Diego Rivera: Increased spending doesn’t necessarily mean higher achievement

In spite of these newly elevated salaries, a recently proposed ballot initiative — intended to raise taxes on Arizona’s wealthiest cohort to generate $690 million to fund public education — is beginning to witness considerable momentum and ardent support. Called the Invest In Education Act, the proposed initiative requires 150,000 signatures by July 5 to be placed on the upcoming ballot, so the chances that Arizonans vote on this question in November are fairly high.

But before Arizonans decide to fully implement this initiative into law, I believe it is vital that they ask themselves what it is they are ultimately trying to achieve. In theory, the objective should be to see appreciable student academic achievements. Increasing school spending however, may not be the solution.

I say this not because it would be fiscally ill-advised, but because there is absolutely no definitive correlation between school spending and student academic achievement.

Using graduation rates as one statistical comparison for example, the logic would follow that states who spend the most on education would see the highest rates of graduation. This is evidently not the case. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2015, New York had the highest per pupil spending amount at $21,206 dollars and a graduation rate of 80.4 percent. Utah on the other hand, with the lowest per pupil spending amount at a mere $6,575, had a graduation rate of 85.2 percent.

Although these states clearly vary greatly in size, demography, cost of living and economy, the story remains true amongst the other states. When we contrast comparable states for example, such as the state of Arizona and New Mexico, we find similar results. In 2015, Arizona had a per pupil spending amount of $7,489 dollars, and a graduation rate of 79.5 percent. New Mexico, with a per pupil spending amount of $9,752, had a modest graduation rate of 71 percent. Even with a substantial spending increase, Arizona still outperformed New Mexico.

To complicate matters, there are actually a number of states that do not conform to this paradigm. In that same year, the state of New Jersey had a per pupil spending amount of $18,235, and produced an impressive graduation rate of 90.1 percent. A large education expenditure in this case resulted in a high graduation rate, but when we contrast these figures with the state of Utah, it hardly seems like a worthwhile policy to enact.

Analyzing these immense deviations amongst states, we can postulate, as many public policy experts already have, that increasing public school spending does not correlate with, nor guarantee, high academic achievement.

This is why I would urge Arizonans to rescind further efforts to increase public school spending, and instead, focus on reforming individual schools and districts that are underperforming. It is these schools that may require comprehensive program alterations, as well as an infusion of proficient educators that are incentivized to teach in these schools.

Everything taken into consideration, there are real limitations to what the public sector can and cannot do with respect to education. In the end, sometimes it is the parent who contributes the most by remaining fully engaged and fully absorbed in their child’s education. Social values are just as prudent, if not more prudent, than public policy.