Per-student costs ranked third highest in U.S.
By Amy Fagan
April 2, 2008
The District had one of the most expensive school systems in the country in 2006, paying more than $13,000 per student, Census Bureau figures show.
On average, school districts nationwide spent $9,138 per student in fiscal 2006, which is about $437 more than in 2005, according to a report made public yesterday.
The $13,446-per-pupil spending in 2006 ranked the District as the third highest in the country, exceeded only by New York, at $14,884, and New Jersey, at $14,630, the report said.
Per-pupil spending was the lowest in Utah, at $5,437; Idaho, at $6,440; and Arizona, at $6,472.
D.C. public school scores on math and reading were the lowest in the country last year, according to results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests released in September.
The results showed that slightly more than half of fourth-graders and two-thirds of eighth-graders tested below the "basic" level in math. On the reading section, 61 percent of fourth-graders and 52 percent of eighth-graders scored below the basic level.
Officials define the basic level as "partial mastery" of fundamental skills, and rank it below "proficient" and "advanced" benchmarks.
Nationally, 30 percent of eighth-grade students scored below the basic level in math and 27 percent scored below the basic level in reading. |
