WELCOME

The School Finance Indicators Database is a collection of data and research on K-12 public school funding in the U.S. These resources are designed for use not only by researchers, but also by parents, policymakers, journalists, and the general public. Every year, the SFID team publishes two primary databases, both of which are freely available to download:

The State Indicators Database is a user-friendly dataset of roughly 125 state-by-state school funding measures, many of which are available going back to 1993. These measures focus on the adequacy and fairness not only of revenue and spending, but also of how money is spent (e.g., teacher pay competitiveness, staffing ratios). The dataset is accompanied every year by a report presenting key findings, as well as one-page profiles summarizing the school funding systems of all 50 states and D.C. 

The District Cost Database allows users to assess the adequacy of spending levels in over 12,000 public school districts by comparing districts’ actual per-pupil spending with estimates of adequate spending levels in those districts. The database also includes a small set of district-level measures, such as test scores and Census child poverty rates, with which users can compare spending adequacy. The DCD is published annually (currently available for 2018 only).

In addition to the full datasets, annual reports, and state profiles, we also publish a set of online data visualizations (updated annually) and occasional research briefs, which present key measures from both databases. It is our hope that our data, and analyses based on these data, will help to improve school finance debates and policymaking in the U.S.

GETTING STARTED

The School Finance Indicators Database is compiled and published by researchers at the Albert Shanker Institute and the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education.