© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

Lawmakers Tout Wyoming Students' Global Competitiveness

As Wyoming lawmakers revamp the state’s school funding model, they are touting data that suggests money spent on schools has paid off when it comes to global competitiveness in science and math.

That data comes from a study that compared scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress—or NAEP—with those on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study—or TIMMS.

Wyoming typically sits in the middle of the pack among states when it comes to student achievement data. But the study says that, when you ignore other U.S. states and simply compare Wyoming to education systems outside the country's borders, the Cowboy State ranks sixth in the world in science scores and eighth in math scores.

“And if you look at it statistically, Wyoming is essentially statistically tied for second in the world in science—behind Finland,” says Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, an education policy professor at California State University Sacramento. “So that’s clearly good news for Wyoming. When you make investments in education, it yields results.”

Vasquez Heilig presented the data to Wyoming lawmakers—including Senators Hank Coe and Jeff Wasserburger—in July at a Council of State Governments meeting in Colorado.

The Sacramento-based professor says Wyoming’s education spending has been paying off, especially when compared to his home state.

“Wyoming is clearly a success story,” says Vasquez Heilig. “They’ve made many investments in education over the last several decades—which is really the opposite of what’s been happening in California. California in the last few decades has divested in education. So, you see Wyoming performing at the top of Western states and you see California performing at the bottom of Western states. You definitely don’t get what you don’t pay for.”

Wyoming ranks seventh in the nation when it comes to per-student spending. The state typically ranks closer to the middle of the pack nationally when it comes to student achievement data.

The conversation about Wyoming’s global competiveness comes as lawmakers work to revamp the state’s school funding model. The data—which comes from a report by the National Center for Education Statistics called, ‘U.S. States in a Global Context,’ was discussed by lawmakers on the Legislature’s select school finance recalibration committee.

“You can see that Wyoming stacks up pretty well against Western states,” says Vasquez Heilig. “They stack up really well against countries internationally. And they have some work to do in comparison to some other states across the U.S.

Sen. Wasserberger of Gillette had a less nuanced view of what the NCES data show.

“Wyoming has the best education system in the country,” he told the Wyoming Education Association. “There is not a state that would not trade Wyoming straight across for our K-12 system. The funding for our K-12 comes directly from the mineral industry and I would like to thank them for all they do to educate students in our state. God bless the mineral industry in Wyoming for all that it does for educating this state’s children.”

Related Content