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 |
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).