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State’s Expert Witness Says There is No Connection Between Performance & School Spending

Posted byHoumanitarian
Related: In Financing Texas Schools, Defining “Adequate”
(Texas Tribune)

Associated Press/Chron.com
AUSTIN, Texas — An expert testifying for the state of Texas said Wednesday that increasing the amount of money spent per public-school pupil hasn’t translated to higher standardized test scores or increased student performance.

“If you look at the data, it doesn’t support the argument that spending more money will improve student achievement,” University of Missouri economist Michael Podgursky, an expert on education spending, told state District Judge John Dietz.

More than 600 school districts have sued the state after the Legislature voted in 2011 to cut $5.4 billion from public schools and educational grants. They claim the way Texas funds schools is now so inadequate that it violates state constitutional guarantees. They also say funding is unfairly distributed because districts in wealthy areas tend to get more per-pupil than those in poor parts of the state.

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office counters that funding levels are adequate and that school districts don’t always spend their resources wisely. The trial began in October, and Podgursky was called by the state to dispute some claims made by experts and superintendents who testified earlier about problems caused by funding cuts.

Podgursky said most of the variations in Texas student achievement is within districts rather than between them.

Asked what would happen if funding differences between districts are eliminated Podgursky said, “I don’t agree with the belief that if you spend a certain amount of money, you can predict that there will be a certain level of improvement in student achievement.”  “There is no evidence of a positive relationship between student performance and spending by a school district,” he said.

Texas school districts have argued that the cuts have been especially costly because they have come as the state’s booming population has seen public school enrollment in Texas increase by about 80,000 students annually. The overwhelming majority of new students come from low-income families or require additional instruction in English-language skills, which the districts say makes them more expensive to educate.

But Podgursky said his analysis of spending by Texas districts shows that schools with a higher concentration of low-income students generally spend more than districts with fewer such students. He also said there is a wide dispersion of spending across elementary schools, and that in districts such as Dallas, many high-poverty schools have considerably lower student-teacher ratios than other schools within the district.

“You can’t assume you will see equal spending in schools within districts,” Podgursky said.

[…] Under cross-examination, though, Podgursky agreed that low-income students require more money to educate.

[…] Testimony in the case is expected to last into February, after which Dietz will rule. Whatever he decides, however, is likely to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
(Read the full story at the Chron.com)

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