Sam Gibbons: “is there a relationship between how much money is spent on education and how well our students perform academically?…”

“is there a relationship between how much money is spent on education and how well our students perform academically? After all, if I look at a graph showing the SAT scores since 1960 and spending on education since 1960, I might be tempted to conclude that spending just keeps going higher and higher while SAT scores keep going lower and lower. Further, an independent analysis of how much money spent on education in cities like Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, or Kansas City will show that school districts that spend the most often have the worst schools. What is the logical conclusion? When I speak to teachers in my district and throughout Nevada they all agree that it is important that schools are adequately funded but no one says that the money is the most important thing. So what makes for better student achievement? Most important are loving parents who teach their children that reading, writing, and arithmetic are important. No government program can do that. That is something money cannot buy.”