What Impacts Can We Expect from School Spending Policy? Evidence from Evaluations in the United States
Jackson, C. K., & Mackevicius, C. (2024); Handel, D., & Hanushek, E. (2023) · 2024
grade Bmeta-analysisindependentmixednumbers spot-checked
Sample
~31 credibly causal quasi-experimental US studies
Population
US K-12 spending policies.
Design
Meta of causal designs only; minimal publication bias detected. Handel-Hanushek rejoinder: heterogeneity is large, many funded policies show zero.
Key findings
Unallocated money buys a little — reliably but expensively. The founder question is never 'more money?' but 'which bundle?': the same $1,000/pupil in high-dosage tutoring buys ~5-10x the test-score effect.
Genetic confound
Causal designs by construction.
Replication notes
Verified. The average is not YOUR effect: how money is spent dominates.
DOI / URL
10.1257/app.20220279
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000/pupil sustained 4 years | outcomes | +0.032 SD test scores; +2.8pp college-going; smaller for advantaged populations | standardized | end + long-run | business-as-usual | over-2yr | attainment |
| Per-dollar ranking | comparison | ~$12.7k per 0.1 SD/student on test scores — near the bottom of interventions; the attainment effect is the stronger case | standardized | n/a | business-as-usual | not-applicable | domain-skill |
Cited by
- School spending, charters, and what school-level choices actually move outcomesmixedconf: highgc: low