HoCo Lags in School Value Proposition

The Center for American Progress determined that the HoCo Public School Systems delivers “high achievement at a relatively high cost.” According to this story by Nick Anderson in The Washington Post an analysis of test scores and spending by the liberal think tank concluded that “Manassas Park and Calvert County have the most efficient schools in the Washington area.”

CAP charted the spending per pupil in the sixteen counties surrounding Washington, D.C.. HoCo had the second highest at $11,439 per pupil. Calvert spends $8,091 per pupil. Then again, it’s a lot cheaper to live in Calvert County.

Still, HoCo also got beat out by Montgomery County where they spend $10,199 per pupil.

“Elsewhere in Maryland, on an index called "basic return on investment" - one of three methods the center used for comparison - Frederick County received a top mark. Schools in Montgomery, St. Mary's and Anne Arundel counties were rated just behind. Then came Howard County…”

Of course a school system shouldn’t give too much weight to it’s value proposition but it does belong in the conversation.