Public education Texas versus California - What's Your Point?

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A special edition of What's Your Point focused on education. Panelists joining Greg Groogan in the discussion include: Jessica Colon, Nyanza Moore, Bob Price, Tomaro Bell, Dustin Rynders, and Antonio Diaz.

The comparisons are incessant. How did Texas and California match up when it comes to educational outcomes? Here's hard comparisons from an Austin-based researcher: 

• California spends more per students than Texas but generates lower scores in math and about the same in reading based on recent fourth and eighth grade test results. 
• California students scored higher on the SAT
• Teacher to student ratio was better in the lone star state 14 to 1 as compared to the golden state, which was 22 to 1.
• U.S. News and World Report ranked California 44th for K-12 education and Texas did better coming in 33rd. 

So what if anything does this tell us? While still below the national average, is it reasonable to assume that with an infusion of funding, Texas has an opportunity to push itself in the top half of the states if the new money is spent wisely.