Original data research from the PlainSchools editorial team. Every page derives at least one statistic from our own database, cites primary sources inline, and documents its methodology and limits.
NCES Common Core of Data shows Utah (23.1 students per teacher) Nevada (22.6) and California (21.6) leading US states in K-12 student-teacher ratio — double Maine Vermont and New Hampshire averages at 11.3-11.5.
Civil Rights Data Collection shows Alaska (55.2%) Arizona (53.5%) Michigan (45.9%) and Hawaii (45.7%) leading US states in chronic-absenteeism rates — more than half of Alaska students miss 10 percent or more of school days.
Civil Rights Data Collection shows Maryland (16.3 AP courses per school) New Jersey (15.9) and Virginia (15.3) leading US states in average Advanced Placement course availability — a college-readiness resource gap spanning more than 2x between top and bottom states.
NCES data shows per-pupil federal Title I funding ranges from under $500 to over $2,000 across states, with a 2.3:1 ratio between highest and lowest poverty quartiles demonstrating progressive distribution.
Charter schools serve 3.7 million students (7.4% of public enrollment). Arizona leads at 19.4% charter share. Post-pandemic growth continues at 7.2% nationally while traditional enrollment declined 3.1%.