Pennsylvania ranks eighth in the nation for total per student funding. But are Pennsylvania taxpayers getting their money’s worth?

The Keystone State spends nearly $4,000 more per pupil than the national average—totaling nearly $20,000 for the 2020–21 school year. And school districts have additional access to large stockpiles of taxpayer-funded reserve funds. So, is all that funding paying off? Maybe not.

Unfortunately, research finds that increased education funding does little for student achievement. Right now, 47 percent of Pennsylvania eighth-graders fall below their grade level in language arts. Moreover, a whopping 78 percent of them are not proficient in math. And yet, Pennsylvania lawmakers continue to increase spending on public schools, despite this and decreasing enrollments.

Enrollment and test scores aren’t the only measures on how we should evaluate our public schools. Availability, access, and overall outcomes are also important metrics.

When it comes to availability, there are 500 school districts in the state, with more than 3,000 schools. Yet there are just over 160 brick-and-mortar public charter schools and 14 cyber charter schools. Charter schools disproportionately serve low-income and minority students and offer these families a choice in education. Yet all too often, there are waitlists for these schools, and the process for approving more charter schools leaves much to be desired.

Increased access to charter schools would be a welcome step forward for school choice and access in the state—as would expanding the state’s successful education tax credit programs. These programs incentivize businesses to donate to scholarship organizations to fund private school scholarships for Pennsylvania students. The demand on these programs is at an all-time high as more and more Pennsylvania families want to choose the school that best fits their student’s needs. And it’s also worth noting that a new bill is moving through the Pennsylvania General Assembly to extend Lifeline Scholarships to students in the bottom 15 percent of underperforming schools. While all Pennsylvania students deserve educational choice, this new program would target those students who need it the most.

As for outcomes, Pennsylvania is tied for 15th place when it comes to student attainment of a high school diploma or higher, according to World Population Review. Yet, Pennsylvania ranks 33rd in the nation in the labor force participation rate. Pennsylvania students, by and large, graduate, but then many of them are not working.

Pennsylvania parents and taxpayers must become judge and jury. They need to evaluate state-funded education and whether lawmakers should continue to increase funding for public school districts. We must ensure that our lawmakers approach education with an all-of-the-above strategy—making Pennsylvania an example for the nation not only when it comes to educating the next generation, but also for incentivizing them to stay and work in our great state.