5 ms·
And yet the neighboring state of New Hampshire, which has some of the lowest taxes in the country (0% sales tax, 0% state income tax), beats Vermont handily in
by swebs 8y ago
And yet the neighboring state of New Hampshire, which has some of the lowest taxes in the country (0% sales tax, 0% state income tax), beats Vermont handily in SAT scores.
https://blog.prepscholar.com/average-sat-and-act-scores-by-stated-adjusted-for-participation-rate https://blog.prepscholar.com/average-sat-and-act-scores-by-s...
What does Vermont have to show for its higher spending? Why do you see higher spending as an automatically good thing if it doesn't have any evidence of having a beneficial effect?
- rhcom2 8y agoPossibly because until recently NH had all high schoolers take the SATs to be used in statewide assessments. It would follow teachers would then spend classroom time preparing their students for it.
- kerkeslager 8y agoWhen a metric becomes the target, it becomes subject to manipulation and the metric becomes no longer useful.
- swebs 8y agoNew Hampshire also has higher ACT scores as well. Is there any metric that shows Vermont's education system beating New Hampshire's?
- enolan 8y agoThat should bias it downward, compared to only college-bound students taking it.
- tclancy 8y agoI would be very careful about touting NH's approach. We fund schools entirely on property taxes, so rich towns have good schools and poor towns do not. I'd guess part of the disparity is that in NH's poorer towns kids aren't even taking the SATs. Not paying taxes is cool but the annual discussion of "Which completely normal public service will we forgo or curtail this year?" isn't so awesome.
- s2g 8y agoNH education spending isn't very low. Both are highly ranked for k-12. The difference in scores you are touting is 8 points.
- bobochan 8y agoFirst of all, well done NH. As a Vermont resident I am happy when any Northern New England state does well. The table you link to shows Vermont coming in #12 in SAT scores, and I'll accept that for it is. Other sites (e.g. US News and World Report) typically ranks us in the top ten for our educational system. It is not unheard of for us to be ranked #1: https://www.alec.org/press-release/state-education-ranking-shows-vermont-1-south-carolina-last/ https://www.alec.org/press-release/state-education-ranking-s... My point is, I do not understand how you can be so fixated on NH finishing six places ahead of VT and not actually asking the bigger question of "How do two small rural states even begin to compete?" Let alone trying to decipher why New England consistently does so well overall with Massachusetts and Connecticut ranked #1 and #2. Vermont is a high tax state, fine. I more than get my money's worth. As someone that goes to Town Meeting Day and looks through the budget every year I know that I head home secure that my dollars are being well spent. Meeting my kid's teachers at school I know they are getting a very solid education and heading off to university next year.