ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) New Mexico finds itself in the middle of the pack in a recent ranking of per-student education spending by states. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the National Education Association, the nation's largest teacher union, placed New Mexico at 25th in such spending for the 2011-12 school year. That report, released in December, shows New Mexico spending $10,203 per student.
State spending comparisons vary, depending on the group doing the analysis and their sources of data. The U.S. Census Bureau offers a different set of data, released in May, that places New Mexico in 37th place for per-student spending, at $9,070 per student in fiscal 2011.
State education chief Hanna Skandera says the disparity between New Mexico's spending and sluggish test scores shows that funding without accountability doesn't deliver results.
