This is a report of a study by the U.S. General Accounting Office for the U.S. Congress. Using data from the 2000-01 school year, the study focused on per-pupil spending, factors influencing spending, and other similarities and differences among selected high-poverty inner-city elementary schools and selected suburban elementary schools. From 42 schools (21 inner city, 21 suburban) in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort Worth, New York, Oakland, and St. Louis, detailed information on school spending and federal revenues, staffing and teacher experience, and student characteristics was obtained for the study. Following are some of the findings of the study: Differences in per-pupil spending between inner-city and suburban schools varied by metropolitan area. In general, higher per-pupil expenditures at any given school, inner city or suburban, were explained primarily by higher staff salaries. Inner-city students generally performed poorly compared with students in suburban schools. Compared with the suburban schools, the inner-city schools generally had a higher percentage of first-year teachers, higher enrollments, fewer library and computer resources, and less in-school parent involvement. Appendices describe the objectives, scope, and methodology of the study, and profiles of the schools reviewed. (Contains 9 figures and 11 tables.) (WFA)