Student Enrollment

• Total public school enrollment for the U.S. in 2007-08 is estimated at 48,949,723.

• Total student enrollment for Texas public schools (including charters) in 2007-08 is 4,651,516.

• Students in Texas public schools compromise over 9.5% of all students in the U.S.

• Texas is second in the nation (behind California) in student enrollment.

• From 1993 to 2003, enrollment in U.S. public schools increased 11.7%. At the same time Texas public school enrollment increased 20.1%.

Sources: NEA Research, Estimated Database (2008)TEA Pocket Edition 2007-08 Texas Public School Statistics.

1

Texas Public School Student Enrollment by Grade

Pre-Kindergarten 192,858 4.1%

Kindergarten 356,374 7.7%

Grade 1 375,773 8.1%

Grade 2 366,632 7.9%

Grade 3 355,214 7.6%

Grade 4 346,313 7.4%

Grade 5 345,631 7.4%

Grade 6 336,494 7.2%

Grade 7 340,340 7.3%

Grade 8 332,502 7.1%

Grade 9 396,879 8.5%

Grade 10 331,792 7.1%

Grade 11 294,123 6.3%

Grade 12 268,130 5.8%

TOTAL 4,651,516 100.0%

Source: 2007-08 Academic Excellence Indicator System State Report, Texas Education Agency, Division of Performance Reporting

2

Urban Enrollment by GradeHouston ISD Dallas ISD San Antonio ISD

Enrolled % Enrolled % Enrolled % TOTAL

Pre-Kindergarten 15,345 7.9% 8,635 5.7% 4,068 7.5% 28,048

Kindergarten 16,189 8.1 13,551 8.6 4,493 8.2 34,233

Grade 1 17,813 9.0% 14,625 9.3% 4,805 8.8% 37,243

Grade 2 16,788 8.4% 13,709 8.7% 4,615 8.4% 35,112

Grade 3 15,665 7.9% 12,852 8.2% 4,454 8.1% 32,971

Grade 4 15,491 7.8% 12,368 7.8% 4,002 7.3% 31,861

Grade 5 14,552 7.3% 11,800 7.5% 3,944 7.2% 30,296

Grade 6 12,950 6.5% 10,511 6.7% 3,585 6.6% 27,046

Grade 7 13,461 6.8% 10,872 6.9% 3,644 6.7% 27,977

Grade 8 13,164 6.6% 9,920 6.3% 3,504 6.4% 26,588

Grade 9 16,868 8.5% 13,637 8.7% 4,452 8.1% 34,957

Grade 10 11,275 5.7% 9,559 6.1% 3,737 6.8% 24,571

Grade 11 9,844 5.0% 8,048 5.1% 2,871 5.2% 20,763

Grade 12 8,978 4.5% 7,179 4.6% 2,515 4.6% 18,672

TOTAL 198,769 100% 157,605 100% 54,726 100% 411,100

3Source: 2007-08 Academic Excellence Indicator System State Report, Texas Education Agency, Division of Performance Reporting

Texas Student Enrollment Highlights

• From 1995-96 to 2005-06, total enrollment increased by 722,011, or by 19%.

• Hispanic student enrollment experienced the largest increase, rising by 650,199 students (or 46.5%) over the decade.

• From 1995-96 to 2005-06 the increase in the number of economically disadvantaged students (752,571) exceeded the increase in the number of total students (722,011) (figure includes currently enrolled students who now qualify as economically disadvantaged but did not previously).

Source: Statewide Enrollment, Texas Public Schools, TEA http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/research/pdfs/enrollment_2005-06.pdf 4

Dropout Rate Calculations• Annual Dropout Rate

– Measures percentage of students who drop out of school during one school year.

– May not correspond to the public’s understanding of dropout rate.

• Longitudinal Dropout Rate

– Measures number of high school students graduated, received a GED, continued high school, or dropped out. Students who cannot be tracked are left out of the numbers completely.

– Considered the most accurate.

– Used by TEA.

• Attrition Rate

– Compares number of ninth-graders to number of graduates four years later.

– Considered a “shrinkage” number, not dropout.

– Does not account for transfers, moves, early graduations, etc.

