By Adam Clark, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey’s equity in school funding fares well when compared to other states, according to a new national report on education funding.
The state has “high funding levels that are also distributed fairly,” according to a report card published by the Newark-based Education Law Center and the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. It’s one of only two states to score above average in all four fairness indicators.
The report, based on federal data from 2012, is one of the most sophisticated comparative analysis of public school finances in the United States, said Scott Simpson, director of media for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
While national findings identified inequity or lack of investment in education in many states, New Jersey received an “A” for both funding distribution and effort, a measure of how much the state invests in education compared to its gross domestic product.
New Jersey also ranked among the 20-best states in funding level and for coverage, which measures the proportion of school-age children attending the state’s public schools rather than private or home schools.
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