But what about the money? Here’s Aldeman:
According to the NEA, New Jersey spent $24,831 per student in 2023-24 while Louisiana spent $17,541 and Mississippi spent just $12,490. In other words, I think Mississippi and Louisiana have a strong case to be made that their schools are performing considerably better than New Jersey’s are at a much lower cost.
Mississippi and Louisiana Are Outperforming Virginia
You find similar results for Virginia in the demographic subgroup data: both
Mississippi and Louisiana are outperforming Virginia on NAEP for the least advantaged subgroups and the most advantaged subgroups. Further, Mississippi spends less money per pupil than Virginia (26% less per pupil) while Louisiana spends a comparable amount per pupil as Virginia.
Virginia also has school districts achieving results like in Mississippi and
Louisiana. Wise County Public Schools (WCPS) spent $11,517 per student (37% less than the state average) and had Virginia’s third-best overall standardized test pass rate in the 2023-24 school year. WCPS hadn’t ranked lower than eighth since 2013. WCPS is in a Southwest Virginia county that has a high poverty rate, suffers from a meth epidemic and has a high incarceration rate. Educational leaders there attribute WCPS’ success in part to its focus on setting high expectations at the local level.
more.