5Source: Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools, 2006-07, TEA, Division of Accountability Research

Dropout Rates in Urban Schools2007-2008

Dallas ISD Houston ISD San Antonio ISD

District 25.8% 22.1% 26.0%

African American 27.2% 22.6% 24.0%

Hispanic 26.1% 26.8% 26.5%

White 17.4% 6.7% 19.5%

Native American 16.1% 0.0% 20.0%

Asian / Pacific Islander

23.4% 5.1% 18.2%

Economically Disadvantaged

25.5% 25.9% 25.0%

Source: Completion/Student Status Rate, AEIS Reports, TEA 6

Per Student Expenditures

• Texas is 45th in the U.S. in expenditures per student.

$7,978 $9,963

$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

Texas

U.S.

7Source: Source: NEA Research, Estimated Database (2008)

School Districts in Texas

• Texas has 1,031 school districts.– The 16 largest districts serve almost 28% of

all students.– The 473 smallest districts enroll less than 500

students each and serve 2.4% of all students.

• Texas has 198 charter operators.– In 2007-08, there were 90,485 students

enrolled in charter schools (1.9%).

Source: Pocket Edition 2007-08 Texas Public School Statistics, TEA

8

Successful Charters

• In 2008, a few charter operators had the most schools receiving the highest two ratings under the accountability system.

– KIPP: 1 Exemplary, 9 Recognized campuses– YES Preparatory: 4 Exemplary, 2 Recognized

campuses– IDEA Academy: 5 Recognized campuses

9Source: 2008 Accountability System State Summary, TEA October 2008

Distinguishing Facts About Charters• Public schools must provide 180 days of instruction per school year.

– Charters have discretion to determine the length of their school year with a minimum 180 days (KIPP and YES spend more days in the classroom).

• Public schools must provide a 7 hour day.– Charters are not subject to the 7 hour school day.

• Public schools require teachers to hold a Bachelors degree and be certified.– Charter school teachers are not required to hold a Bachelors

degree or teacher’s certification (unless teacher is special education or bilingual education).

• Public schools have contractual limitations to hire and fire staff.– Charters are not subject to contractual limitations.

10Source: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/charter/faqs/faq.html

Unsuccessful Charters

• In 2008, a higher proportion of Charter Operators and Charter Schools are rated Academically Unacceptable:

– 11 school districts (1.1%) were rated Academically Unacceptable.

– 21 Charter Operators (10.6%) were rated Academically Unacceptable.

11Source: 2008 Accountability System State Summary, TEA October 2008

Private/Home Schools

• 4.6 million school-age students in our public schools.

• About 200,000 Texas students are home-schooled.

• Approximately 246,000 Texas students are in private schools.

Source: Texas Home School Coalition and the National Home Education Research InstitutionTexas Private School Directory, Education Bug, Educational Resources 12

Teacher Salaries

• Average Teacher Salaries in TexasPublic Schools (regular duties only)– Beginning teachers $39,272– 1-5 years experience $41,374– 6-10 years experience $43,886– 11-20 years experience $48,174– Over 20 years experience $56,354

Source: 2007-08 Academic Excellence Indicator System State Report, TEA, 13

Teacher Pool Statistics

• Top-performing school systems recruit teachers from the top third of college graduates.– South Korea recruits from top 5%.

– Finland recruits from top 10%.

– Singapore and Hong Kong recruit from top 30%.

– The majority of United States teachers come from the bottom third of SAT scores (high school students going to college).

14Source: McKinsey & Company, How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top, September 2007

According to the McKinsey global study…

• Three things matter most in improving student outcomes:

1. Getting the right people to become teachers.

2. Developing them into effective instructors.

3. Ensuring the system is able to deliver the best possible instruction for every child.

Source: McKinsey & Company, How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top, September 2007 15

Teacher Pool Statistics

• Teaching is attracting better-qualified people than it did just a few years ago.– Prospective teachers from 2002-05 scored

higher on their SATs and earned higher grades in college than their counterparts in the mid-1990’s.

Source: Report Finds Better Scores in New Crop of Teachers, Sam Dillon, New York Times, December 12, 2007 16