But only 23% of the eighth graders in the D.C. public schools were proficient or better in reading in 2019, according to the department's National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, tests.

Clearly, the government-run schools in our nation's capital did not give taxpayers their money's worth.

Yet, the District of Columbia was not the only jurisdiction where public schools cost taxpayers significant money and gave little in return.

The eight states that followed the District of Columbia with the nation's worst eighth-grade reading scores in 2019 were Alaska, New Mexico, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

The public schools in Alaska spent $19,396 per pupil in 2016-2017. But only 23% of the eighth graders in Alaska's public schools were proficient or better in reading in 2019, and only 29% were proficient or better in math.

The public schools in New Mexico spent $11,596 per pupil in 2016-2017. But only 23% of the eighth graders in New Mexico's public schools were proficient or better in reading, and only 21% were proficient or better in math.