Money well spent?

Every so often a friend of mine raises the question of whether our education system has improved over the years. She argues that we're spending more money on educating our kids but we really don't know whether that money is well spent. A chart in this month's "Atlantic" may have an answer for her.

I say 'may' because there is no indication of the source of the data underlying the chart. If the data is reliable, then the answer is that our money is not well spent. We've increased our spending (in constant dollars) per pupil by almost two-thirds since 1970. We've halved the student-teacher ratio. Twice as many of our teachers have advanced degrees. But, as measured by 'standardized' tests, the performance of our students is just about the same today as it was more than thirty years ago.

Of course, student performance on standardized tests is not the be-all and end-all of academic competence. It is, however, one factor. Perhaps a more important factor is whether we have raised better citizens. If we judge our citizenry by the people they elect, it does not appear that we are getting a good return on our investment. Also to be considered is our position in the world. Clearly, we are not as competitive in innovation, science and math as we used to be. The decline of the middle class, one of the hallmarks of a democracy, has occurred in the past thirty years when we have been spending more on education.

Money well spent? I think not.