USA Education Results

The table below was assembled from the following sources:
http://www.nces.ed.gov/ _____ http://www.manhattan-institute.org/ _____ http://www.act.org/
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/act-sat-concordance-tables.pdf
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/cbs-2009-Table-3_Mean-SAT-CR-MATH-and-Writing-Scores-by-State.pdf

It is obvious from this table that spending more money with the current approaches does not yield better results.

For example: 3 of the biggest spenders have some of the lowest graduation rates / College Readiness Results: i.e. New York $13k - 67.4%, Alaska $12k - 66.5%, & Washington D.C. $11k - 65.4%; while, 6 States spending close to or below the National Average have over 80% graduation rates with relatively high College Readiness Results: i.e. Iowa $10k - 86.9%, Minnesota $9.5k - 86.2%, South Dakota $10k - 84.5%, Missouri $9k - 81%, Idaho $8k - 80.5, & Arkansas $10k - 80.4%.

Furthermore, the highest graduation rate of 87.5% would not be acceptable for a high achiever in any other pursuit, the 73.4% national graduation rate shows that we are not building an educated Nation, and the 11 failing states with under 70% graduation rates are bringing everyone down even more.

Freedom of Education Choice does work for instance in Sweden http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-mccleskey_17edi.State.Edition1.270ad18.html where practically everyone is graduated from high school. Currently only Independent School Districts and Charter School receive any State financial support. My suggestion for providing Freedom of Education Choice http://texas-ideas-progress.blogspot.com/2009/09/pass-for-pay.html would provide parents financial resources to make informed choices for their children's education if they wish while limiting State interference to evaluating results.

___________________________________________________ _College Bound Preparation Testing
__________________ $'s per Student _________ 2005–06 ______ S _ ---------------------------------------
____________________ Adjusted for _____ Averaged Freshman _ A _ Graduates__ SAT Score or __ % Above or
State _____________ Cost of Living _____ Graduation Rate __ T _ % Tested __ACT Equivalent _ (Below) Avg
--------------- ----------- ____ ------------ __- _------- _----------- _ ---------
Vermont _________ 15,139 __________ 82.3 ______ X __ 64% _____ 1036 ________ +2%
Wyoming _________ 14,126 __________ 76.1 ______ - __ 80% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
New Jersey ______ 13,238 __________ 84.8 ______ X __ 76% _____ 1009 ________ (1%)
New York ________ 13,064 __________ 67.4 ______ X __ 85% ______ 987 ________ (3%)
Maine ___________ 12,985 __________ 76.3 ______ X __ 90% ______ 935 ________ (8%)
Rhode Island ____ 12,478 __________ 77.8 ______ X __ 66% ______ 994 ________ (2%)
Alaska __________ 12,090 __________ 66.5 ______ X __ 46% _____ 1036 ________ +2%
Connecticut _____ 11,885 __________ 80.9 ______ X __ 83% _____ 1022 ________ +1%
Montana _________ 11,660 __________ 81.9 ______ - __ 56% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
Massachusetts ___ 11,545 __________ 79.5 ______ X __ 84% _____ 1040 ________ +2%
Delaware ________ 11,426 __________ 76.3 ______ X __ 71% ______ 993 ________ (2%)
Pennsylvania ____ 11,252 __________ 83.5 ______ X __ 71% ______ 994 ________ (2%)
Washington D.C. _ 11,193 __________ 65.4 ______ X __ 79% ______ 917 _______ (10%)
New Hampshire ___ 11,169 __________ 81.1 ______ X __ 75% _____ 1046 ________ (3%)
West Virginia ___ 11,150 __________ 76.9 ______ - __ 64% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
Nebraska ________ 11,023 __________ 87.0 ______ - __ 72% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
North Dakota ____ 10,885 __________ 82.1 ______ - __ 81% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
Wisconsin _______ 10,529 __________ 87.5 ______ - __ 67% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
Hawaii __________ 10,426 __________ 75.5 ______ X __ 58% ______ 981 ________ (3%)
South Dakota ____ 10,223 __________ 84.5 ______ - __ 77% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
Kansas __________ 10,216 __________ 77.6 ______ - __ 74% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
Ohio ____________ 10,119 __________ 79.2 ______ - __ 65% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
Maryland ________ 10,088 __________ 79.9 ______ X __ 69% _____ 1002 ________ (1%)
Indiana _________ 10,053 __________ 73.3 ______ X __ 63% _____ 1003 ________ (1%)
Iowa _____________ 9,977 __________ 86.9 ______ - __ 60% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
National Averages_ 9,963 __________ 73.4 ______ X __ --- _____ 1016 _________ 0%
Michigan _________ 9,809 __________ 72.2 ______ - _ 100% ______ 950 ________ (6%)
Louisiana ________ 9,787 __________ 59.5 ______ - __ 88% ______ 950 ________ (6%)
Arkansas _________ 9,756 __________ 80.4 ______ - __ 74% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
New Mexico _______ 9,525 __________ 67.3 ______ - __ 63% ______ 950 ________ (6%)
Minnesota ________ 9,476 __________ 86.2 ______ - __ 69% _____ 1070 ________ +5%
Oregon ___________ 9,460 __________ 73.0 ______ X __ 52% _____ 1048 ________ +3%
Missouri _________ 9,146 __________ 81.0 ______ - __ 69% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
South Carolina ___ 9,008 __________ 61.0 ______ X __ 67% ______ 982 ________ (3%)
Illinois _________ 8,829 __________ 79.7 ______ - __ 98% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
Alabama __________ 8,769 __________ 66.2 ______ - __ 77% ______ 950 ________ (6%)
Georgia __________ 8,754 __________ 62.4 ______ X __ 71% ______ 981 ________ (3%)
Virginia _________ 8,725 __________ 74.5 ______ X __ 68% _____ 1023 ________ +1%
Kentucky _________ 8,681 __________ 77.2 ______ - __ 72% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
Mississippi ______ 8,635 __________ 63.5 ______ - __ 92% ______ 910 _______ (10%)
Colorado _________ 8,514 __________ 75.5 ______ - _ 100% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
Florida __________ 8,437 __________ 63.6 ______ X __ 59% ______ 995 ________ (2%)
Oklahoma _________ 8,255 __________ 77.8 ______ - __ 70% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
Idaho ____________ 8,034 __________ 80.5 ______ - __ 58% _____ 1030 ________ +1%
North Carolina ___ 7,835 __________ 71.8 ______ X __ 63% _____ 1006 ________ (1%)
Washington _______ 7,688 __________ 72.9 ______ X __ 53% _____ 1055 ________ +4%
Tennessee ________ 7,620 __________ 70.6 ______ - __ 88% ______ 990 ________ (3%)
California _______ 7,571 __________ 69.2 ______ X __ 49% _____ 1013 ________ (0%)
Texas ____________ 7,561 __________ 72.5 ______ X __ 51% ______ 992 ________ (2%)
Nevada ___________ 7,213 __________ 55.8 ______ X __ 42% _____ 1006 ________ (1%)
Arizona __________ 7,112 __________ 70.5 ______ X __ 26% _____ 1037 ________ +2%
Utah _____________ 5,964 __________ 78.6 ______ - __ 68% _____ 1030 ________ +1%

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