"Making the Grade 2021" analyzes the condition of public school funding in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Using the most recently available data from the 2018-19 school year, the report ranks and grades each state on three measures to answer the key question: How fair is school funding in your state? The three fairness…

"Making the Grade" provides an annual overview of the condition of school finance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data in this edition gives a picture of states' investment in their public school systems in the 2019-20 school year, the historic moment when public education, and society at large, experienced the massive…

This report evaluates the condition of public school funding in the states preceding the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. It draws upon data from 2018, the most recent year available. This analysis demonstrates the alarming condition of school funding in most states, leaving school districts, especially those segregated by poverty,…

"Making the Grade analyzes the condition of public school funding in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The current report presents a picture of school funding in 2020-2021, the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the most recent data available. The report ranks and grades each state on three measures to answer the…

This report provides key insights into the difficult working conditions endured by teachers in Arizona and across the nation. Arizona provides just $8,569 in per pupil funding, the lowest among all states. In fact, Arizona provides $5,477 "less" per pupil than the national average. Arizona also invests only 2.5% of its state wealth, as…

"Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card" analyzes the condition of state school finance systems with a focus on the fair distribution of resources to the neediest students. The Report Card makes a number of assumptions about how school funding systems should be designed: (1) a fair funding system should provide levels of funding…

The National Report Card (NRC) evaluates and compares the extent to which state finance systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence, or school location. It is designed to provide policymakers, educators, business leaders, parents, and the public at large with…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Early Learning." Contents include: (1) Current Proposals for Texas' Investment…

The National Report Card (NRC) evaluates and compares the extent to which state finance systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence, or school location. It is designed to provide policymakers, educators, business leaders, parents, and the public at large with…

While the United States was recovering from the recent economic stress caused by the Great Recession, individual state economies were improving at a slow pace. In 2012, state education budgets came to a crossroads, as most states had exhausted their allocations of federal stimulus dollars. Prior editions of this report noted how many states used…

This guide aims to help parents understand the flexibility provided to States and school districts in the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), which amended the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act," a landmark Federal education law. Parents are the most important advocates for their children. Because States and school…

The third edition of the National Report Card examines the condition of states' finance systems as the country emerges from the Great Recession, but is still wrestling with its consequences. As in prior editions, this Third Edition of the National Report Card continues to make the case for states to take immediate and longer-term action to improve…

This newsletter focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country, and is presented in an accessible format for everyone from elected officials and policymakers to parents and community leaders. First, this issue discusses the stimulating debate on the reduction of the overall cost of the economic recovery…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Education Programs Receive Little Funding: Striving Readers One of Only a Handful of Programs to Receive Small…

After summarizing the philosophy behind the financing of public schools, this document reviews the division of legal responsibility for education between the state and federal governments; outlines the state's responsibility for providing an equal educational opportunity for its residents; and summarizes the use of federal revenues, state…