The most widely used data to compare between states is the NAEP test that is given to 4th graders and 8th graders. Overall, our scores are meh, but so are a lot of other states.
I would argue that school funding is more about everything other than math and reading. Those are the last things to get cut. It’s band, art, music, bus routes, GT, special ed services, more elective options, teacher retention, higher level courses in HS, and any other extras that get cut.
These are often where good public schools excel, and often on the backs of people getting a 3k/year stipend for countless hours of work. Quite a few private school families come back for HS because of these things and AP courses that will be challenging enough for their college bound kids.
Insert the Texas legislature to intentionally sabotage all of that with a 10k voucher and funding that will necessitate cuts to all of the above. Parents are about to get asked for way more money for supplies and various programs