There is no significant correlation between the percentage of its budget that a school district spends on instruction and scores on state reading and math tests, concludes the most recent analysis by SchoolMatters, a service of Standard & Poor’s.
The study comes as several states debate plans to mandate that districts spend 65 percent of their budgets on classroom costs. The proposed mandate is often called the “65 Percent Solution.” (“Group’s ‘65 Percent Solution’ Gains Traction, GOP Friends,” Oct. 12, 2005.)
SchoolMatters, which has not taken a position for or against such proposals, reached a similar conclusion last fall after analyzing data from nine states. The data released Feb. 22 are an “addendum” to that work and include information from 25 states, according to a statement from the New York City-based group.
The update is available online at www.schoolmatters.com.
