Figure C
California's spending is inadequate in high-poverty school districts: Per-pupil spending compared with estimated spending required to achieve national average test scores, by poverty quintile of school district, 2019
| Required spending | Actual spending | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest-poverty (poorest) | $38,667 | $16,979 |
| High-poverty | $31,803 | $16,675 |
| Medium-poverty | $21,874 | $16,416 |
| Low-poverty | $17,552 | $16,386 |
| Lowest-poverty (affluent) | $13,134 | $16,567 |
Note: The figure shows how much is spent in each of the five types of districts and how much they would need to spend for students to achieve national average test scores. We use the most recent year prior to the COVID 19 pandemic to avoid comparisons that relied on short-term ESSER payments. Spending is inflation-adjusted to 2024$.
Source: Adapted from Baker, Di Carlo, and Weber (2024).
This chart appears in:
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