From the Baltimore Sun:

Baltimore second in per-pupil spending, Census Bureau says

May 21, 2013|By Erica L. Green, The Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore school system ranked second among the nation’s 100 largest school districts in how much it spent per pupil in fiscal year 2011, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The city’s $15,483 per-pupil expenditure was second to New York City’s $19,770. Rounding out the top five were Montgomery County, which spent $15,421; Milwaukee public schools at $14,244; and Prince George’s County public schools, which spent $13,775.

Baltimore City, New York, and Milwaukee test scores are broken out separately in the NAEP test’s Trial Urban District Assessment program. (The other two districts are suburban counties in the rich Washington DC area. Three of the top five most expensive districts in the country are in liberal Maryland.) I’ll look at 8th grade math for black students only:

• National (public schools): 51% basic or above, 14% proficient or above, 2% advanced
• Baltimore City: 44% basic or above, 10% proficient or above, 1% advanced
• New York City: 51% basic or above, 13% proficient, 1% advanced
• Milwaukee: 31% basic or above, 4% proficient, NA advanced

So, Baltimore gets more for its money than Milwaukee. (Of course, if you’ve been reading me for long, you’ll know of the amazing dismalness of Milwaukee blacks.)