America's Progressive educator, Alfie Kohn, would answer vociferously in the negative that giving rewards to students for their performance is a bad idea. Kohn, along with a bundle of other progressives, feels that any kind of reward offers a dis-incentive.
Of course, "incentivizing" the poorest of the poor school districts in the United States may seem like a radical notion that just might work, but will it?
If you look at the money given to states and regions to run their schools, the District of Columbia ranks third in spending in the nation behind New Jersey and New York. DC gets $12,801 per child from the US government to run its schools (see US Census press release below)
Isn't spending well above the national average a kind of incentive for schools and educators? Does all of this bribing work?
Do you agree? How far can this argument be extended? Is there another way to get students and schools learning?
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2006
Patricia Buscher
Public Information Office
(301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax)
(301) 457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail:
CB06-53
National Spending Per Student Rises to $8,287
U.S. public school districts spent an average of $8,287 per student in 2004, up from the previous year’s total of $8,019. In all, public elementary and secondary education received $462.7 billion from federal, state and local sources in 2004, up 5.1 percent from 2003.
Findings from the 2004 Annual Survey of Local Government Finances – School Systems show that New Jersey spent $12,981 per student in 2004 -- the most among states and state equivalents -- the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. Utah, at $5,008, spent the least per student.
New York ($12,930) and the District of Columbia ($12,801) were second and third in spending per student. Vermont ($11,128) and Connecticut ($10,788) rounded out the top five. Along with Utah, Idaho ($6,028), Arizona ($6,036), Oklahoma ($6,176) and Mississippi ($6,237) comprised the lowest five in money spent per student.
The state governments contributed the greatest share of public elementary and secondary school funding at $218.1 billion. In 2004, state governments contributed 47.1 percent of school funding, down from 49.0 percent in 2003. Local sources contributed 43.9 percent at $203.3 billion. The federal government’s share, which came to $41.3 billion in 2004, rose from 8.4 to 8.9 percent.
Other findings:
Public school systems spent $472.3 billion, up 4.1 percent from 2003. Spending on elementary-secondary instruction increased from $236.0 billion in 2003 to $245.2 billion in 2004. About $138.5 billion was spent on services that support elementary-secondary instruction, and $52.3 billion was spent on capital outlay.
Instructional salaries totaled $170.6 billion in 2004, up 2.2 percent from 2003.
The tabulations contain data on revenues, expenditures, debt and assets for all individual public elementary and secondary school systems.
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The data are not subject to sampling error, but are subject to possible measurement error and processing errors.
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