Not just money

The state’s School Report Card was released Tuesday, and the Courier-Post detailed the bad news for Camden’s beleaguered public schools:

— Across nearly all elementary and middle schools, between two-thirds and 90 percent of students did not pass standardized tests taken last March.

— A little less than half of the city’s high school senior classes failed to graduate last year.

— More than 20 percent of students dropped out.

— Passing rates on the state’s High School Proficiency Assessment were below 20 percent at some campuses.

— Not a single Camden student who passed the high-stakes test achieved advanced proficiency.

“I’m looking at the data, and it’s disgusting,” said Camden school board member Sean Brown.

Not just because of the terrible lack of achievement and accountability, but because of how much taxpayers are spending on the failing schools. Last year, Camden spent $16,850 per student. The year before, it spent $20,709. Both figures are well above the national average — more than double Nevada’s levels, depending on which figures you use — and well above the New Jersey average for school systems deemed socially and economically distressed.

Meanwhile, the Courier-Post reports, “data show that 2010 math and language arts test score averages at Camden’s charter schools usually exceed those of in-district public schools and occasionally top the statewide average.”

Money, by itself, won’t improve student achievement in Nevada or anywhere else. Study after study shows no correlation between education spending and test scores. The state’s best hope for recharged academics is the reform agenda backed by Gov. Brian Sandoval, which includes the elimination of teacher tenure and greater competition for public school monopolies through vouchers and other forms of choice.