Comparing Spending and Performance in Florida s Public Schools and Colleges

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1 Comparing Spending and Performance in Florida s Public Schools and Colleges by James D. Gwartney Professor of Economics and Policy Sciences -- Lora Holcombe Adjunct Professor of Economics J. Stanley Marshall Chairman of the Board James Madison Lnstitute Russell S. Sobel Assistant Professor University of West Virginia The report supersedes Policy Report No. 6 June 1992 Policy Report No. 22 June 1997 A ole: A othing wrimn here is 10 be consm~~i as necessarily rejlecting the views of The./o~II~.T ~blfldi.?~n lnsiitule or m on attempt 10 aid or hinder [he passage of any specific legislarion.

2 Comparing Spending and Performance in Florida s Public Schools and Colleges by James D. Gwartney Professor of Economics and Policy Sciences Lora Holcombe Adjunct Professor of Economics J. Stanley Marshall Chairman of the Board James Madison Institute Russell S. Sobel Assistant Professor University of West Virginia The report supersedes Policy Report No. 6 June 1992 Policy Report No. 22 June 1997

3 THE JAMES MADISON INSTITUTE PHILOSOPHY AND MISSION The James Madison Institute is a Florida-based reseaxh and educational organization engaged in the battle of ideas. Our ideas are rooted in the U.S. Constitution and in such timeless principles as economic freedom. limited government. federalism, traditional values. the rule of law, and individual Iibcrty coupled with individual responsibility The mission ofthe James Madison Institute is to keep Floridians informed about their government and to shape our state s future through the advancement of practical, free-market ideas on public pohcy issues. OPERATIONS The Institute s offices are-located intallahassee, Florida. Its views are distributed through policy studies, newsletters. books, radio and television appearances, articles in the mass media, seminars, conferencrs, and speeches to civic, professional, and other organizations Founded in 1987, the James Madison Institute is independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan. It makes no attempt to aid or hinder passage of legislation, accepts no government funds, and does not respond to special pleadings from any sector. James Madison Institute 2017 Delta Boulvard, Suite 102, EO. Box Tallahassee, FL Voice (850) Fax (850) MadisonJMIOaoI.com Website -his Bac&rounder was published by Ihe James ~Madison lnsfimfe Center for Public policy PcrrniSsion is granted to wore from this publication with appropriate acknowledgment.

4 ,nmes tladiron lnrritute Policy Reporr No. 12,une I997 Table of Contents EKG Executive Sumnary... Vi Elementary and Secondary Education in Florida... 1 Expenditures Per Pupil... 1 Teachers Salaries... 3 Schooling Inputs and Educational Quality... 3 Measures of Student Performance... 3 Higher Education in Florida... 7 Degrees Conferred... 9 National Focus on Education Five Areas of Structural Change l Parental Choice Emphasis Decentralization-School-Based Management School Performance Measurement: Output Rather Than Input National Standards for Teaching Teacher Unions as Agents of Change A Look Ahead Table Current Expenditures Per Pupil on Public Elementary and Secondary Education in 1980, 1988, 1989, 1994 Adjusted for Cost-of-Living Differences Among States-Florida Compared to Other Southeastern and Other Populous States _...._.. 2 Average Public Elementary and Secondary Teachers Salaries for U.S., Florida, Other Southeastern States, and Other Populous States 1970, 1980, 1990, and 1995, Adjusted for Cost-of Living Differences Among States _ Graduation Rate of Florida Public Schools Compared to the Graduation Rate in Other Southeastern andpopulous States: 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, and Average SAT Scores of College-Bound High School Students 1982,1989, 1990, 1993-SAT States Current Expenditures Per Student Enrolled in Public Institutions of Higher Education for Florida and the United States: ,, Current Fund Expenditures Per Student Enrolled in Public Institutions of Higher Education for Florida, Other Southeastern, and Other Populous States, 1980, 1988,and iv

