CBNNews.com -- In a nation obsessed with the performance of its schools, as opposed to the proper development of its children, report cards for individual states were published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to provide some measure of accountability.

With increased school funding initiatives being pressed upon voters with every election, Americans are often lured into believing that augmented spending on education is synonymous with higher performance and successful students. Do statistics back this up? Hardly.

State Report Cards

First, let's take a look at USCC's recent research. The study individually graded all 50 states and Washington D.C. in nine different categories with "A" to "F" marks.

To tap into your state's scores, click on http://www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default

Here's a quick overview of the state results in the area of academic achievement:

A (excellent): MA, MN, NH, VT, NJ, CT, KS, WA, ND, MT

B (good):  OH, VA, SD, PA, WI, ME, WY, CO, NE, IA

C (fair): ID, NY, OR, DE, MD, UT, NC, IN, MI, TX, IL

D (below average): MO, FL, SC, AK, RI, AR, KY, GA, TN, AZ

F (failing): OK, CA, WV, NV, HI, LA, AL, NM, MS, DC

Standardized testing: a reliable gauge?

Just how accurate of an assessment tool is this research? Even though most Americans unconditionally embrace standardized testing as an accurate gauge of student learning, its results are questionable at best.

In fact, organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy declare that standardized testing assessment procedures and tools are detrimental to students' emotional and intellectual development.

Politicians and the government's unconstitutional monopoly on education pay little heed to such warnings as they continue to push these evaluation tools nationwide. They claim that the tests make schools academically responsible, but they ultimately serve the purpose of creating competitions between students, teachers, departments, schools, districts and states.

Academic researcher Rhama Akin proclaims that the rivalry for prominence, financial grants and job security have little to do with enriching children's education, as faculty and staff strive to boost test scores by teaching to the test rather than providing the students with a curriculum that cultivates their mental and intellectual maturation.

Where does the money go?

When most Americans invest their money in stocks and CDs, they are quite diligent to keep their financial institutions accountable through frequent reports to monitor the return on their money.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case for their investment in their children's education.

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that many states, including New York and Washington, use more than half of their multi-billion-dollar tax revenue budgets on education alone, but this still isn't enough.

Educational research in California recently claimed that $1.5 billion more was needed to give its school system an overhaul. A few years ago, Washington State's governor proposed a 1 percent tax hike to raise an additional $1 billion for public schools.

With this in mind, why are schools in such bad shape and always peddling for more money? Maybe because such a small proportion of their budgets actually goes into instruction.

A speech given at an American Education Research Association's annual meeting declared that 68 percent of New York City's multi-billion-dollar school budget went into administrative costs, with 11 percent going to counselors, librarians, coordinators, etc.; leaving only 21 percent for actual instruction.

More money equals better education?

Year after year, education statistics show that greater school expenditures are not the panacea for better learning and performance.

Many find it surprising that Washington D.C. and New York placed second and third in the nation in per-student expenditures at $12,801 and $12,421 respectively, yet placed at the bottom in high school graduation rates, with D.C. ranking 51st (59.6 percent) and New York in 48th (60.9 percent), according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Utah had the lowest per-pupil spending at $5,832 per pupil, yet it placed eighth in high school graduation rates (83 percent).

Bang for the buck

As the national average school expenditure per student is around $10,000, many would think that the annual $450 median spent by homeschooling parents, tallied by the National Homeschool Research Institute, would not be nearly enough to fund quality education. Quite the contrary.

NHERI finds that homeschoolers average scoring more than 30 percentile points higher across the curriculum than public schoolers in standardized achievement test scores, and average four grade equivalents higher than their counterparts by eighth grade, according to an Education Policy Analysis Archives report.

Despite the public schools' incessant plea that new educational reforms and higher budgets will provide the best education for this nation's youth, more and more people are finding that state-run education is truly not the answer for American youth.

Instead of reviewing state school report cards and wondering where schools are failing our children, maybe parents should increase their involvement in their public schoolers' education.

Sources: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NCES, NHERI, EPAA, NYEAC, NCTPP, Rhama Akin, AERA