Back in March, we posted a Top 10 list of Illinois school districts with the highest per-student spending.At the time, we got a few comments wondering whether spending more per student was a valid indicator of a school district’s educational quality.
So we crunched a more recent set of figures to find out. Like so much else in education policy, the answer is a firm, “Maybe.” Much like Newsweek’s recent list of the Top 500 high schools in the United States, our results showed that poverty among students is the greatest indicator of likely academic achievement. Among the 16 Illinois high schools that made the Newsweek list, only 3 had student poverty rates greater than 45 percent.
The charts below examine the per-student spending of the 10 Illinois school districts that spend the most and least per student in the 2012-2013 school year and the percent of students at those schools who performed at or above state standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (for elementary school students) and the Prairie State Achievement Examination (for high school juniors). The original data can be found at the Illinois State Board of Education’s website.
They also look at the percentage of low-income students in each district.
The results are a mixed bag, though they show that the percentage of low-income students generally trumps spending-per-pupil as an indicator of academic achievement.
Among grade school districts, south suburban Ford Heights School District 169 had the second-highest per-pupil spending in the state, yet its ISAT scores were the worst among the group measured here. However, at 92.4 percent, Ford Heights had by far the highest percentage of low-income students of any district in this group.
But that’s not always the case. Among high school districts, Evanston Township High School District 202 had a significantly higher percentage of low-income students than did Seneca Township High School District 160 (48.4 to 28.6). Seneca, located on the LaSalle/Grundy county line, also spent $22,800 per student compared to Evanston’s $22,100. Yet 67 percent of Evanston’s 3,147 students met PSAE requirements compared to 58 percent for Seneca’s 476 students.
Of course, there are many other factors that can contribute to academic performance. With 215 teachers, Evanston has a student-teacher ratio of just under 15:1. Seneca High School has 476 students and 39 teachers — a 12:1 ratio. Evanston is an urban area. Seneca is rural.
There also is a vast difference in cost of living between the Chicago area and the rest of the state. While Ford Heights in Cook County rates just above the national average for cost of living (100.3 with the national average at 100), Aviston in southern Illinois has a cost of living well below the national average (87.3). So $6,500 per pupil goes a lot farther in Aviston.
With a few exceptions, the higher the percentage of low income students, the lower the per-student spending and test scores. And, generally, school districts that spend more per pupil see better academic achievement. Ford Heights, with one of the highest per-student spending figures in the state but also with more than 90 percent of students from low-income families, is a noteworthy anomaly.
The first chart below looks at ISAT scores. The second is for PSAE scores of districts with high schools.
Per student spending, poverty and ISAT scores
Does the amount a school district spends per pupil improve academic performance? Are districts with greater percentages of low-income students more inclined toward low scores? Here are the school districts that spend the most (Rondout-Kenilworth on chart below) and the least (Bunker Hill-Paris-Union) per student in Illinois. Click to see percentages of students meeting or exceeding Illinois Standards Achievement Test benchmarks — which measure reading and math skills in grades 3 through 8 and and science in grades 4 and 7 — and the percentage of low-income students in each district. As the changing rankings in each category show, higher per-pupil spending on its own is not a guarantee of better academic performance, nor is a higher student poverty rate a sure predictor of lower test scores. A separate chart (below) shows scores on the Prairie State Achievement Examination for high schools in the high school districts that spend the most and least per student.
Per student spending, poverty and high school test scores
Here are the school districts that spend the most (Highland Park Township 113-Northfield) and the least (Bunker Hill-Paris/Union) per student in Illinois. Click to see the percentage of students meeting or exceeding minimum required scores on the Prairie State Achievement Examination — which measures math and science skills of high school juniors — and the percentage of low-income students in each district.
NEXT ARTICLE: What do Quinn and Rauner each need to do to win the governor’s race?
[RECOMMENDED]
- Voters beware: 9 things to study as the political polling onslaught starts
- Cartoon: Rahm Emanuel vs. Karen Lewis a cartoonist’s dream
- Public pensions grow closer to salaries; local funds in crisis: Only in Illinois
- Here’s how Illinoisans rank their overall well-being.
- Infographic: 32 business services would start paying Illinois’ sales tax under Rauner’s fiscal plan.
Matthew Dietrich is Reboot’s executive editor. An award-winning journalist, Dietrich is the former editorial page editor of the State Journal Register in Springfield. He believes in holding our politicians accountable. Read Dietrich’s take on the leadership vacuum that sent Illinois sinking. You can find Reboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.