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Americans spend over $14k/kid on education already, more than Sweden which is below $12k, and almost twice the OECD average.[1] I'm guessing that all developed

Americans spend over $14k/kid on education already, more than Sweden which is below $12k, and almost twice the OECD average.[1] I'm guessing that all developed countries have already reached a point of diminishing returns in their spending on education. The reason money from billionaires is interesting is because it's less limited by the regulations. It can be spent in ways public money cannot be used. It didn't work in Newark though, as others in the thread pointed out. [1] http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/48630868.pdf http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/48630868....

guelo 12y ago
That $14k average includes public and private schools, as well as college tuition. It also ignores the fact that US public school funding is provided via local property taxes, so wealthy neighborhoods have better funded public schools than the lower income neighborhoods, whose kids actually need more resources.
- InclinedPlane 12y ago
  Per student spending at K-12 public schools is $13k. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66 http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66 Also, per student spending is substantially evened out in some areas. For example, every public school in NYC has the same per student spending. More importantly, there is almost no correlation between per student spending and educational outcomes. Some of the states with the worst performing public schools also have higher spending. Moreover, many of the states that have higher revenue and higher public school spending also have higher costs of living. If you take the 5 highest and 5 lowest ranked US state public school systems and adjust their spending by the relative cost of living then order them from highest to lowest you end up with this list: 5th, 47th, 49th, 48th, 4th, 50th, 46th, 2nd, 1st. Spending is an easy issue to focus on, but it's not the right issue, and fixing it won't fix outcomes. Fixing education is a complicated problem, imagining that we can fix it by just throwing money at it is, frankly, lazy. It's like a disengaged father sending his child to the most expensive private school without understanding anything about their child's educational desires or needs. The problem with the system is that it's bureaucracy bound and married to perverse incentives. We need to fix the incentives, to do so within the existing system is a monumental task.

guelo 12y ago

That $14k average includes public and private schools, as well as college tuition. It also ignores the fact that US public school funding is provided via local property taxes, so wealthy neighborhoods have better funded public schools than the lower income neighborhoods, whose kids actually need more resources.

InclinedPlane 12y ago
Per student spending at K-12 public schools is $13k. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66 http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66 Also, per student spending is substantially evened out in some areas. For example, every public school in NYC has the same per student spending. More importantly, there is almost no correlation between per student spending and educational outcomes. Some of the states with the worst performing public schools also have higher spending. Moreover, many of the states that have higher revenue and higher public school spending also have higher costs of living. If you take the 5 highest and 5 lowest ranked US state public school systems and adjust their spending by the relative cost of living then order them from highest to lowest you end up with this list: 5th, 47th, 49th, 48th, 4th, 50th, 46th, 2nd, 1st. Spending is an easy issue to focus on, but it's not the right issue, and fixing it won't fix outcomes. Fixing education is a complicated problem, imagining that we can fix it by just throwing money at it is, frankly, lazy. It's like a disengaged father sending his child to the most expensive private school without understanding anything about their child's educational desires or needs. The problem with the system is that it's bureaucracy bound and married to perverse incentives. We need to fix the incentives, to do so within the existing system is a monumental task.