5 James Madison Institute Policy Report No. 7.2 June I997 Appendix Table A-l A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 Public School Districts by State for Southeastern and Other Populous States _..I_ The Average Annual Salaries of Elementary and Secondary Public School Teachers in Current and Constant (1992) Dollars for Florida and the United States I The Pupil/Teacher Ratio of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools : Florida Compared to Other Southeastern States and Other Populous States._....._..._,...._.._._..._,.._,,.,,., Current Operating Expenditures Per Pupil in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in Current and Constant ( ) Dollars for Florida and the United States, _...,...,,.,..,. 20 The Number of Students in Grade 12 as a Percent of the Number of Students in Grades 9 and 10 for the United States, Florida, Other Southeastern States and Other Populous States, 1988, 1989, and _.._..._ Percent of Population 18 Years of Age Who Are Either Enrolled in School or Are High School Graduates According to Race and Sex, A-7 Earned Degrees Conferred Per 1000 Population, _ v

6 ]ames Madison lnmtuw Policy Report No. 12,une I997 Executive Summary The State of Florida spends more on education than on any other program.,_~ Yet, the experience of recent decades indicates that, without structural change, additional spending is unlikely to improve the quality of education. Comparing inputs in education with outcomes is an effective method of assessing the impact of current spending and the likely impact of proposed future spending increases. K- 12 schooling expenditures per pupil in Florida have increased faster than the national average. In school year , the latest year for which comparative statistics are available, Florida spent an average of $5,305 per pupil (not including capital outlay for buildings, buses, etc.). That year, Florida ranked second among the 10 Southeastern states in spending per pupil, and was second when cost-of-living differences were taken into account; only Virginia spent more. In the same comparison among populous states, Florida spent more per pupil than both California and Texas. The average annual salary of public elementary and secondary teachers in Florida, adjusted for cost-of-living differences, was $30,348 in That year Florida ranked second only to Tennessee among the 10 Southeastern states in teachers salaries, but lagged behind the other populous states by an average of 6 percent. By 1995 Florida s average annual adjusted salary was $35,598, which put it behind Georgia, Kentucky, and Virginia and all other populous states except Texas. If educational inputs in Florida are relatively high, what about outcomes? Graduation rates, one measure of performance, show that Florida has major problems. Florida s high school graduation rate in 1993, the latest year for which comparative statistics are available, was 67.8 percent, compared to a national average of 76.5 percent. Florida ranked behind all other Southeastern states except Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and ranked behind all other populous states except Texas, vi

7 jamer Madison lxti~u~e Policy Repon No. 22,une,997 Among the 21 states that generally require prospective college students to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Florida ranked 16th in SAT scores in When Florida s relatively low test performance is corn- -. bined with its low graduation rate, the picture of schooling in the state is not complimentary. Public higher education in Florida, by contrast with elementary and setondary schools, is a story of somewhat better performance and lower expenditures. In 1992, Florida spent $6,2 19 per student or percent of the national average. Part of the explanation for Florida s low college expenditures is that a substantially larger percentage of Florida s students attend a community college before enrollment in a four-year institution. When considering only public four-year colleges, Florida ranks 13th among the 50 states in expenditures per pupil. While Florida grants fewer academic degrees per 1,000 population than most other states, this figure is largely a result of a lower percentage of 1 S- to 34-year olds in the state. Public higher education in Florida enjoys a relatively strong reputation, especially for its community college system. - Comparing spending and performance in Florida s public schools and colleges~ leads to a general conclusion: rather than simply spend more money on education, Florida should experiment with structural changes in its schools and colleges. These changes would include: 1. educational choice, allowing parents to choose the schools their children attend and to have their tax dollars follow the child to these schools (including private and religious schools); 2. decentralization, breaking up large districts into smaller decisionmaking units and promoting more school-based management; 3. measuring school performance by outcomes rather than inputs; 4. encouraging more use of alternative teacher certification processes so that competent retirees and professionals can enter the classroom; and 5. encouraging teachers unions to cooperate with reform efforts through adopting more flexible union contracts that allow for staffing changes and merit pay that administrators believe will result in higher productivity. vii