For the first time in four decades, a majority of public school students from 17 states in the South and West were considered low income students by the end of 2011.

With the exception of states in the Northeast, the number of low income students in public schools increased by 32%, between 2001 and 2011, while per pupil spend only increased by 14% and the nation’s achievement gap between low income and high income students remained relatively stagnant.

Source: Southern Education Foundation