National K-12 funding vs. academic performance

We have all endured uncountable campaigns from school bureaucracies declaring that more money is desperately needed for K-12 schools. This has been going on for decades. The chart below shows spending per student in the U.S. from 1950 to 2001. These are constant year 2001 dollars; so the effect of inflation has been eliminated from the graph. Over the last 50 years, real spending has more than quadrupled. In the last 30 years it has doubled. Note that when real spending in terms of constant dollars doubles, you are able to purchase twice as many books or twice as many teachers as you had at the initial point in the comparison.

Unfortunately, this huge expansion in spending has not improved academic scores of students. SAT scores are shown for college bound high school graduates. Math and science scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests are shown for 17 year old students. These scores are relatively flat or declining. More money has not resulted in better education.





CONCLUSION:  Funding per student in the U.S. has increased 409% since 1950, yet SAT math and verbal scores have fallen 6%.  Spending more money over past 50 years has not resulted in better education.