Dive Brief:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has released new data showing that while the U.S. spends more than the average on education, it has below average graduation rates.
- According to OECD, the nation spends almost one-third more in per-pupil spending in secondary schools, than the average country evaluated by OECD.
- In 2012, the graduation rate in America was 78.7%, which meant the U.S. came in at No. 22 of 29 evaluated nations.
Dive Insight:
The news is troubling in the sense that it doesn't feel good to spend a lot and get mediocre results. An abysmal graduation rate and high spending is embarrassing. That said, it's hard to be that mad when you consider the fact that the United States has actually improved since 2000, when its graduation rate was a sad 70%.
Some readers of a Washington Post article on the OECD results, have complained that these stats are somewhat skewed since per pupil funding really varies state to state and, more specifically, in low-income versus high-income neighborhoods.