Shop Achieving More for Less in U.S. Education with a Value-Based Approach

Over the past few years, education spending has tightened, and relative fiscal austerity at the state and federal levels means that budgets are more likely to fall than to rise in the near future. In at least 30 states, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, school funding now stands below 2008 levels—in many cases, far below. But as taxpayers and local school stakeholders argue about whether the budget should Achieving More for Less in U.S. Education with a Value-Based Approach J. Puckett , Lane McBride, Jeff Shaddix, Adam Swersky, and Reggie Gilyard From the Boston Consulting Group J. Puckett is a senior partner and managing director in the firm’s Dallas office and global leader of BCG’s education practice. Lane McBride is a principal in BCG’s Washington, DC, office and a core member of BCG’s education practice. Jeff Shaddix is a principal in BCG’s Dallas office and Adam Swersky is a consultant in the firm’s London office. Reggie Gilyard is a senior advisor to the Boston Consulting Group. Condensed, with permission, from a report produced by the Boston Consulting Group, July 2012. To read the report in its entirety, visit www.bcgperspectives.com. be cut or increased, they’re missing the bigger issues. All spending is not created equal: How a school system spends is just as important as—perhaps even more important than—how much it spends. For roughly 40 years, student outcomes have barely budged in the United States, even though inflationadjusted education spending per student has doubled over the same period.

This item is categorized under: Finance of Education