AUSTIN, Texas – Standard & Poor's, the financial data firm, has issued a report that runs counter to a large body of research on the effectiveness of standards for school spending. S&P reported that there was no relationship between allotment of dollars to the classroom, and academic achievement.
The director of research for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Chris Patterson, said the report is disappointing. She is a member of the Texas Education Agency task force charged with implementing the governor's executive order requiring that 65 percent of school funds go to the classroom.
"Many of us expected a full, objective examination of the relationship between instructional spending and student achievement. Instead S&P offers their data, their analysis, and their conclusions as the only and final word on the issue. They fail to acknowledge the large body of research that does find prioritizing instructional spending improves student achievement," she said.
That body of research was summarized in a report issued by the Foundation titled, "Spending And Learning: What Does The Research Say?" That report is available at www.TexasPolicy.com.
"It is surprising that the prestigious S&P would call for state policy to be crafted on the basis of their own research and on the basis of one study, particularly one that seems to stand alone as an exception," she said. "We encourage Texas policymakers to look at all of the research that is available on this issue and to precede enacting standards for efficient, effective school spending."