An expert has testified that increasing the amount Texas spends per public-school pupil hasn't translated to higher standardized test scores.
    
University of Missouri economist Michael Podgursky took the witness stand Wednesday during the state's school finance trial.
    
He said he had performed studies refuting claims that "if you spend a certain amount of money, you can predict that there will be a certain level of improvement in student achievement."
    
Podgursky said he looked at standardized testing across Texas and found greater variation among scores within school districts than between districts.
    
More than 600 Texas school districts have sued the state after the Texas Legislature voted in 2011 to cut $5.4 billion from public schools and educational grants.
    
The case before state District Judge John Dietz may last into February.