These increases have been driven primarily by falling student-tea cher ratios and rising teacher pay. Between 1970 and 1990, the decrease in the student population offset much of the increase in instructional costs. Total spending rose much less than did per-pupil spending. But rising school populations since 1990 will add to total spending. The growth in special education programs has played a relatively minor role in both the growth in spending and the decline in student-teacher ratios.
Student achievement is either flat or falling.
By most measures student performance has not improved over the past three decades. At best, it has remained flat. At worst, it has fallen dramatically, as SAT scores indicate. The average minority student consistently performs less well than the typical white student, although this performance gap has narrowed slightly since the mid-1970s. Students from the U.S. consistently perform less well than those from other countries.