(KSNF/KODE) — Every child is born to a unique set of circumstances. And it is these different social, familial, economic, environmental, and many other factors, that help shape who they become. While these conditions are countless, a handful of factors play an outsized role in a child’s development and the likelihood for future success, including academic success.
Whether or not a child succeeds academically can depend considerably on school quality. A student who falls behind in one school district might have excelled academically in another. And, It’s not always limited to the classroom — many of the strongest influences on a child’s future are in the home environment, and the resources a child may have or not have there.
The Niagara Falls City School District ranks as the worst in the Empire State. Per pupil spending in the distinct totals just $18,524, just above the $18,262 average in the Northeast. The student-to-teacher ratio is 20:1 in Niagara Falls, well above the New York average of 12:1.
In Pennsylvania, the school district at the bottom of the list was Greater Johnstown Area School District. The spending per pupil was $13,558, below the Pa. median of $14,175. The student-teacher ratio was also 15:1, while the state average is 13:9.
In the following chart, you’ll find the worst school district in every state, according to these four measures: Child poverty rate, teacher-to-student ratio, per-pupil spending, and the share of adults with a college education. All data came from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics.
| State | District | Enrollment | Annual Per-Pupil Spending ($) | Student-Teacher Ratio | Adults With A 4-Year Degree or Higher (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Eufaula City School District | 5,427 | $5,298 | 38:1 | 16.5% |
| Alaska | Lower Yukon School District | 2,006 | $31,575 | 16:1 | 3.8% |
| Arizona | Gadsden School District 32 | 5,274 | $7,649 | 36:1 | N/A |
| Arkansas | Forrest City School District | 2,531 | $11,655 | 16:1 | 10.2% |
| California | Mendota Unified School District | 3,543 | $12,746 | N/A | 2.4% |
| Colorado | Las Animas School District RE-1 | 2,309 | $8,049 | 60:1 | 9.7% |
| Connecticut | Waterbury School District | 18,751 | $18,110 | 13:1 | 15.7% |
| Delaware | Woodbridge School District | 2,526 | $15,027 | 15:1 | 14.3% |
| Florida | Hamilton County School District | 1,610 | $11,212 | 20:1 | 7.9% |
| Georgia | Treutlen County School District | 1,122 | $10,631 | 13:1 | 12.4% |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Department of Education | 181,278 | $16,132 | 15:1 | 33.0% |
| Idaho | Oneida County School District 351 | 2,464 | $5,345 | 21:1 | 17.1% |
| Illinois | Prairie Hills Elementary School District 144 | 2,802 | $13,082 | 20:1 | N/A |
| Indiana | Union School Corporation | 3,371 | $4,188 | 22:1 | 16.3% |
| Iowa | Clayton Ridge Community School District | 1,020 | $9,536 | 26:1 | 17.7% |
| Kansas | Humboldt Unified School District 258 | 955 | $9,187 | 22:1 | 15.4% |
| Kentucky | McCreary County School District | 2,878 | $11,066 | 17:1 | 7.2% |
| Louisiana | Madison Parish School District | 1,243 | $12,457 | 21:1 | 12.8% |
| Maine | School Administrative District 68 | 1,015 | $4,451 | 20:1 | 23.5% |
| Maryland | Baltimore City Public Schools | 79,297 | $15,888 | 16:1 | 31.9% |
| Massachusetts | Chelsea School District | 6,088 | $15,676 | 15:1 | 18.5% |
| Michigan | River Rouge School District | 2,279 | $11,349 | 26:1 | 8.9% |
| Minnesota | Worthington Public School District | 3,904 | $10,566 | 22:1 | 15.3% |
| Mississippi | North Bolivar Consolidated School District | 937 | $10,199 | 15:1 | 16.5% |
| Missouri | Hayti R-II School District | 667 | $9,945 | 13:1 | 5.3% |
| Montana | Browning H S Dist 9 | 615 | $12,462 | 16:1 | N/A |
| Nebraska | Lexington Public Schools | 3,104 | $11,971 | 15:1 | 12.5% |
| Nevada | White Pine County School District | 1,655 | $10,543 | 28:1 | 13.2% |
| New Hampshire | Berlin School District | 1,159 | $17,739 | 12:1 | 12.4% |
| New Jersey | Trenton City School District | 14,500 | $16,791 | 16:1 | 12.2% |
| New Mexico | West Las Vegas Public Schools | 1,539 | $12,455 | 16:1 | 13.4% |
| New York | Niagara Falls City School District | 7,159 | $18,524 | 20:1 | 18.7% |
| North Carolina | Robeson County Schools | 22,044 | $9,979 | 16:1 | 13.7% |
| North Dakota | Williams County School District 8 | 653 | $10,227 | 26:1 | N/A |
| Ohio | Clearview Local School District | 1,654 | $9,770 | 20:1 | 11.9% |
| Oklahoma | Carnegie Public Schools | 554 | $11,060 | 14:1 | 14.4% |
| Oregon | Marcola School District | 593 | $9,521 | 38:1 | 19.0% |
| Pennsylvania | Greater Johnstown School District | 2,984 | $13,558 | 15:1 | 12.4% |
| Rhode Island | Central Falls School District | 2,695 | $17,432 | 14:1 | 8.1% |
| South Carolina | Dillon School District 4 | 4,134 | $9,510 | 17:1 | 10.5% |
| South Dakota | Todd County School District 66-1 | 2,099 | $13,485 | 13:1 | 15.6% |
| Tennessee | Union County School District | 4,509 | $7,852 | 20:1 | 9.9% |
| Texas | Edgewood Independent School District | 10,234 | $9,922 | 16:1 | 4.6% |
| Utah | Uintah School District | 7,257 | $8,365 | 24:1 | 15.8% |
| Vermont | St. Johnsbury Town School District | 1,070 | $13,187 | 23:1 | N/A |
| Virginia | Colonial Beach Public Schools | 671 | $11,289 | 17:1 | 26.2% |
| Washington | Mary M. Knight School District | 1,658 | $10,469 | 39:1 | 14.7% |
| West Virginia | McDowell County School District | 3,063 | $13,070 | 13:1 | 5.4% |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee School District | 75,431 | $14,145 | 17:1 | 24.6% |
| Wyoming | Niobrara County School District 1 | 809 | $14,656 | 13:1 | 18.2% |
Data Methodology
Data on per-pupil spending in 2019 came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of School System Finances. Data on the ratio of students to teachers in the 2019-2020 school year came from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data on the percentage of children aged five to 17 living in poverty in 2019 came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program. Finally, five-year data on the percentage of adults 25 and over with at least a bachelor’s degree by school district in 2019 came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Only school districts with at least 500 students and at least three of four index data points were considered.
