With the 84th Texas Legislature session in full swing, discussion regarding public education is buzzing at the Capitol. Considering the current spotlight on public education funding, finance-driven social network WalletHub recently ranked cities with the most and least efficient spending on instruction. Snagging spot No. 24, the city of Garland was named one of the country’s most efficient spenders, producing one of the most favorable returns on educational investment.
To generate its list, WalletHub calculated the return on investment for 90 of the most populated U.S. cities. This was done by dividing standardized test scores with education spending per capita. A city’s ranking was then adjusted by four socioeconomic factors: the poverty rate, household income, percentage of single-parent families and number of households whose home language is other than English.
Garland bested more than 60 cities across the nation to join the top 30 percent. Spending $1,616 on educational expenses per student, Garland schools see an average score of 86.39 on the STAAR—the seventh-highest average.
Additional Texas cities to make the upper half of WalletHub’s ranking include Austin, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Houston, El Paso, Dallas, San Antonio, Arlington and Fort Worth.
To see the complete list, methodology and expert opinions, visit WalletHub’s website.
