New York City is poised to spend an eye-popping $42,000 per student this school year, the highest figure in the country.
Some people might think this is a reasonable figure if New York City schools were also the top performing schools in the country, but they are not, not even close in fact. The city’s schools get terrible grades for reading and math.
How many parents in the NYC area do you suppose could do better by taking that $42,000 and spending it on a private school for their children, or even a full time home tutor? Don’t you think many parents would choose one of those options if they were available?
The New York Post reports:
NYC DOE projected to spend $42k per student this school year — the most in the country
The city Department of Education will spend a staggering $42,168 per student this school year, budget experts project, even as enrollment declines and student achievement stalls.
The record sum is nearly $2,000 per student more than the DOE spent last year, according to the nonprofit think tank Citizens Budget Commission. Students report to class Sept. 4.
The stunning figure is 36% more than the $31,119 the city spent per pupil just five years ago…
Despite the vast sums poured into the nation’s largest school system, student proficiency in English language arts and math continues to lag behind the rest of the state and country.
The “Nation’s Report Card” released by the National Center for Education Statistics in January revealed that just 33% of Big Apple fourth graders scored proficiency in math and 28% in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress last year.
Older students’ results were worse – 23% of city eighth graders met the national standards in math and 29% in reading.
This is one of the reasons why school choice is growing as a hot issue in the United States right now. There has to come a certain point where failing public schools just don’t make sense anymore, especially when you consider the cost versus the results.
If you’re spending $42,000 per student and they end up being unable to read at grade level, what are we even doing here?
Read the full article here