Money_Does Matter - school cost's in the United States

School Administrator, May, 1996 by Gerald W. Bracey

Baker, an expert on educational evaluation, also noted a flaw in the logic of Hanushek's analysis. Hanushek purports to show no relationship exists between level of achievement and money spent, then argues inappropriately that this means there is no relationship between gains in achievement and money spent. However, Baker shows that level of achievement is strongly influenced by family and community variables, but gains in achievement much less so. Poor school districts do not perform as well as wealthy ones. This does not mean that they will not get better with more money.

Baker, author of "Yes, Throw Money at the Schools" in the April 1991 issue of Phi Delta Kappan, also makes a salient point concerning the relationship between money and achievement: it's positive but it should be negative. That it is positive is a source of shame, notjoy. It means that we are not funding poor school districts well enough.

By analogy, Baker notes that the highest death rates in hospitals are for those on whom the hospitals spend the most money. But we don't criticize hospitals for this outcome. Indeed, hospitals are obligated to spend the most money on the most severe problems. And still the outcomes are not as sanguine as with lesser illnesses. We do not spend the most money on schools with most difficult educational problems as a 1995 report from the U.S. Department of Education, "Disparities in Public School Spending 1989-1990," clearly shows.

Elusive Answer

We never will cure this last problem as long as schools are funded primarily from property taxes. By definition, poor districts do not have the tax base that wealthy districts do. As a result, some states, such as Texas and New Jersey, have had their school finance systems declared unconstitutional, while others, such as Michigan, have voluntarily moved to a sales tax (a shift to an income tax would have been better).

While we consider these inequities in funding and outcomes, and how to eliminate them, we need to keep in mind that in the schools, as in most places, money matters.

Additional Work by Gerald Bracey

Those who want to read more by Gerald Bracey may consult the following:

* The Bracey Reports, an annual study on the state of American public education, published in the October issues of Phi Delta Kappan since 1991 (available by calling 800-766-1156).

* Transforming America's Schools: An Rx for Getting Past Blame, 1994, AASA (available by calling AASA Distribution Center at 301-617-7802).

* Final Exam: A Study of the Perpetual Scrutiny of American Education, 1996, Agency for Instructional Technology (available by calling 800-457-4509).