States rated by how they put education dollars to work.

If only schools would cut administrators and spend the money on the kids, critics often complain, test scores would improve.

And, indeed, a national group has popped up to promote just such a solution. First Class Education (www.firstclasseducation.org) urges state legislators to force schools to spend at least 65 cents of every dollar, or 65 percent, on classroom instruction.

It advocates cutting support services like administrators, administrative personnel, transportation and food services. Its goal is to convince all states to adopt this goal as law by 2008.

Conservative newspaper columnist and TV pundit George Will is credited with coming up with what he has dubbed the “65 percent solution.” Nationally, only 61.5 percent of educational dollars actually reach classrooms. Meeting the goal could pump $14 billion into classroom education, says the group, enough to buy a desktop computer for every child in America or to hire 325,000 more teachers at $40,000 each.

The idea is catching on. Louisiana, Kansas and Texas have adopted such measures but haven’t reached the standard yet. First Class Education hopes to launch ballot initiatives in 10 states.

This, you say, makes sense: Cut the fat, help the kids.

How can we do this in Maine? Surprise. It’s been done. Maine exceeds the 65 percent solution, and we are one of only four states in the U.S. that has.

That’s pretty amazing. Despite the massive transportation expense of a large rural state, the huge heating expenses of a northern state and a proliferation of separate, small school buildings and systems, Maine still funnels 67.1 percent of all spending into the classroom.

We are second best in the U.S., right behind New York state at 68.7 percent. Tennessee and Utah also meet the standard.

Compare Maine to Ohio, which spends only 57 percent of its money on kids and instruction, a full 10 percent less than Maine, or to Washington, D.C., where less than 50 cents of each educational dollar gets to a classroom.

First Class Education’s Web site has only one word for Maine’s educational spending priorities: “Congratulations.”