Quality Counts
Quality Counts 2018: School Finance
A Deeper Look Into K-12 Funding Pipeline
June 6, 2018
Education Week puts the nation’s K-12 finance performance under the microscope in the second installment of Quality Counts 2018. This data-driven special report focuses on the money that keeps thousands of school districts afloat—how much gets spent, how it’s divvied up, and how states compare with each other in paying for a K-12 public education.
Despite some bright spots on key indicators and high-performers among individual states, the nation takes home a C on school finance overall. This report unpacks what’s behind that middling grade and the headwinds states face in assuring enough resources get to the right places for the nation’s students.
For this year's first installment of Quality Counts on how the nation and states fared on a broad range of K-12 categories, including school finance, click here. For our third and final installment of Quality Counts 2018 on how states rank on academic achievement and on students' chance for success, click here.
- Education Funding School Funding Data Shine a Bright Light on States' PrioritiesThis special Quality Counts report on school finance digs into how much the nation and the states spend on K-12 and how equitably that public education money is distributed.Education Funding 26 States Earn 'F' Grade on School Spending in Education Week AnalysisEducation Week's latest analysis points to a funding hole as education competes with other state spending priorities and political obstacles.Education Funding Equity in K-12 Funding More Complex Than Just DollarsSchool finance experts and civil rights advocates increasingly focus on how school aid is distributed under state funding formulas, not simply on funding levels.Law & Courts States Squeezed by Fiscal, Political Pressures on FundingRegional economics, tax-averse voters, and other factors complicate the picture for policymakers aiming resources at K-12.Education Funding State Grades on School Finance: Map and RankingsExamine the grades and scores that states earned on school funding and equity in Quality Counts 2018: Finance with this interactive map, grade-summary table, and top-to-bottom ranking.Education Funding Map: Per-Pupil Spending, State-by-StateEach state's Quality Counts 2018 school finance grade includes a tally for per-pupil spending adjusted for regional cost differences, capturing factors like teacher and staff salaries, classroom spending, and administration.Education Funding A User's Guide to the Grading and MethodologyHere's a quick and easy guide to the grading scale and each of the indicators that go into making up the 50-state grades for school finance.Education Funding Photos Quality Counts: A Look at Schools in Wyoming and VermontStates face different challenges and make different choices when it comes to their education spending.
In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.