In the Sept. 4 issue of the Independent, Ezekiel Schmidt claims there is nothing in the Coleman Study, as cited by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, that references a connection between spending and student achievement (“Column misstated Coleman Study”).

The following is taken from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, July 24, 2000: “Scholars have studied the relationship between per-student spending and achievement test scores since the publication of the Equality of Educational Opportunity (better known as “The Coleman Report”) in 1966. Coleman, a leading sociologist, concluded that factors such as per-pupil spending and class size do not have a significant impact on student achievement scores.

“Economist Erik Hanushek and others have replicated Coleman’s study and even extended it to international studies of student achievement, and the finding of 31 years of research is clear — better education cannot be bought. There are schools, states, and countries that spend a great deal of money per pupil with poor results (such as the United States), while others spend much less and get much better results.”

So whose comprehension should one believe — respected scholars, economists and the Evergreen Freedom Foundation or Mr. Schmidt?

I know which ones I believe, because the facts speak for themselves.

DAVE DAHLKE

Port Orchard