ITR Report Card recently explored graduation rates across the state and highlighted trends for every school district over three different time periods. While Iowans understand that every district is unique, they also recognize that some districts lend themselves to comparisons more naturally than others.

Districts located in urban and suburban areas generally have more in common with each other than with Iowa’s rural districts scattered throughout the state. Rather than relying on data that may be distorted by Iowa’s smallest school districts—where a change of just one or two students can significantly affect the numbers—ITR Report Card focused its analysis on districts within the state’s three largest metro regions: Des Moines, Iowa City-Cedar Rapids, and the Quad Cities.

The sortable table below displays basic demographic, performance, and financial data for the 23 school districts within those three regions. We have also included the statewide average for each category. Interestingly, half of these urban and suburban school districts spend more per pupil than the statewide average, while the other half spend less. The data examined here does not suggest a strong relationship between spending and student performance; more money does not automatically appear to produce better outcomes.

For example, the highest graduation rates belong to Norwalk (22nd in spending), Waukee (7th), and Marion (1st). Similarly, the highest ACT scores are found in Pleasant Valley (15th in spending), Iowa City (8th), and Johnston (18th). On the other end of the spectrum, third-grade reading scores are lowest in Des Moines (11th in spending), Davenport (9th), and Cedar Rapids (10th).

Perhaps the simplest takeaway is this: spending more money is not a guarantee of better results for students. While funding is certainly part of the conversation, outcomes are ultimately shaped by how those dollars are used, along with district leadership, priorities, and accountability at the local level. For taxpayers and families alike, that should shift the focus away from calls for ever-increasing spending and toward a more important question: are schools delivering results with the resources they already have? If not, the answer is not automatically more money, but better stewardship of the dollars already being entrusted to them.