Here Is The Best School District In Every State: Report

NEW YORK, NY — A new report has ranked the best school district in each state, and the answers may surprise you. The website 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware corporation that publishes financial news and commentary, sifted through various school data to determine the best school district.

The company evaluated the districts by creating an index based on data in the following categories:

• Child poverty
• Spending per student
• Graduation rate
• Teachers per student
• Percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree
• Preschool enrollment
• Advanced Placement enrollment

Several school districts in the U.S. spend more than $50,000 per student on education each year, 24/7 Wall St. said, but others spend less than $2,000 per student.

“That difference in spending contributes to major disparities in student outcomes throughout the country,” the authors wrote. “The majority of a school’s budget is spent on staff and teacher salaries. A school that is able to attract the best teachers can give their students a major advantage.”

Indeed, wealthier areas often reap those rewards.

Local sources, including property taxes, account for about 44 percent of all school funding in the U.S. This means most of the best school districts are located in affluent counties where the majority of households earn more than double that of a typical American household.

The nationwide rankings report published on Monday follows a January report from the same site that ranked each state in the country for best schools.

That breakdown looked at high school graduation rate, public school spending, 8th grade NAEP proficiency, percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree and percentage of adults age 25-64 with incomes at or above national median.

In the U.S., 58.7 percent of children live in families with incomes at least double the poverty level income, the report said. On average, states spend about $12,500 per pupil a year on education.

Photo credit: Shutterstock