Editor:

I recently read a letter to the editor which called for more spending on schools. The assumption of the writer seemed to be that watering schools with more money will automatically raise scores on SAT, ACT and other such devices designed to measure learning.

A report on school spending from the libertarian Cato Institute is just one study in a large body of work which suggests that there is little to no link between spending and academic achievement.

“Use the money you have more wisely and educate our children,” advised Jon Caldara, of Colorado’s Independence Institute, a free-market think tank.

Of course, many factors, other than money, help determine a student’s academic success. Some of these components include the student’s level of intelligence and motivation, the degree of emphasis placed on education by parents and society and the quality of instruction.

Having taught for some 38 years from ninth grade through college, I would prefer to have Socrates teach my children under an oak tree than have an unmotivated, disinterested teacher instruct them in a multimillion-dollar building.

Fillmer Hevener

Buckingham