This piece is more “academic” but worth the read for its overall conclusions, critique of oft-cited Hanushek and discussion of merit pay, class sizes and charters.

“Many of the ways in which schools currently spend money do improve student outcomes.

“When schools have more money, they have greater opportunity to spend productively. When they don’t, they can’t.

“Arguments that across-the-board budget cuts will not hurt outcomes are completely unfounded.

“In short, money matters, resources that cost money matter, and a more equitable distribution of school funding can improve outcomes. Policymakers would be well-advised to rely on high-quality research to guide the critical choices they make regarding school finance.”

Read the summary and click on embedded link to read the whole piece here: http://www.shankerinstitute.org/resource/does-money-matter