Rhode Island
306 Schools62 Districts135K Students
$24,324
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+70% nat'l45.4%
Free Lunch Rate
-6.8pp vs nat'l87.5%
Graduation Rate
+1.0pp vs nat'l44/100
Opportunity Score
LimitedAbout Rhode Island Public Schools
Rhode Island is the smallest state by area in the US, with 36 districts serving approximately 140,000 students. Providence Public Schools, the state's largest, was placed under state receivership in 2019 following a scathing Johns Hopkins audit that found widespread dysfunction — outdated curricula, poor facilities, and a culture of low academic expectations. The state has undertaken a sustained reform effort with mixed early results. Rhode Island's funding formula has been updated to weight student need more explicitly, and the state has invested in high-quality instructional materials adoption. Rhode Island uses the RICAS (Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System, aligned with MCAS) for grades 3-8 and the SAT for grade 11 accountability.
Largest District
Providence
20K students
Highest Per-Pupil
R.I. Sch for the Deaf
$104,963/student
Top Graduation Rate
East Greenwich
97.5% grad rate
School Districts (62)
Per-pupil spending in Rhode Island ranges from $13,620 to $104,963 across districts with available data. State avg: $24,324.
| District | Schools | Students | Per-Pupil | Grad Rate | Free Lunch | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Districts — 10,000+ Students | ||||||
| Providence | 39 | 20K | $26,311↑8% | 75.5%↓14% | 81.7%↑80% | 40 |
| Cranston | 23 | 10K | $20,205↓17% | 87.9% | 42.4%↓6% | 47 |
| Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students | ||||||
| Pawtucket | 16 | 7,899 | $21,534↓11% | 83.0%↓5% | 56.6%↑25% | 40 |
| Warwick | 18 | 7,860 | $25,331 | 90.5% | 34.0%↓25% | 44 |
| Woonsocket | 9 | 5,525 | $22,384↓8% | 78.0%↓11% | 72.5%↑60% | 39 |
| East Providence | 12 | 5,152 | $22,348↓8% | 88.0% | 47.8%↑5% | 41 |
| Cumberland | 9 | 4,750 | $18,084↓26% | 91.0% | 18.6%↓59% | 45 |
| Coventry | 7 | 4,215 | $20,700↓15% | 94.0%↑7% | 29.7%↓34% | 42 |
| North Kingstown | 8 | 3,798 | $20,832↓14% | 96.0%↑10% | 22.8%↓50% | 42 |
| West Warwick | 6 | 3,491 | $21,106↓13% | 92.0%↑5% | 54.1%↑19% | 49 |
| North Providence | 8 | 3,445 | $21,042↓13% | 90.0% | 37.3%↓18% | 47 |
| Barrington | 6 | 3,382 | $19,107↓21% | 95.0%↑9% | 6.7%↓85% | 54 |
| Lincoln | 6 | 3,261 | $21,900↓10% | 89.0% | 28.6%↓37% | 53 |
| Johnston | 8 | 3,094 | $23,172 | 92.0%↑5% | 43.5% | 50 |
| Chariho | 7 | 3,082 | $21,455↓12% | 89.6% | 20.1%↓56% | 44 |
| Bristol Warren | 6 | 2,837 | $22,620↓7% | 93.0%↑6% | 30.6%↓33% | 44 |
| East Greenwich | 6 | 2,532 | $19,431↓20% | 97.5%↑11% | 6.1%↓87% | 51 |
| Achievement First Rhode Island | 7 | 2,519 | $18,801↓23% | — | 65.8%↑45% | 38 |
| Central Falls | 6 | 2,516 | $24,336 | 72.0%↓18% | 95.3%↑110% | 43 |
| South Kingstown | 7 | 2,489 | $26,879↑11% | 92.0%↑5% | 18.0%↓60% | 44 |
| Smithfield | 5 | 2,401 | $19,241↓21% | 92.0%↑5% | 13.2%↓71% | 43 |
| Westerly | 6 | 2,242 | $27,925↑15% | 95.0%↑9% | 36.0%↓21% | 46 |
| Blackstone Valley Prep A RI Mayoral Academy | 6 | 2,176 | $18,086↓26% | 87.0% | 66.2%↑46% | 45 |
| Portsmouth | 4 | 2,164 | $21,150↓13% | 96.0%↑10% | 15.4%↓66% | 48 |
| Burrillville | 5 | 2,045 | $19,801↓19% | 93.0%↑6% | 35.1%↓23% | 42 |
| Middletown | 5 | 1,918 | $23,803 | 82.0%↓6% | 32.0%↓30% | 46 |
| Newport | 3 | 1,876 | — | 87.0% | 72.4%↑60% | 40 |
| Tiverton | 5 | 1,603 | $23,482 | 92.0%↑5% | 20.4%↓55% | 43 |
| North Smithfield | 3 | 1,603 | $20,257↓17% | 92.0%↑5% | 20.1%↓56% | 48 |
| Exeter-West Greenwich | 5 | 1,532 | $26,970↑11% | 97.5%↑11% | 16.3%↓64% | 46 |
| Foster-Glocester | 2 | 1,347 | $23,297 | 87.0% | 14.6%↓68% | 46 |
| Scituate | 5 | 1,193 | $24,347 | 92.0%↑5% | 11.9%↓74% | 46 |
| Narragansett | 3 | 1,114 | $29,387↑21% | 92.0%↑5% | 16.1%↓65% | 46 |
| Small Districts — Fewer than 1,000 Students | ||||||
| Davies Career and Tech | 1 | 912 | $22,087↓9% | 82.0%↓6% | 48.1%↑6% | 53 |
| Paul Cuffee Charter Sch | 3 | 815 | $24,797 | 87.0% | 81.8%↑80% | 40 |
| MET Career and Tech | 1 | 776 | $20,882↓14% | 90.0% | 72.7%↑60% | 40 |
| Highlander | 2 | 613 | $19,974↓18% | 84.5% | 86.3%↑90% | 45 |
| Learning Community | 1 | 576 | $22,206↓9% | — | 84.7%↑87% | 43 |
| Glocester | 2 | 575 | $21,785↓10% | — | 12.0%↓74% | 46 |
| RISE Prep Mayoral Academy | 1 | 425 | $13,620↓44% | — | 58.6%↑29% | 39 |
| Jamestown | 2 | 410 | $36,539↑50% | — | 6.3%↓86% | 55 |
| International Charter | 1 | 380 | $18,395↓24% | — | 55.3%↑22% | 40 |
| Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College | 1 | 370 | $21,147↓13% | 92.5%↑6% | 86.0%↑89% | 38 |
| Beacon Charter School | 2 | 358 | $16,881↓31% | 92.0%↑5% | 45.3% | 39 |
| Blackstone Academy | 1 | 351 | $19,117↓21% | 87.0% | 64.4%↑42% | 40 |
| The Hope Academy | 1 | 317 | $17,325↓29% | — | 57.7%↑27% | 40 |
| Segue Institute for Learning | 1 | 307 | $21,887↓10% | — | 81.1%↑79% | 43 |
| Kingston Hill Academy | 1 | 260 | $17,827↓27% | — | 9.2%↓80% | 47 |
| Foster | 1 | 221 | $22,665↓7% | — | 31.2%↓31% | 50 |
| The Compass School | 1 | 215 | $19,276↓21% | — | 9.3%↓79% | 49 |
Showing 50 of 62
Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.