K-12 Spending

Per pupil spending increased in real terms (adjusted for inflation) by over 50 percent from school year 1982-83 to school year 2003-04. Here is what the trend looks like in 2006 dollars:

More recent data are available for spending from New Mexico’s general fund. The increase in spending from the state’s general fund from FY89 to FY07 in real terms (adjusted for population growth and inflation) was 24 percent. Here is what the general fund trend for school spending looks like in current dollars:

That we are using more and more resources for education raises an important question: How can we be spending so much more in real terms and be doing so much worse as illustrated here and here?