Special Report
States From Our Research Center

A User’s Guide to the Grading and Methodology

June 02, 2020 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Behind the Numbers

Quality Counts grades all 50 states in two key categories of school finance: overall spending on K-12 and equity, or just how fairly and evenly that money is distributed throughout a particular state.

But what’s behind those top-line numbers and letter grades? Here’s how it’s done:

• The EdWeek Research Center collects the most recently available federal data from the Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and other sources—2017 data, in this case—to get a more detailed look at how much states spend on their public schools and how they go about spending it.

• The states get scored and graded on eight separate indicators. Four of them deal with spending levels alone, and the other four on just how that funding gets spent, with an eye toward equity.

• To make sure things are comparable, the researchers adjust some of these indicators for factors like regional cost differences and for students who may be more expensive to educate, such as low-income children and those with disabilities.

• All of these calculations then are blended for each state’s final A-F grade and numerical score.

Some of these school finance indicators are easy to grasp. Others are more technical.

Here’s a quick and easy guide to the grading scale and each of the eight indicators that make up the school finance grade. For more detail, see this report’s full sources and notes page.)

The Grading Scale

Each state receives a numerical score for each of the indicator categories. After rounding scores to the closest whole-number values, we assign letter grades based on a conventional A-F grading scale, as follows:

A = 93 to 100

A-minus = 90 to 92

B-plus = 87 to 89

B = 83 to 86

B-minus = 80 to 82

C-plus = 77 to 79

C = 73 to 76

C-minus = 70 to 72

D-plus = 67 to 69

D = 63 to 66

D-minus = 60 to 62

F = Below 60

Glossary

Wealth-Neutrality Score

Do tax-poor districts get left behind when it comes to school spending? This indicator offers some clues. It looks at two points: how much local property wealth a district has, and how much it actually spends on schools from local and state sources. A negative score means that poorer districts actually have more funding than richer ones on a statewide basis. And Alaska, despite having many poor, far-flung districts, comes out on top with a score of minus -0.222.

McLoone Index

Just how balanced is district-by-district spending within a particular state? Think of the McLoone Index as a yardstick. Named after the late University of Maryland school finance professor Eugene McLoone, it measures how far a state has to go to assure that every district is at least at the spending midpoint compared with other districts. Perfect equity is defined as a score of 100. For example, a state with a score of 95 is closer to this target than a state with a 75.

Coefficient of Variation

Which states have the most uneven terrain when it comes to school funding? This indicator measures variations in spending between districts in each state. Some states are “flatter,” meaning many of their districts are clustered more closely together when it comes to spending. Others have a lot of peaks and valleys in districts’ K-12 funding. In this case, a perfect score is zero, and the higher the score, the more variation.

Restricted Range

How wide is the gap between the best-funded and worst-funded districts in a state? This indicator captures—in actual dollars—the funding difference between the highest- and lowest-spending school districts in each state. Alaska has the biggest gap, a whopping $21,306 between its top-spending districts and the lowest-spending ones. That difference is due, at least in part, to geographical factors in the huge, rural state.

Per-Pupil Expenditures

This tally of per-student spending by state is adjusted for regional cost differences across states. It captures factors like teacher and staff salaries, classroom spending, and day-to-day operations and administration, but not construction and other capital expenditures.

Percent of Students in Districts Spending at or Above the U.S. Average

This indicator shows that all students in only six states and the District of Columbia attend school in districts that spend at least the national average on K-12.

Spending Index

Here’s another way of looking at per-student spending: This index shows just how close a state’s school districts come in meeting the national per-pupil average—or, depending on your perspective, the degree to which lower-spending districts fall short of that national benchmark. In states that scored 100 percent, all districts met or cleared that bar.

Taxable Resources Spent on Education

This indicator shows just how big a bite of a state’s taxable resources K-12 education takes. It’s based on state and local revenues and the gross state product as reported in federal data.

SOURCE: EdWeek Research Center, 2020

Related Tags:

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.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
(Re)Focus on Dyslexia: Moving Beyond Diagnosis & Toward Transformation
Move beyond dyslexia diagnoses & focus on effective literacy instruction for ALL students. Join us to learn research-based strategies that benefit learners in PreK-8.
Content provided by EPS Learning
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Cohesive Instruction, Connected Schools: Scale Excellence District-Wide with the Right Technology
Ensure all students receive high-quality instruction with a cohesive educational framework. Learn how to empower teachers and leverage technology.
Content provided by Instructure
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
How to Use Data to Combat Bullying and Enhance School Safety
Join our webinar to learn how data can help identify bullying, implement effective interventions, & foster student well-being.
Content provided by Panorama Education

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States Some School Workers Now Get Unemployment Over the Summer. Here's How It Works
Districts are scrambling as some states now allow non-instructional school employees to collect summer unemployment checks.
9 min read
Illustration of dollar being used to fill gap in bridge.
DigitalVision Vectors
States Why This State Will Take a Class Requirement Off the Ballot—And Why It Matters
Asking voters to decide on a curriculum issue could set a tricky precedent, experts say.
2 min read
Image of books, money, calculator, and graduation cap.
cnythzl/DigitalVision Vectors
States How States Are Testing the Church-State Divide in Public Schools
A new order to teach the Bible in Oklahoma is the latest action to fuel debate over the presence of religion in schools.
7 min read
Image of a bible sitting on top of a school backpack.
Canva
States The Surprising Contenders for State Superintendent Offices This Year
Two elections for the top education leadership job feature candidates who have never worked in public schools.
8 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options for student assessment during a press conference May 8, 2015, in Bismarck, N.D. Baesler, the nation's longest-serving state schools chief, is running for a fourth term, facing opponents with no experience serving in public schools.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP