The first in a series of research reports on Texas school finance, this study provides an unprecedented look at how public education dollars fit into the overall financial structure of each of the 50 states. For each state, the authors track the sources of public education dollars, determine the amount spent on public education, and identify the relationship between public education dollars and total state spending. The authors also examine the relationship between state spending, revenues and personal income as a measure of each state’s ability to sustain public education funding. This report offers Texans, as well as those in other states, a fiscal foundation for school finance reform.
Higher Education
Who Teaches the Teachers?
Every state requires public school teachers to be “certified,” and most of that certification runs through a university school of education. New research by TPPF’s Kate Bierly asks a simple question: is that credential actually worth anything? The answer, backed by decades of data, is no. Teacher training used to happen in “normal schools.” The practical, two-year...
July 23, 2026