Oct. 17, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Bob Luebke (919) 834-2099 bob.luebke@nccivitas.org
Taxpayers Spend $150 K per High School Diploma,
Study Finds. Are We Getting our Money’s Worth?
RALEIGH – A new analysis by the Civitas Institute indicates North Carolina spends about $150,000 for each high school diploma it hands out.
And that amount doesn’t even include capital costs. Some may say the expense is worthwhile, but this new study also shows there’s very little connection between spending and student achievement.
“We looked at the total expenditures, adjusted for inflation and then factored in the percentage of students who actually graduate from high school,” said Civitas Senior Policy Analyst Dr. Robert Luebke. “After all, today a high school diploma is the goal of K-12 education. We found the average cost of each diploma to be about $150,000. And that doesn’t include capital and other maintenance costs, expenses that in some cases can push up the cost an additional 20 percent.
“Our analysis also found little connection between spending and educational achievement,” he added. “For example, only two of the 20 highest-spending Local Education Associations exceeded state averages on some key measures of student progress. We hope this study prompts debate on how to make our schools more efficient and how to improve student performance.”
The article summarizing the study can be found here.
Dr. Luebke is available for interviews.
The Civitas Institute – “North Carolina’s Conservative Voice” – is a policy institute based in Raleigh, N.C. More information is available at www.nccivitas.org, or contact Jim Tynen at (919) 834-2099 or jim.tynen@nccivitas.org.
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