This statistical analysis report presents key findings and other data highlights from School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) in school years 2015-16 and 2016-17. The report focuses on (1) the completeness and comparability of SLFS data and (2) how the SLFS can be utilized to evaluate differences in resource allocation (as measured by school-level expenditures) across schools, school districts, and states.

In discussing the findings, the report presents district- and state-aggregated information on school-level expenditure data collected through the SLFS, including:

• universe coverage and survey item response rates, by state;
• comparison of SLFS finance data with comparable state-level finance data collected through the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS); and
• statistics on a wide variety of school-level expenditures (and school-level expenditures per pupil), by school characteristics such as urbanicity and school poverty indicators such as Title I eligibility.

The report also includes an assortment of tables and figures to support its key findings on school-level expenditures collected through the SLFS.

These online Highlights present overviews of results from the NAEP 2019 mathematics report and the 2019 reading report. Highlighted results include key findings for the nation, states/jurisdictions, and the 27 districts that participated in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) at grades 4 and 8. Results are presented in terms of average scale scores and as percentages of students performing at the three NAEP achievement levels: NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced. Highlighted results include performance data for demographic student groups, five selected percentiles, and NAEP survey questionnaires.

The 2019 average scores were higher for grade 4 mathematics, lower for grade 8 mathematics, and lower at both grades for reading compared to averages scores in 2017. Over the long term, however, the national average scores in both subjects were higher for both grades compared to the initial assessment years (1990 for mathematics and 1992 for reading). At the state level, average mathematics scores were mainly steady across states/jurisdictions at both grades since 2017: at grade 4, scores were higher in nine and lower in 3 states/jurisdictions. Average reading scores were lower compared to 2017 in 17 states/jurisdictions at grade 4 and in 31 states/jurisdictions at grade 8; one state/jurisdiction at each grade had a score increase since 2017.

Average mathematics and reading scores across the participating TUDA districts were relatively stable since 2017: mathematics scores increased in five TUDA districts at grade 4 and in four districts at grade 8; one district at grade 4 and three districts at grade 8 had lower mathematics scores since 2017. Only one TUDA district had a higher reading score in 2019 compared to 2017. Reading scores were lower compared in 2017 in three districts at grade 4 and in 11 districts at grade 8.

Highlighted results include responses of students and teachers to survey questionnaires designed to collect information about students’ educational experiences and opportunities to learn both in and outside of the classroom.

Full results for each subject are available in the 2019 NAEP Mathematics Report and the 2019 NAEP Reading Report.

This First Look report presents data on public elementary and secondary education revenues and expenditures at the local education agency (LEA) or school district level for fiscal year (FY) 2016. Specifically, this report includes findings for the following types of school district finance data:

• Current expenditure totals and current expenditure per pupil amounts by state and for the 100 largest LEAs;
• Federal, state, and local revenues for the 100 largest LEAs;
• Median revenues per pupil and median current expenditures per pupil by geographic region and locale;
• Current expenditure totals and current expenditure per pupil amounts by function and object, by state and for the two largest LEAs in each state;
• Federal revenues by program and local revenues by source, by state;
• Revenues per pupil by poverty quartile and state; and
• Capital outlay expenditures by state.