Dobbie & Fryer’s NYC charter study provides no meaningful evidence about class size & per pupil spending
So, I’ve seen on more than a few occasions these last few weeks references to the recent Dobbie and Fryer article on NYC charter schools as the latest evidence that money doesn’t matter in schools. That costly stuff like class size, or overall measures of total per pupil expenditures are simply unimportant, and can easily be replaced/substituted with no-cost alternatives like those employed in no excuses charter schools (like high expectations, tutoring, additional time, and wrap-around services). I’ll set aside the issue that many of these supposedly more effective alternatives do, in fact, have cost implications. Instead, I’ll focus my critique on whether this Dobbie/Fryer study provides any substantive evidence that money doesn’t matter – either broadly,
