Monday, March 28, 2011

Jeff W. Reed

Birmingham News

Alabama public schools' underperformance has little to do with a lack of funding and everything to do with the absence of competition. Regardless of what should or what will be a federal judge's decision on education funding, Alabama children lose if the public schools' monopolistic hold over them remains. But there is a win-win scenario for both students and schools. And it, too, deserves a hearing.

Plaintiffs in Lawrence and Sumter counties claim their inability to collect more tax dollars hurts the quality of their public schools. At issue is the amount of tax revenue received by Alabama's rural, lower-income areas compared with the state's higher-income regions. But will more money really get them a better education? Evidence from the current system shows no, it won't.

Over a 35-year period, America's average total spending per pupil (local, state and federal) more than doubled to $9,266 in 2005, from $4,060 in 1970 (using constant 2006-07 dollars). Meanwhile, over that same period, the nation's reading scores remained relatively stagnant, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Alabama is no different. Its average total spending increased to $7,532 per pupil in 2005, from $2,765 in 1970 (again using constant 2006-07 dollars). And still, with Alabama's total average spending reaching $9,197 per pupil in 2008, 38 percent of fourth-graders can't read at a "basic" level.

Alabamians -- and, indeed, all Americans -- must free themselves from the superstition that more money for public schools translates into higher-quality educations and services for children.

If it did, the District of Columbia's public schools would be some of America's top performers. In 2010, the Cato Institute found that the real cost of educating students in D.C. public schools was $28,170 per pupil. And yet, 56 percent of D.C. fourth-graders failed to meet "basic" reading levels.

Perhaps one reason many often support more money for education stems from a widespread belief that public schools are underfunded. A 2010 survey of Alabama voters found that although 65 percent of those polled thought public-school funding was too low, only 7 percent could identify the actual range ("between $8,001-12,000") for combined local, state and federal per-pupil spending. A majority of voters (51 percent) thought total per-pupil funding in Alabama was less than $4,000, when it actually was $9,197. (Notably, the Alabama Department of Education lists total per-pupil expenditures in Lawrence and Sumter counties at $9,018 and $9,358, respectively.)

Alabamians also should understand how prices of government services, like the Postal Service and public schools, differ from the prices of private-sector goods, such as FedEx and private schools. In the private sector, shoppers make purchases according to quality and cost -- with competition forcing quality up and costs down. With government, consumers pay (typically more) no matter what the quality of its services. Alabama's public-school system can double the price for the same service and stay in business because it has no competition.

As other states have shown, however, there is a way to introduce incentives into public schools and improve their performance.

School vouchers -- the catalyst for competition -- allow parents to take all, or a portion, of the government funding allotted for their children's education to schools that best meet their needs, including private ones. Of the 10 "gold standard" random-assignment studies conducted on voucher programs, nine found that some or all participants benefited academically from using vouchers. Just one found no difference. Of the 19 empirical studies examining vouchers' impact on public schools, 18 concluded they improve public schools, with one finding no visible impact.

Such results shouldn't be surprising. The students who left chose schools better suited to their abilities. The "threat" of families leaving encouraged public and private schools to best meet all students' needs. The children "left behind" enjoyed smaller classrooms and more resources. It's a win-win ... win.

Alabama public schools should have the freedom to get more funding. Just let parents and students be the judge and jury as to whether they deserve it.

Jeff W. Reed is a state programs director with the Foundation for Educational Choice, the school-choice legacy foundation of Milton and Rose Friedman.