We hear a lot about how much states are spending on education. Not so much about how much we’re get for that spending. Until now. Edunomics Lab, a university-based research center at Georgetown University, analyzed return on investment (ROI) data from 2013-2024 to see which states have succeeded in leveraging dollars toward better academic outcomes.
Edunomics compiled return-on-investment data for all fifty states. What did they find for North Carolina?
While spending grew 61 percent to $13,500 per pupil, eighth grade math scores continued to fall during the pandemic but saw modest gains in 2024. The news for reading is even worse. Reading scores fell throughout the decade and have continued to decline even as spending has increased.
Educational outcomes clearly need to improve. While there will be incessant calls for more money, the lesson is clear: money alone fails to produce overall better educational outcomes. It can certainly help, but a better option for improving educational outcomes might be to focus on how North Carolina distributes money to schools and how that money is actually spent.
