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Visualization: Statewide funding adequacy


Select a state and year to display results on the adequacy of K-12 spending across entire states. Two graphs will appear, which represent two different ways of expressing statewide adequacy:

  1. Percent of students in below adequate districts: the percent of students attending schools in districts where spending is below estimated levels adequate to achieve national average testing outcomes;
  2. Adequate funding gap of the typical student: the percentage difference between actual and estimated adequate spending in the typical student’s district.

The best way to interpret these estimates is to compare them with those in other states (or groups of states) in the same year or in the same state over time. Accordingly, both graphs provide estimates for the selected state as well as comparisons with the selected state’s Census division (defined here) and the U.S. overall (you can view more of these comparisons, as well as trends for your state over time, in our one-page state finance profiles). Adequacy estimates are not available for Hawaii (as the state consists of a single government-run district), or for Vermont between 2017-2021 (due to data irregularities). For more information on these measures, see our State Indicators Database user’s guide and our annual report. You can also download the full dataset.


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