The inequalities are very severe. In the school district of Philadelphia, nearly 80 percent of K-12 students are living at or near the poverty level. A typical Philadelphia student has $2,215 less spent on his or her education then a typically less disadvantaged suburban student. Six suburban districts spend over $5,000 more per student per year than Philadelphia. This type of problem doesn’t just exist in Pennsylvania; it exists state after state across the United States. The amount of money that a school district in Pittsburgh, PA compared to a school district in Reading, PA gets is a difference of over $4,000. That is the typical difference over most of the nation. If urban school districts got that $4,000 it would a lot of resources for the students to us in those districts. America’s politicians are fully aware of this situation, but are still demanding that no child be left behind. In general the kids that aren’t spending a lot of money on education correlates with low family income. Consequently, the needy kids from poor families that are living in impoverished areas typically go to under-resourced schools.
In 2005 the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that fourth-graders growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind kids growing up in high-income