The United States has a big problem.

In recent years, I’ve looked at how two cities (Los Angeles and Chicago) dramatically boosted spending on government schools, yet in both cases educational outcomes declined.

I also wrote about similar evidence, on a statewide level, from New Hampshire.

Now let’s look at another state.

Courtesy of the Great Lakes Policy Center, here are two charts. The first one shows an ever-increasing pile of tax dollars getting thrown at government schools (way beyond what was needed to keep pace with inflation), even while the number of students is declining.

What matters most, of course, is whether all this additional spending produced a positive rate of return.

In other words, did the spending lead to better educational outcomes?

Needless to say, the answer is a resounding no. Here’s the second chart.

It was embarrassing to have only one-third of students proficient early last decade. Having less than one-fourth proficient today is an utter disgrace.

By contrast, we have lots of evidence that school choice produces better results, and I’ve written columns looking specifically at educational improvements in Arizona and Florida.

The choice is simple: Spend more and get worse results with government schools or spend less and get better results with school choice.

Should be an easy decision. Unless, of course, you’re a politician who is willing to toss kids overboard in exchange for campaign cash from teacher unions.

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Image credit: amboo who? | CC BY-SA 2.0.