclusivity rather than strengthening core reading and math skills.
In Baltimore, surprisingly, teachers constituted less than half of the school staff, with many high-paid positions related to equity initiatives that seem unproductive.
Overall, it seems that too many states are falling behind in student achievement, while public funds are possibly being wasted on ineffective expenditures that detract from educational quality.
Schools might need to return to basics and avoid pouring taxpayer money into unproductive efforts.
