The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores are in for Kentucky, and the results aren’t good. The NAEP is the nation’s report card and student achievement in reading, math, and science has dropped to the lowest levels in decades. At the same time, the Kentucky Department of Education is asking lawmakers for billions more in funding. But here’s the question: if more money was the answer, shouldn’t we be seeing better results by now? Half of Kentucky’s annual budget is dedicated to K-12 education, and the amount increases every year, yet student performance continues to decline across the board. Before spending billions more, KDE must get serious about accountability, raising standards, and actually focusing on what happens in the classroom because money alone won’t fix a broken system.