[Vision2020] Interesting Report by S&P on Michigan's Govt Schools

[ben merkle]

A closer look could be very rewarding. Would anyone be up for comparing the
Moscow High numbers with a local private school to see who is getting more
out of their dollar?

Ben Merkle


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Hoffmann" <escape@alt-escape.com>
To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 11:53 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Interesting Report by S&P on Michigan's Govt
Schools


> It would be interesting to take a closer look at the numbers.  I know for
a
> fact that many inner city schools (in "slum" areas) have higher expenses
in
> some categories.  For instance, they frequently must pay a higher wage to
> attract teachers.  This cannot compensate for students who come to school
> hungry, who have uninvolved parents, who may have a higher drug use,
> etc.  In complicated areas like health and education, a simple look at
> spending vs. performance is quite pointless.  Speaking of which, the U.S.
> government is said to spend more on health care than any other Western
> nation, but it gets less for it.  That's obviously not a case of "we're
> spending too much," but a case of "we're not having the intended effect
> with our dollars."
>
> Bob Hoffmann
> 820 S. Logan St.
> Moscow, ID  83843
>
> Tel: 208 883-0642
>
> At 09:44 PM 2/3/2003 -0800, John Harrell wrote:
> >Standard & Poors releases data on state's public schools
> >
>
>http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cg
i?g9383_BC_MI--SchoolRatings&&news&newsflash-michigan
> >
> >The Associated Press
> >2/3/03 5:27 PM
> >
> >LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- More than half the school districts that spent
more
> >per
> >student than the state average had below-passing rates on the Michigan
> >Educational
> >Assessment Program test, according to an analysis of the state's public
> >schools.
> >
> >Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services released a report Monday
that
> >analyzed trends in the state's public education system from 1996-97 to
> >2000-01.
> >It's the second comprehensive report about Michigan's public schools.
> >
> >The division of Standard & Poor's, known for rating businesses,
government
> >agencies and even other countries, tracks where taxpayer dollars go and
> >analyzes
> >if spending increases boost student performance.
> >
> >The Statewide Insights report showed that of the 181 school districts
that
> >spent
> >more per student than the state average, 92 had below-average passing
> >rates on
> >the MEAP. Of the 343 school districts with below-average spending, 171
had
> >above-average MEAP passing rates.
> >
> >Other highlights of the report:
> >
> >--The graduation rate increased from 80.7 percent of students in 1997 to
86.3
> >percent in 2001.
> >
> >--Per-student operating expenditures grew by 19 percent from 1997 to
2001,
> >nearly twice the cumulative inflation rate of 10.2 percent.
> >
> >-- The average administrator's salary rose 12.3 percent while the average
> >teacher's salary increased by 8.4 percent.
> >
> >Cheers!
> >John Harrell
> >
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