Aaron Garth Smith
Director of Education Reform, Reason Foundation
Aaron Garth Smith is the director of education reform at Reason Foundation.
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Southern California school districts are serving fewer students and facing massive budget deficits
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, families have also increasingly sought public school alternatives such as charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling.
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Funding Education Opportunity: Public schools closing as enrollments decline
Plus, Tennessee, Wyoming, and South Carolina policymakers look to advance school choice proposals.
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Public school enrollment is plummeting. Here are five things policymakers can do about it.
Between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years, public schools across the country lost 1.2 million students.
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Public school closures were on the upswing in 2024
In the 15 states examined, public school closures increased in 2023-24.
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What the birth dearth means for public schools
Fewer students and increased competition will require public institutions to be dynamic and responsive.
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Florida Amendment 1 would implement partisan elections for district school boards
Currently, school board elections in Florida are nonpartisan.
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California taxpayers spent $4 billion on 401,000 students no longer in the state’s public schools
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) collected $508 million for 50,400 ghost students in the 2022-23 school year.
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The cost of state hold harmless policies in K-12 education
With widespread public school enrollment losses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial costs of some hold harmless policies have increased exponentially.
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Four takeaways from the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest school finance data
With federal data from the 2022 school year now available, policymakers can better grasp how the COVID-19 pandemic affected public school budgets.
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With federal pandemic aid expiring, Florida shows states how to cost-effectively boost student achievement
Unlike in most states, public schools in Florida don’t have a monopoly over students and their funding.
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Public education at a crossroads: A comprehensive look at K-12 resources and outcomes
Examining key education spending, enrollment, staffing, and student performance data over the past two decades in all 50 states.
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Five key trends in education spending, teacher salaries, staffing and test scores
Total inflation-adjusted education spending increased by 25% per student while average teacher salaries fell by 0.6% from 2002 to 2020.
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Public education at a crossroads: K-12 education revenue and expenditure trends 2002-2020
Nationwide, inflation-adjusted public school revenues grew from $12,852 per student in 2002 to $16,065 per student in 2020.
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Public education at a crossroads: Enrollment, staffing, and teacher salary trends 2002-2020
Nationwide, inflation-adjusted average teacher salaries fell by 0.6% between 2002 and 2020 with a total of 26 states seeing declines.
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Public education at a crossroads: Math and reading outcomes (low-income students only)
Between 2003 and 2019, the average U.S. 4th grade NAEP math score for free and reduced-price lunch eligible students increased by seven points.
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Public education at a crossroads: Math and reading outcomes (all students)
Between 2003 and 2019, the average U.S. 8th-grade NAEP reading score was flat. The average 8th-grade NAEP math score increased by four points.
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Public education at a crossroads: Education spending data for all 50 states 2002-2020
Examining every state's K-12 public education spending, staffing and enrollment levels, teacher salaries and more.
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Homeschooling is on the rise, even as the pandemic recedes
As of May 2023, 85% of students are enrolled in public schools, 9.6% attend private schools, and 5.4% are homeschooled.
