As the federal No Child Left Behind Act celebrates its fifth birthday, it’s time to put to final rest the notion that an endless supply of money is all it takes to make better schools. That’s simply not the case. You can’t buy student achievement.
Want proof? The U.S. Department of Education calculates the total per-student expenditures for fiscal ’04, the latest figures available. As far as spending money is concerned, the District of Columbia heads the list, spending $15,081 per child each year, closely followed by New Jersey ($15,048) and New York ($14,500).
But it was Virginia, which spends just $9,382 per student, that came in first in Education Week Magazine’s decade-long “From Cradle to Career” study to determine just how well each state does in the ultimate goal of all that classroom effort. Despite slightly below-average funding levels (the national average is $9,762), Virginia students have the best shot at going on to postsecondary education and getting a steady, good-paying job than any other youngsters in the nation.
Still not convinced that money does not determine educational outcomes? Education funding in New Mexico, which came in dead last in the Chance-for-Success Index, spends just $223/student less than Virginia annually, yet its graduates are the least equipped of any in the nation to compete in the global marketplace. Maryland spends $10,259 per student and scored in the top five in overall Success Indicators, but came in a mediocre 25th in actual student achievement as measured by student test scores and graduation rates compared to Virginia (4th).
D.C. ranked 31st in the Success Index, but came in a dismal 45th on achievement indicators — despite spending the most money on education per pupil in the nation.
Interestingly enough, the College of William and Mary was rated the country’s third-best value in a public college by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, followed by the University of Virginia (4th); Virginia Tech (18th); University of Mary Washington (20th); James Madison (21st); and George Mason (78th). Virginia was one of the first states in the nation to demand accountability and its Standards of Learning became the model for NCLB. It should not be a surprise that the commonwealth is now reaping the rewards.
Education excellence is not a commodity. It’s the end result of conscious decisions by adults to provide children with a suitable learning environment and the tools they need to meet high expectations, and the measure their progress and reward all that hard work. If that’s lacking, no amount of money can make up for it.
