Some research even finds that increased school spending helps student achievement even after controlling for community-level indicators of poverty and educational aspirations. Thus there is good evidence from prior research that spending money on education can improve student achievement. In general, although spending has been shown to increase both math and reading achievement, the effects are stronger on math achievement. This is because math is taught almost entirely in schools and reading is often taught and encouraged in the home environment. When parents have low levels of education or little time to spend with their children, the quality of education available in the schools is often crucial to their intellectual development.
Schools are potentially the great equalizer in our society.
Schools, particularly public schools, are the arenas in which home and community disadvantages can be counterbalanced with the promise of equal opportunity for the children of our society. The answer is clearly yes. The table below summarizes a statistical analysis of reading and math scores on standardized tests for North Carolina 10th graders in 1990. The results presented in Table 1 summarize the influence of school spending on math and reading achievement for a child from a North Carolina household with average levels of family resources. The numbers are quite clear.