New York School Spending Report Relies on Flawed Spending Figures

BOULDER, CO (November 12, 2026) — A new Manhattan Institute report concludes that New York’s per-pupil spending has climbed sharply yet the state gets only “mediocre” results in return, attributing the problem to a governance system that neither measures what works nor follows the evidence. However, the report is faulty because its own foundational evidence fails to account for inflation, rising school workforce costs, regional variation in labor costs, and changes in student needs.

University of Miami professor Bruce Baker reviewed The Mediocre State of New York State Schools and found these and other flaws in its analysis and recommendations.

The report’s figures imply that New York’s per-pupil spending grew 124% from 2004-05 to 2023-24. However, when adjusted for the cost of school staff compensation, per-pupil spending grew by only 34% over that period.

The report also ignores a large body of rigorous research showing that money matters for student outcomes; it also matters for the state’s constitutional obligation. Most of New York’s children attend schools spending well below what it would cost to achieve even current average national outcomes.

Some of the report’s recommendations, such as universal early screening and better reporting on special education services, are reasonable. But the report’s headline recommendations—lifting the charter cap, opting into federal tax-credit scholarships, and restructuring the Board of Regents—rest on advocacy sources, not evidence. Its proposed “educational return on investment” metric also repeats a methodological error addressed in prior NEPC reviews: Simple ratios of outcomes to spending are the wrong tool for comparing institutions serving very different student populations.

Professor Baker concludes that the report provides little or no useful guidance for New York policymakers.

Find the review, written by Bruce Baker, at:
https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/ny-state

Find The Mediocre State of New York State Schools, written by Jennifer Weber, Ray Domanico, Carolyn D. Gorman and published by the Manhattan Institute, at: https://manhattan.institute/article/the-mediocre-state-of-new-york-state-schools

 

NEPC Reviews (https://nepc.colorado.edu/reviews) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu

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