If you listen to critics of education in Tennessee, the only way to fix any problem is to spend more money per pupil.
This is in spite of report after report on states and cities where per-pupil spending is higher than that in the Volunteer State but doesn’t result in higher test scores or highly improved outcomes.
The conservative Heritage Foundation looks at things differently. Instead of per-pupil spending being the sole measuring stick, the organization looks at transparency and return on investment.
Businesses must show a successful return on investment, or they will eventually fail. Public schools should do the same.
Tennessee, according to the Heritage Education Freedom Report Card released Monday, is fourth in the nation on academic transparency, second in the country for return on investment on education spending and seventh among the 50 states for education freedom. Although it spends the 44th most per pupil — $13,027 — it is 16th in its combined fourth grade and eighth grade math and reading average National Assessment of Education Progress score.