MCPS Expenditures and Educational Outcomes

In 2007, MCPS continued to top the state in Expenditure per Pupil, outspending Howard County by $1,415, beating Baltimore City by $1,273, and administering a knock-out to Caroline County by $3,612.

Howard was able to provide 73.4 Instruction Staff per Thousand, Baltimore City 72, and Caroline 69. MCPS gave us 70.5 Instruction Staff per Thousand.

Moving to Professional Support Staff per Thousand, MCPS managed 12, Howard 12.4, Baltimore City 10.5, and Caroline 10.7.

When it came to Instructional Assistants per Thousand, Howard had a whopping 24.2, Baltimore City 19.8, and Caroline 18.9. In comparison to Howard’s 24.2, MCPS scraped up 16.3.

Then again, MCPS is “leading with equity” and “closing the achievement gap” like no other jurisdiction. Is it?

The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County hosts a number of reports, I have based on data from the State Department of Education that help us make an assessment of the efficacy of our tax dollars in the hands of MCPS.

Begin with a look at graduation rates through 2008 (the report can also be accessed here). Graduation rates for Hispanic and African American males are plummeting.

Thereafter, consider the “gap” in the third-grade reading scores between White and African American students on the third grade MSAs. Despite differing expenditures per pupil, the MCPS, Howard County, and Statewide third-grade reading score gap averages were essentially the same (the report can also be accessed here).

“MSA third-grade reading gap shrinks 22 percentage points,” shrieks a MCPS produced PowerPoint presentation. Once again, data available from the state, presented by this author shows that the gap is smaller or similar in other jurisdictions with smaller expenditure per pupil (the report can also be accessed here).

When it comes to gifted education, MCPS claims to identify an average of approximately 40% of its second graders as GT, with identification numbers that run the gamut from a low of about 17% to a high of over 87%. It is generally accepted that the national average is about 5%. The lowest MCPS figure is about 3-times the national average, while the highest is almost 17-times! Alas, that too seems to be a smoke-and-mirrors illusion bolstered by lower identification standards, gaming of the identification process, etc.

Let me end with a few thoughts:

Contact the president of a local university and you will get, at the very least, an acknowledgment. Contact the insular, isolated Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools and you will likely hear nothing.

The MCPS cost-per-pupil is the highest in the state...

There is absolutely no published accounting of how the additional dollars are spent by MCPS ….

There are no benchmarks, measures, levels, or trends that reflect how effectively these additional resources are used or what results they have achieved …

Don’t we owe it to OUR CHILDREN to make sure that OUR money is spent wisely, transparently and accountably on THEIR education?

Don’t we need leadership that can step up to the plate to answer our questions?

Don’t we need leadership that has the courage to make the right decisions, however unpopular?

Don’t we need leadership that is accessible to the public that pays his salary?