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Show Utah Foundation says: E Per pupil school costs rise;, faster than inflation while test scores drop Per-pupil school costs rise faster than inflation while test scores decline. Achievement test scores of public school students have been declining de-clining in recent years, while expenditures per pupil for public education have been rising even faster than the inflation spiral, according to Utah Foundation, the private, non-profit research agency. agen-cy. This dual pattern has emerged in Utah as in the nation at large. The ratio of test score to dollars-per-pupil expenditure expen-diture in constant dollars dol-lars to eliminate the effects of inflation nationally na-tionally declined nearly 47 percent between 1960 and 1978, the Foundation reported re-ported in a research brief released this week. In Utah, the ratio of achievement achieve-ment test scores to (constant) (con-stant) dollars per pupil declined 28 percent in the 1967-1977 decade. "It is recognized that this ratio is not an exact measure, and that many factors come into the picture, but there does appear to be evidence of declining scholastic a-chievement a-chievement in the face of steadily rising education expenditures," the Foundation Foun-dation points out. "This poses a major challenge to the premise long advanced ad-vanced by some educators, educa-tors, which postulates that educational quality is directly di-rectly related to per-pupil expenditure. This premise has long been questioned in Utah, where the prevalence pre-valence of large families make for an unusually large school enrollment compared to total population. popula-tion. Utah's per pupil expenditure for public education has historically been below the national average despite the fact that Utah has stood at or near the top of the list of states in terms of personal income devoted to education educa-tion and per-taxpayer effort in support of schools." The national publication U. S. News and World Report recently pointed to mounting taxpayer resistance resis-tance as exemplified by California's Proposition 13, placing a squeeze on public school financing. A result has been the development of cost-benefit cost-benefit analysis by taxpayers tax-payers to make sure their money is bringing a reasonable return. "This confrontation between be-tween taxpayer revolt and the public school record of rising cost and declining achievement appears to be a little slower in reaching Utah than some other parts of the nation," the Foundation notes. "Many observers feel, however, that such a confrontation has begun and is rapidly approaching a climax in Utah. School budgets in Utah have not yet been severely cut as in ! some other places, but several tax-limitation proposals pro-posals are now being circulated that could signi-: signi-: ficantly affect public i school financing in the i near future." A brighter side to the picture is seen, as in many areas of the nation the : financial squeeze has al- ready produced a marked return to basic values in public education, with indications that the record i of pupil achievement may ' be on the rise. "Blame for declining test scores in recent years is vnriously placed both by ; professional educators and by concerned lay citizens. The widespread fuvakdown of the traditional tradi-tional pattern of American family life, the distractions distrac-tions of television, the natural disadvantages of some racial and ethnic minorities who comprise part of the test group, the spreading use of alcohol and drugs by American youth, are all outside-the-classroom influences contributing to the decline in educational achievement," achieve-ment," the Foundation said. "Many parents recognize rec-ognize the impact of these forces, but nevertheless feel that . much of the problem lies in the class- room, where 'open' and 'progressive' educational methods have shifted emphasis em-phasis away from educational educa-tional basics." The Foundation notes that many classroom teachers and other educa-IJ tors are deeply dedicated; but pointed to widespread teacher strikes in otheti) parts of the nation asH evidence of increasing teacher concern with sal-J ary contracts over interest' ' in academic excellence. |