Where the Money Went — and What Didn’t Change

Texas is spending more on public education than ever before. That fact is often cited to explain why taxpayers feel squeezed and why schools say they are still “underfunded.” But spending alone doesn’t tell the full story.

To understand what’s really happening, we examined statewide enrollment, total education spending, and student outcomes over time, using only official Texas Education Agency financial data and independent student performance benchmarks.

What the data shows is not a lack of spending — it’s a growing disconnect between how much is spent, how many students are served, and what outcomes improve.

Spending vs. Enrollment: The Baseline Reality

Over the past decade, total education spending in Texas has increased substantially, even after accounting for enrollment growth. While student enrollment grew modestly and later flattened, per-student spending continued to rise.

To make this comparison clear, the data below uses 2011 as a base year (2011 = 100) and shows how spending and enrollment changed relative to one another over time.

This approach does not assign blame or intent — it simply shows relative change.

If More Spending Meant Better Results, Outcomes Would Track It

A common argument is that Texas is merely “catching up” — that increased spending is necessary because prior funding levels were insufficient. If that were the case, we would expect to see statewide improvements in student outcomes that roughly track the increase in spending.

That is not what the data shows.

Independent outcome measures — including NAEP reading and math scores (grades 4 and 8), SAT/ACT participation and performance, and graduation rates — have remained largely flat, plateaued, or declined over the same period in which spending rose.

This analysis does not claim that spending causes or prevents student success. It shows that spending growth has not been accompanied by proportional statewide gains in measured outcomes.

Why Independent Measures Matter

Texas accountability systems and graduation standards change over time. For that reason, this analysis relies heavily on NAEP, a federally administered assessment that is independent of Texas education policy and widely used by researchers across the political spectrum.

NAEP provides a stable benchmark for comparing student performance across years. When measured against this standard, Texas student outcomes have not improved at the same rate as education spending.

What This Analysis Does — and Does Not — Claim

This analysis shows:

• Education spending and per-student spending increased substantially after 2011.

• Enrollment growth does not explain the scale of that increase.

• Statewide student outcomes did not improve proportionally over the same period.

This analysis does not claim:

• That teachers are at fault.

• That money never matters.

• That spending alone determines student success.

Instead, it raises a necessary question for taxpayers, parents, and educators alike:

If more money is being spent, but outcomes are not improving statewide, how is that money being used — and who benefits most from its growth?

Record spending

is not the same as effective spending.

Transparency matters.

Statewide Education Spending, Enrollment, and Outcomes (2008–2024) Indexed to 2011 = 100 | Source: Texas Education Agency, PEIMS, NAEP. Blank cells reflect years where outcome data was not collected or not comparable. No estimates or projections are used.