MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education published school-level expenditures in early 2019. School-level spending is included within the school and district report cards found on the department’s website. Explore Massachusetts’s spending data below or jump over to the state report card HERE.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE REPORT CARD ABOUT PER SCHOOL SPENDING

How much does my school spend per student?

How does my school spending compare to district and state averages?

Is my school spending more or less per student compared to other schools with similar demographics?

Massachusetts does not yet have an online comparison option. You can view individual School Report Cards to gather comparison details on spending per student.

I know which school(s) I want to compare.

View each comparison school’s spending.

I do not know which schools I want to compare.

Massachusetts does not have a resource for comparing enrollment to easily identify similar schools. You can view individual School Report Cards to find student enrollment and demographic data (by race/ethnicity, residence, English Learners, Low Income, and Students with Disabilities) and identify comparison schools. Then view each comparison School Report Card to collect spending details.

How do my school’s outcomes compare with other schools with similar demographics? And how does the spending per student compare at those schools?

Massachusetts does not yet have an online comparison option. You can view individual School Report Cards to gather comparison details on spending per student and details on outcomes data such as percent of students meeting standards, graduation rates for high schools, and growth rates for elementary and middle schools. Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education team has been analyzing school spending data across the state and created an interactive tool where users can explore school spending related to student need and student outcomes in Massachusetts elementary schools. Access this tool HERE.

I know which school(s) I want to compare.

View each comparison school’s spending and outcomes.

I do not know which schools I want to compare.

Massachusetts does not have a resource for comparing enrollment to easily identify similar schools. You can view individual School Report Cards to find student enrollment and demographic data (by race/ethnicity, residence, English Learners, Low Income, and Students with Disabilities) and identify comparison schools. Then view each comparison School Report Card to collect spending and outcomes details.

How does my school's spending on services compare to district and state averages?

Massachusetts does not break down spending by services on school report cards. Additional spending detail is available and can be downloaded for analysis HERE for fiscal years 2014 -2018.

How does my school’s spending on services compare to schools with similar demographics?

Massachusetts does not break down spending by services on school report cards. Additional spending detail is available and can be downloaded for analysis HERE for fiscal years 2014 -2018.

Is spending equitable across my district?

Massachusetts does not yet have an online comparison option to assess school district spending across schools. You can view individual School Report Cards to gather per-pupil expenditures for each school in a district. Since you will need to look up each school individually it may be helpful to consider comparing by school type (such as high, middle or elementary). View each comparison School Report Card to collect per-pupil expenditure data.

MORE ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts is continuing to work on improving their report card system and the school-level data that is included. If you have any questions about the data reported by Massachusetts or feedback on its report card please email the Education Data Services Department HERE.

Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education team has been analyzing school spending data across the state and created an interactive tool where users can explore school spending related to student need and student outcomes in Massachusetts elementary schools. Access this tool HERE. Additionally, MBAE has a blog series on education funding and spending in Massachusetts detailing total spending, revenue sources and enrollment trends. Read this blog series HERE.

In addition, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released a policy brief developed in collaboration with the Urban Institute to better understand variations in school level spending across the state. The Department commissioned the brief to accompany the school level expenditure data on the district and school report cards.

View Massachusetts Report Card

Financial Transparency

Student Based Allocation