• Press Release ()

State of School Finance

FEATURE STORIES
A look at how state policymakers are looking for new and better ways to finance public education.

• Financial Evolution Historically, states have focused on how to distribute money equitably across districts, but now, states are asking what it would take to raise all students to state standards.

• Chart: Per-Pupil Expenditures
• Chart: Spending Split
• Chart: School Finance Litigation

• Making Every Dollar Count Educators face increased pressure not only to make do with the money they have, but also to do more with that money than ever before.

• Chart: School-Level Data Collection
• Sidebar: Weighty Decisions
  • Chart: Weighted Funding
• Sidebar: Salary Adjustments
  • Chart: Performance-Pay Pioneers
• Sidebar: Financial Freedom

• The Bottom Line School finance experts may have refined their models for determining how much it should cost to educate students, but that doesn't mean they always agree on the results.

• Sidebar: New York Adequacy Studies
• Sidebar: Kentucky Adequacy Studies
• Sidebar: Maryland Adequacy Studies
• Sidebar: Uncertain Costs
• Chart: Price Check
• Table: Adequacy Studies
  • Adequacy: Interpretation

• A Level Playing Field One lawsuit set the Garden State on a bold new path for financing schools in the neediest districts. Several years after the key decisions in the landmark case, the results are still being debated.

• Chart: Plaintiff Victory
• Sidebar: Targeted Spending
  • Chart: State Strategies

• Elusive Answers The rising demands on public schools, a fluctuating economy, and successful lawsuits are forcing states to search for new ways to make their tax systems fairer and more reliable.

• Chart: Education Lotteries
• Table: Sources of State Revenue
• Sidebar: Revenue Limits

FINANCE SNAPSHOTS
• Overview: No two states finance their public schools exactly alike. The major features of each state's school funding system are highlighted in state-by-state summaries.

• Text Index: Finance Snapshots

State of the States

• Overview: State of the States States are putting in place policies to help meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and to improve the conditions in their schools.

• Chart: Test Mismatch
• Sidebar: The Education Week Research Center Annual State Policy Survey

• Table: Student Achievement

• Table: Standards and Accountability

• Table (Web only): Grade-by-Grade State Testing Policies

• Table: Efforts to Improve Teacher Quality

• Table: School Climate

• Table: Resources: Equity

• Sidebar: Equity: Interpretation

• Sidebar: Spending: Interpretation

• Compare State Data

• How Education Week Graded the States

• Sources and Notes

STATE REPORT CARDS
Education Week grades the states and the District of Columbia in key categories.

• Map: State Report Cards (Requires Macromedia Flash Player.)

• About State Report Cards
• Sources for Vital Statistics

• Text Index: State Data Reports

Quality Counts is produced with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts.