Figure I

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) $20,133  $12,722
High-poverty $13,540 $12,927
Medium-poverty $11,670 $13,379
Low-poverty $9,946 $13,719
Lowest-poverty (affluent) $8,357 $16,054
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Economic Policy Institute

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.  

Source: Adapted from Baker, Di Carlo, and Weber (2024). 

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