U.S. SCHOOL SPENDING JUMPS 154% A
adopt much-needed reforms. “If,” he added, “they are willing to
learn from Southern red states that they may be more accustomed to look- ing down on.”
LESS EXPENSIVE Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the Southern educational surge is that it’s occurred without taxpayers being squeezed for more money. While a familiar refrain among
blue state teacher unions and edu- cators is the insistence that higher taxpayer “investments” are needed to boost academic performance, the stunning gains by Southern educa- tors suggest otherwise. Kristof notes that on average, pub-
lic schools in Alabama and Mississip- pi spend less than $12,000 per pupil. In New York, it’s nearly $30,000. In Pennsylvania, where test scores
appear stuck near the middle of the pack, it’s about $23,000 per student. So what’s the economic secret
behind the New South’s newfound educational excellence at a bargain basement cost? It might be a case of simply “get-
ting back to basics,” along with a keen understanding of the powerful impact of early literacy. Harry Patrinos, head of the Department of Education Reform and an educational policy expert at the University of Arkansas, notes that unless students master the fun- damentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic by third grade, they face an uphill battle to ever catch up.
REPORT CARDS That no-nonsense approach also involves parental accountability. Con- sider, for example, what happens in Alabama when a child misses school. After three unexcused absences
there, a public school will invite the student’s parents to attend a con- ference. And once the absenteeism exceeds five days, school officials inform the parents they could face legal consequences.
$16K $14K $12K $10K $8K $6K $4K $2K $0
1970 1980 1990 2000 Then, after seven unexcused
absences, schools have the option of notifying juvenile court. That means the parents may be required to appear before a judge to explain themselves. In theory, parents could even face a criminal citation. Southern states, for example, are
generally less tolerant of classroom disruption. California, meanwhile, has prohibited suspensions for will- ful disobedience. Massachusetts, similarly, stipu-
lates that administrators “shall not use suspension from school as a con- sequence until alternative remedies have been tried and documented.” And while that may sound reason-
able, in practice it strongly discour- ages suspensions. Whether blue state politicians,
school administrators, and union officials are ready to prioritize pho- nics and reading comprehension over, say, gender identities and eth- nic studies remains to be seen. But there are signs a growing
cadre of activists and educators are determined to give it a try even north of the Mason-Dixon Line. One obstacle that awaits those reformers: Contemporary pedagogy tends to emphasize free and creative expression over the repetitive drilling of fundamentals. And while Patrinos agrees that nurturing creativity is important, he says learning the fundamentals must come first.
2010 2020 2022 SOURCE:
Myelearningworld.com “It’s the first few years where you
have a chance to master this,” he insists. “After that, you’re free to do other things. But if you’re limited by your reading comprehension, that limits everything else. We call it a foundational skill.” By getting the rote work out of
the way early, Patrinos maintains students are freed up in subsequent grades to explore subjects and activi- ties they find more interesting. Following decades of sub-par K-12
academic achievement, Mississippi began pioneering state-level educa- tion reforms in 2013. Its legislature passed the Missis-
sippi Literacy-Based Promotion Act that required all third graders to pass a reading assessment act to move on to the fourth grade. It also provides intensive interven-
tion, including individual reading plans, reading coaches, and teacher training in the science of reading to help identify reading difficulties early on. The impact of those changes was profound. When Mississippi’s reforms were
first enacted in 2013, it ranked 49th in reading comprehension. One decade later, it had jumped into the top 20. Then in 2024, after adjusting for demographics, the Magnolia State rocked academia by claiming the No. 1 spot for both reading and mathematics. And even without those demo-
graphic adjustments, Mississippi ranked No. 7 nationwide.
MAY 2026 | NEWSMAX 29
re American taxpayers getting a fair return on their education dollars? It seems a fair question, considering that the cost of America’s public education system
has jumped by 2.5 times the rate of inflation since 1970. The impact on test scores, meanwhile, has been minuscule.
Average Reading Score Average Math Score
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
INFLATION ADJUSTED SPENDING PER STUDENT
AVERAGE NAEP SCORE ON 500-POINT SCALE
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