Bruce D. Baker
@schoolfinance101.bsky.social
Professor, Education Finance & Policy
Personal Website: https://schoolfinance101.com
School Finance Indicators Database: https://www.schoolfinancedata.org/
Books: https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/author/bruce-d-baker/
Personal Website: https://schoolfinance101.com
School Finance Indicators Database: https://www.schoolfinancedata.org/
Books: https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/author/bruce-d-baker/
Therein lies the problem - that we've created a market for quality-neutral graduate degrees - and they've blown up over the decades (from an old post) schoolfinance101.com/2012/12/01/e...
November 10, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Therein lies the problem - that we've created a market for quality-neutral graduate degrees - and they've blown up over the decades (from an old post) schoolfinance101.com/2012/12/01/e...
Miami-Dade's charter sector is, well, a bit of a hot mess - many not serving high need populations - AND performing very poorly.
October 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Miami-Dade's charter sector is, well, a bit of a hot mess - many not serving high need populations - AND performing very poorly.
4. Success Academies in NYC has generally served smaller low income populations and very very few English Learners (it's just not their target population)
In other words - they have NO RELEVANT TRACK RECORD! & will likely exacerbate segregation.
In other words - they have NO RELEVANT TRACK RECORD! & will likely exacerbate segregation.
October 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
4. Success Academies in NYC has generally served smaller low income populations and very very few English Learners (it's just not their target population)
In other words - they have NO RELEVANT TRACK RECORD! & will likely exacerbate segregation.
In other words - they have NO RELEVANT TRACK RECORD! & will likely exacerbate segregation.
3. We've let those charter schools expand relatively unchecked (national - left, Florida- right)
October 19, 2025 at 3:50 PM
3. We've let those charter schools expand relatively unchecked (national - left, Florida- right)
2. Charter schools statewide in FL and in Miami-Dade have lower overall outcomes than district schools (in same county) when controlling for students served:
October 19, 2025 at 3:50 PM
2. Charter schools statewide in FL and in Miami-Dade have lower overall outcomes than district schools (in same county) when controlling for students served:
Some facts on charter schooling in FL and Miami-Dade, and why Success Academies (while perhaps "better" run than many FL charters, is not the solution).
1. Miami Dade charter schools already do not serve a representative population
1. Miami Dade charter schools already do not serve a representative population
October 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Some facts on charter schooling in FL and Miami-Dade, and why Success Academies (while perhaps "better" run than many FL charters, is not the solution).
1. Miami Dade charter schools already do not serve a representative population
1. Miami Dade charter schools already do not serve a representative population
Updated measures of ELL and now with special ed - Negative outcome effects of charters even greater!!!
October 16, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Updated measures of ELL and now with special ed - Negative outcome effects of charters even greater!!!
Charter School and Private enrollment shares - so, let's say we are at about 15% private schooled, and 20% charter in Miami. As a result, we've reduced our capacity to provide truly "public" schooling to as many as 35% of eligible children. What does that matter? Well....
October 14, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Charter School and Private enrollment shares - so, let's say we are at about 15% private schooled, and 20% charter in Miami. As a result, we've reduced our capacity to provide truly "public" schooling to as many as 35% of eligible children. What does that matter? Well....
Still, to their credit, Florida public districts and Miami-Dade in particular, despite being squeezed on state aid for decades and despite having organizational inefficiencies externally imposed on them, efficiently produce outcomes.
October 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Still, to their credit, Florida public districts and Miami-Dade in particular, despite being squeezed on state aid for decades and despite having organizational inefficiencies externally imposed on them, efficiently produce outcomes.
And, well, their performance is all over the place, and on average, not great (non-sig in Dade, signif neg statewide). Over time, we've created a highly segregated, vastly disparate, disjoint and inefficient approach to delivering public schooling.
October 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
And, well, their performance is all over the place, and on average, not great (non-sig in Dade, signif neg statewide). Over time, we've created a highly segregated, vastly disparate, disjoint and inefficient approach to delivering public schooling.
