In this American Spectator article, Douglas Carswell argues that Mississippi’s education gains undermine the long-running claim that more school spending automatically produces better academic results.
- Carswell points to Mississippi’s dramatic fourth-grade reading improvement, rising from 49th nationally in 2013 to 9th in 2024.
- The article contrasts Mississippi’s lower per-pupil spending with higher-spending states such as New York, Minnesota, and California, arguing that Mississippi is getting better reading results for far less money.
- Carswell highlights that Mississippi spends about $12,300 per pupil, while New York spends $31,918, yet New York’s fourth-grade reading outcomes trail Mississippi’s.
- He gives a particularly stark comparison involving Black fourth graders: 19 percent in Mississippi reach reading proficiency, compared with 7 percent in California.
- The article introduces CompareMySchool.com, a tool created by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy to let parents compare school performance, spending, grades, and proficiency rates.
- Carswell says the tool revealed a surprising pattern inside Mississippi: districts with higher per-pupil spending often had worse academic outcomes.
- He cites data showing the lowest-spending quarter of Mississippi districts averages 63 percent proficiency in reading and math, while the highest-spending quarter averages only 36 percent.
- Examples include Ocean Springs, which performs at the top of the state while spending about $10,300 per pupil, versus Jackson Public Schools, which spends $16,640 per pupil but gets fewer than one-third of students to proficiency.
- Carswell concludes that school quality depends less on the amount spent and more on how money is used, arguing for reforms that let parents move a child’s education funding to schools outside government control.
Read the full story: https://spectator.org/more-money-wont-fix-our-schools-our-data-proves-it/
