With low-income school districts underfunded by around $6,700 per pupil, WalletHub today released its report on the Most and Least Equitable School Districts in Maryland. To find out where school funding is distributed most fairly, WalletHub scored the equitability of each school district in Maryland based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
Alongside this report, WalletHub also released rankings for the States with the Most and Least Equitable School Districts, along with accompanying videos and audio files. Maryland ranked as the 18th most equitable overall.
Most Equitable School Districts in Maryland
1. Worcester County Public Schools
2. Baltimore County Public Schools
3. Cecil County Public Schools
4. Harford County Public Schools
5. St. Mary’s County Public Schools
6. Queen Anne’s County Public Schools
7. Prince George’s County Public Schools
8. Frederick County Public Schools
9. Kent County Public Schools
10. Carroll County Public Schools
Least Equitable School Districts in Maryland
15. Dorchester County Public Schools
16. Washington County Public Schools
17. Charles County Public Schools
18. Garrett County Public Schools
19. Caroline County Public Schools
20. Baltimore City Public Schools
21. Calvert County Public Schools
22. Allegany County Public Schools
23. Montgomery County Public Schools
24. Howard County Public Schools
Data Specific to Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS):
- Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools per Pupil: $14,465 (Ranks 18th in the state)
- Income by School District: $99,569 (Ranks 7th in the state)
Methodology
In order to rank the states with the most and least equitable school districts, WalletHub first scored 12,876 school districts throughout the U.S. based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
For expenditures, for each 1 percent above the state’s average we removed 1 point from a base score of 50 points for each district. For household income, for each 1 percent above the state’s average we added 1 point to a base score of 50 points for each district. The inverse was true for each 1 percent below the state’s average.
The final score for each district was calculated by taking the absolute difference between the score for expenditures and the score for household income. We then ranked the districts based on the total score, with the lowest value, representing the most equitable, being ranked 1.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from of the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics.
To view the full report, visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-least-equitable-school-districts-in-maryland/77088/
Note: Information above provided via Wallet Hub press release and information from the study.
