Firstly, according to The Economist on Dec. 7, 15-year-old students in the United States taking the Program for International Student Assessment math tests scored behind those from 25 other countries. Starting with the best scores, these are: China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Australia, Ireland, Denmark, France, Britain, Norway, Italy, Spain, Russia and Slovakia.

Yet, by any means of measurement and analysis, our country ranks at or near the top in spending per student. I have watched politicians beg for more spending for education for decades, yet there seems to be no positive impact.

As a senior member of the baby boomers, I was never in a class with fewer than 30 students per teacher. In 1954, my third-grade class had 72 students – with one teacher and no aide. It worked out fine, as we all learned our lessons from our rather stern teacher. We also learned discipline!

With nearly 70 percent of 9-R’s budget going toward wages and benefits, it’s obvious student/teacher ratios must be increased. It’s the only way to maintain teacher salaries at a level they truly deserve.

As taxpayers, we expect our tax money be spent wisely rather than throwing more and more at an education strategy that doesn’t work.

Surely, there’s something being done differently in the 25 countries listed above. It would be interesting to see what we might learn from them.

Mark House

Durango