In an op-ed in the Washington Times, Paul E. Peterson takes a close look at what the American public knows about school spending based on data from the 2015 EdNext poll. The poll found that only 37 percent of Americans know how much money is spent per student each year. But when we asked respondents to estimate per-pupil expenditures in their local school district, they guessed, on average, just $6,307, little more than half actual spending levels. In other words, the public is badly misinformed..."
In an op-ed in the Washington Times, Paul E. Peterson takes a close look at what the American public knows about school spending based on data from the 2015 EdNext poll. He writes: "In the school districts where our respondents lived, the expenditures per pupil came to $12,440 per pupil in 2012, the last year for which information is available. But when we asked respondents to estimate per-pupil expenditures in their local school district, they guessed, on average, just $6,307, little more than half actual spending levels. In other words, the public is badly misinformed..."