‘Why are we spending that much?’: Jake questions WA’s education budget after failing math test results

Washington’s students’ test scores have revealed startling results, with nearly one-third of students failing to reach basic grade-level skills in math, and among low-income students, 45% fail to reach that benchmark, according to The Seattle Times.

KIRO Host Jake Skorheim was concerned with a request for more money from Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, which would be spent on a problem that has shown little to no improvement. The request asked for $10 million to improve math teaching skills for elementary educators and math software for students.

“I guess they’re going to get certified to teach children math, which I assume they needed to do the job in the first place,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “These are drop in the bucket, nonsense things that mean nothing.”

Jake explains that the current Washington budget for education is $33.6 billion, the largest allocation of funds in the state’s budget. Despite the heavy financial focus on children’s education, the needle hasn’t moved.

“We should be appalled at that number; it’s the largest spending in the state,” Jake said

“No, we should be appalled at the results,” Spike responded

“But the number doesn’t justify the results, right?” Jake asked. “Why are we spending that much? The problem with that argument is that more money is going to lead to better results, which is not the case.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.