Providence, for example, which is next to last on the list, falls 19 percent below the state average on per-pupil spending for general instruction. Sadly, the results, or lack of same, are beginning to show. For the past four years, in all three grades, none of the average scores in the four poorest urban districts has approached the state average. More disturbing, while the state's average scores have held just about steady during the past four years, the scores in Providence have fallen into a steady decline in all three grades. Perhaps it's not surprising that less money is spent on education in the poorest school districts.
Inequities exist in every program, in every state.
Yet Rhode Island's inequities are more extreme than in other states. The article also sets up funds to direct more money to school districts with a high number of children living in poverty and with a high number of children with limited proficiency in English. His success in this year's session of the General Assembly tastes bittersweet to him. As a result, he notes, it may be years before we see results, before test scores rise to match those in other states. He cited Kentucky as the state that has done the most in the past decade to ensure equity in school finances.