Costs and Benefits

Abstract

The promise of providing all children with a high-quality education is a noble one. But after looking at the projected costs for 10 states to fulfill the requirements of NCLB, Mr. Mathis fears that the federal government is asking too much and giving too little. IT IS THE cruelest illusion to promise far more than we will ever deliver. Yet throughout time reformers of all persuasions have offered Utopian visions in exchange for permission to shape the world to their view. With great fanfare about turning points and fervent promises to America's children, in January 2002 President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The rhetoric was certainly noble, and the law was sold with the guarantee that, at last, we would leave no student behind. The poor would have the same as the rich, and the strong arm of a resolute government would make it so. Public support for equality, periodic testing, highly qualified teachers, and other provisions of the law was strong.1 As shown by the 87-10 Senate vote, the law passed with substantial bipartisan support. President Bush and Secretary of Education Rod Paige have said much about the great investments the federal government has made in education. And in strident tones, the material accompanying the passage of the law says that the public has a right to demand great returns on this investment.2 Alas, the promises are far greater than the reality. When the historic federal investments in education are scrutinized, the first- year increases to Title I compensatory funds amount to a mere 0.4% of total education spending. When the much-touted flexibility procedures that NCLB gives to local districts are examined, they allow, at best, a local district to shift around about 4.3% of its already-committed money.3 When the so-called adequate yearly progress provisions of the law are examined, independent reviewers, almost without exception, say the plans are unrealistic.4 Submerged beneath emotional appeals and rhetorical demands, hard questions about costs, the adequacy of resources, and the strength of commitments lie hidden. The Nation's Financial Commitment Throughout the last century, critics loudly proclaimed the nation's peril owing to the alleged poor condition of the schools. Yet results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show that at the end of the century scores in reading and mathematics had leveled off at a 30-year high, dropouts were near all-time lows, and our nation's economic supremacy was unquestioned.5 This is hardly a picture of a failed system. But these facts hide the nation's true educational problems. Much has been made of the merely test scores of U.S. students in comparison with those from other countries. To be sure, U.S. scores on international examinations - such as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) - are at international averages in reading, math, and science.6 However, it is just as clear that the U.S. investment in K-12 education is also less than stellar. We spend the same average amount of our gross domestic product on elementary schools as other developed countries, but we fall to the bottom half in our commitment to high schools.7 The greater and more insidious danger, however, is the disparity in achievement within the United States. International test data tell us that we have the greatest inequities between our highest- and lowest- scoring students of any nation.8 In a UNICEF follow-up study, the gap between our average scorers and our low scorers gives the U.S. an abysmal ranking of 21st out of 24 industrialized nations in educational equality.9 While we are getting more productivity than we pay for, the troubling disparities in achievement reflect our disparities in funding. …