First - while Miami-Dade charter schools on average are located in lower income neighborhoods (income to poverty ratio - 100=poverty, 200 is income 2x poverty income), they tend to serve fewer low income and fewer ELL students:
October 14, 2025 at 2:54 PM
First - while Miami-Dade charter schools on average are located in lower income neighborhoods (income to poverty ratio - 100=poverty, 200 is income 2x poverty income), they tend to serve fewer low income and fewer ELL students:
Still, Florida school districts perform better than expected given how much they've been squeezed over time - and Miami-Dade in particular is an efficient producer of outcomes (note - this is what real analysis of efficiency looks like!):
September 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Still, Florida school districts perform better than expected given how much they've been squeezed over time - and Miami-Dade in particular is an efficient producer of outcomes (note - this is what real analysis of efficiency looks like!):
Per pupil spending - even with additional local effort - is lower now than in 1993 in Miami-Dade
September 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Per pupil spending - even with additional local effort - is lower now than in 1993 in Miami-Dade
Some context - In general, FL schools have suffered relatively inadequate funding - and have seen state support and state effort decline for decades:
September 25, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Some context - In general, FL schools have suffered relatively inadequate funding - and have seen state support and state effort decline for decades:
Success Academies in NY generally avoid the type of population they'd likely be expected to serve in Miami. Sure, NYC is a multicultural, multilingual city. But SA doesn't serve that (setting aside their method/approach). Even in NYC, they continue to skim (or shed) to produce their results.
September 25, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Success Academies in NY generally avoid the type of population they'd likely be expected to serve in Miami. Sure, NYC is a multicultural, multilingual city. But SA doesn't serve that (setting aside their method/approach). Even in NYC, they continue to skim (or shed) to produce their results.
And racial composition:
September 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
And racial composition:
So - Success Academies is making a deal to open up shop in Florida - starting in Miami. Here are a few stats on SA schools in NYC:
September 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
So - Success Academies is making a deal to open up shop in Florida - starting in Miami. Here are a few stats on SA schools in NYC:
Florida has the capacity to do better - to move student outcomes beyond "meh" with more adequate funding - while maintaining the efficiency they've achieved to date. You can efficiently produce low outcomes, with little funding, or higher outcomes with more!
September 5, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Florida has the capacity to do better - to move student outcomes beyond "meh" with more adequate funding - while maintaining the efficiency they've achieved to date. You can efficiently produce low outcomes, with little funding, or higher outcomes with more!
Staffing ratios have fallen off - leaving more work for those left:
September 5, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Staffing ratios have fallen off - leaving more work for those left:
Wages for teachers are declining in competitiveness - while districts like Dade, Broward and PB try to keep pace.
September 5, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Wages for teachers are declining in competitiveness - while districts like Dade, Broward and PB try to keep pace.
BUT - with their lagging funding - Florida schools are efficiently producing outcomes!!!!! This is important. The outcomes achieved by Florida districts exceed expectations given the poor funding. But still, those outcomes are "meh" at best and declining.
September 5, 2025 at 6:24 PM
BUT - with their lagging funding - Florida schools are efficiently producing outcomes!!!!! This is important. The outcomes achieved by Florida districts exceed expectations given the poor funding. But still, those outcomes are "meh" at best and declining.
Districts like Miami-Dade are now spending marginally less - in labor cost adjusted current spending - than they did in 1993. And the most recent numbers are propped up by federal aid. The next few years could be rough.
September 5, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Districts like Miami-Dade are now spending marginally less - in labor cost adjusted current spending - than they did in 1993. And the most recent numbers are propped up by federal aid. The next few years could be rough.
And, the state has relied heavily on federal aid to buttress declining state and local funding:
September 5, 2025 at 6:20 PM
And, the state has relied heavily on federal aid to buttress declining state and local funding:
The state has pushed more and more onto local districts to fund their schools (note the flip in the early 2000s) - especially Miami-Dade.
September 5, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The state has pushed more and more onto local districts to fund their schools (note the flip in the early 2000s) - especially Miami-Dade.
Against national averages:
September 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Against national averages: