Rhode Island · NCES F-33 finance data
School Funding Equity in Rhode Island 53 districts ranked by how equitably school funding is distributed, scored from NCES F-33 school finance data covering districts in all 50 states.
Compiled by PlainSchools , Education-data publisher · August 26, 2026
51 State avg score
49 National avg score
53 Districts ranked The equity picture in one line
Newport ranks first in Rhode Island for funding equity at 87/100, in a state whose districts average 51 against a national average of 49.
87/100 top score (Newport)
$27,134 per-pupil spending in the top district
8 districts scoring 70 or higher
7 districts below 30 # District Enrollment $/Pupil Free Lunch Local Rev % Score 1 Newport 1,906 $27,134 65.9% 51.5% 87 2 Paul Cuffee Charter Sch 817 $23,469 66.8% 22.3% 85 3 Highlander 617 $22,036 69.4% 22.2% 84 4 Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts 205 $25,571 67.3% 29.6% 84 5 Davies Career and Tech 912 $23,738 36.3% 19.1% 75 6 Little Compton 201 $34,632 5.0% 84.3% 72 7 Westerly 2,296 $25,879 28.9% 73.3% 71 8 Met Career and Tech 776 $25,478 58.2% 30.5% 71 9 Central Falls 2,596 $21,971 86.3% 6.3% 69 10 Providence 20,725 $24,733 75.8% 25.2% 68 11 Learning Community 579 $22,294 64.6% 18.7% 68 12 Narragansett 1,128 $27,636 13.9% 80.4% 67 13 Woonsocket 5,690 $19,754 66.0% 17.0% 63 14 Jamestown 418 $26,105 6.4% 85.8% 63 15 Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College 371 $21,685 72.2% 21.4% 63 16 Blackstone Academy 351 $19,667 55.0% 19.9% 62 17 Pawtucket 8,056 $19,041 51.0% 20.0% 60 18 Village Green Virtual 202 $20,460 70.8% 22.9% 59 19 Warwick 8,005 $23,182 28.2% 64.4% 58 20 West Warwick 3,511 $21,007 42.6% 42.5% 58 21 Foster 221 $22,977 23.5% 66.6% 58 22 Johnston 3,144 $20,505 32.6% 56.0% 56 23 Segue Institute for Learning 307 $19,971 62.2% 17.3% 56 24 Middletown 1,971 $21,349 25.3% 67.0% 55 25 Blackstone Valley Prep a Ri Mayoral Academy 2,197 $17,511 53.9% 27.8% 54 26 Coventry 4,267 $19,888 25.5% 57.1% 51 27 Tiverton 1,634 $20,723 15.6% 67.4% 51 28 Scituate 1,194 $23,322 11.3% 75.9% 51 29 Foster-Glocester 1,359 $20,494 13.1% 65.3% 49 30 Chariho 3,102 $20,898 21.4% 66.0% 48 31 Glocester 577 $20,617 9.8% 61.5% 48 32 East Providence 5,272 $19,096 37.5% 48.0% 45 33 North Providence 3,516 $18,638 33.8% 45.0% 45 34 South Kingstown 2,509 $23,929 16.4% 81.3% 45 35 Burrillville 2,070 $18,861 27.0% 50.9% 45 36 Bristol Warren 2,888 $19,760 24.1% 66.0% 43 37 International Charter 381 $18,942 44.5% 28.5% 43 38 Beacon Charter School 360 $18,614 39.5% 28.1% 41 39 Exeter-West Greenwich 1,550 $22,085 12.2% 73.8% 39 40 North Kingstown 3,842 $20,219 26.8% 73.9% 38 41 Portsmouth 2,183 $20,044 12.1% 78.4% 38 42 The Hope Academy 317 $17,438 49.2% 25.9% 38 43 Cranston 10,225 $18,884 31.9% 48.9% 36 44 The Compass School 215 $19,312 8.8% 70.2% 33 45 Achievement First Rhode Island 2,527 $17,425 56.0% 30.5% 32 46 North Smithfield 1,618 $18,085 15.8% 64.7% 30 47 Smithfield 2,415 $18,082 13.0% 72.1% 29 48 Lincoln 3,278 $19,279 23.5% 62.4% 27 49 Rise Prep Mayoral Academy 425 $14,256 46.6% 26.9% 23 50 East Greenwich 2,543 $18,615 5.0% 77.9% 22 51 Kingston Hill Academy 260 $17,631 7.7% 69.2% 19 52 Cumberland 4,784 $16,083 16.5% 58.8% 17 53 Barrington 3,405 $18,135 5.5% 75.0% 16
How the Equity Score Works
The equity score (0-100) evaluates four dimensions of school funding fairness. According to
the National Center for Education Statistics F-33 Finance Survey (FY 2022-23),
which covers more than 17,000 districts nationwide, local property wealth drives most of the
spending differences the score captures; our methodology
documents each weight:
Per-Pupil Spending (0-25)
Higher spending relative to peers
Need-Adjusted Spending (0-25)
Spending weighted by poverty level, rewards districts that spend more where need is greatest
Funding Diversity (0-25)
Less reliance on local property taxes, more state/federal support
Resource Access (0-25)
Lower student-teacher ratios = more individualized attention
Read our methodology
- how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.