On the Education Budget and the Crisis in the States; Or: What Does Money Have to do With Good Public Schools?
In the documentary "Waiting for Superman," there's a clip in which Bill Clinton is shown campaigning in 1992 in front of a teachers' union group. Education reform, he tells the teachers, "is not about money. Except when it isabout money."
This is supposed to make us laugh and deride the received wisdom of the Democratic Party. After all, everyone knows Washington, D.C. has the highest per pupil spending in the country and some of the worst achievement outcomes. Everyone knows the United States is spending more per pupil than any country except Switzerland, yet our kids are getting their asses kicked by those smarty-pants Singaporeans.
And it's true. Except when it isn't. Take a look at this scatter plot comparing per pupil spending to high school graduation rates. As you can see, some states--like D.C. and New York--are spending a heck of a lot and
