Thursday, August 14, 2014

What are your dollars buying?

Mark J. Perry gives us ten facts about the Minneapolis, Minnesota public school system:
Here are 10 facts about the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS):

1. Budget for 2013-2014 school year: $780,413,196 (source).

2. Number of students (K-12), 2013-2014: 35,524 (source).

3. Spending per student, 2013-2014: Almost $22,000 vs. the statewide average of $10,674 in 2010-2011 (that’s the most recent data available for Minnesota, but spending per pupil has been flat for four years), source.

4. Student to teacher ratio: 11.9-to-1 (source) vs. the statewide and national averages of about 16-to-1 (source).

5. High School Graduation Rate in 2013: Under 54% vs. 79% statewide average (source).

6. High School Graduation Rates in 2013 by ethnic group: American Indian (37%), black (43.6%), Latino (41.3%), Asian (68%), white (72.1%), source.

7. Percent of students proficient in math, 2013: 42.2% vs. 60.2% statewide average (source).

8. Percent of students proficient in reading, 2013: 41.8% vs. 57.6% statewide average (source).

9. Percent of students proficient in science, 2013: 33.3% vs. 52.4% statewide average (source).

10. Percent of black students proficient by subject: Math (23.2%), reading (23.1%) and science (16.4%).

Bottom Line: The Minneapolis Public School (MPS) system spends about twice as much per pupil compared to the statewide average and its teacher to student/teacher ratio is 25% below (better than) the state and national averages. And yet the MPS performance outcomes are dismal — a) the high school graduation rate is barely above 50% overall and below 50% for blacks, Indian Americans and Latinos, b) fewer than half the students are proficient in math, reading and science, and c) fewer than one-quarter of the black students are proficient in math, reading and science.

A few questions: a) We hear all the time that more money and more teachers (and a lower student/teacher ratio) are needed to improve public education (most often from unionized public school teachers), but don’t these MPS data suggest otherwise?, b) where are the “grievance hustlers” like Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton, and where is President Obama, when it comes to the high dropout rates and dismal academic performance for black students attending public schools in cities like Minneapolis, and c) why isn’t there more public outrage over public school spending in districts like Minneapolis, especially when the academic results are so utterly miserable?
Found here.

What are the facts about the school system in which your children are enrolled?

Thanks to Maggie's Farm for linking to this article by Dr. Perry

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