TEACHING MATTERS: Statistics on Teaching in America
Projections of Education Statistics to 2020 [ PDF ]
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/projections/projections2021/This edition of Projections of Education Statistics provides projections for key education statistics, including enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary public and private schools, as well as enrollment and degrees conferred at postsecondary degree-granting institutions. Included are national data on enrollment and graduates for the past 15 years and projections to the year 2021.
This publication provides projections for key education statistics. It includes statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment, earned degrees conferred, and current-fund expenditures of degree-granting institutions. For the Nation, the tables, figures, and text contain data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2013. For the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the tables, figures, and text contain data on projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates to the year 2013. In addition, the report includes a methodology section describing models and assumptions used to develop national and state-level projections.
2012
Too Few Resources Go Toward Teacher Development and Salaries
School districts spend only 1% to 3% of their resources on teacher
development, as compared to much higher expenditures in most
corporations and in other countries' schools. Teachers earn
substantially less than other professionals, including
accountants, sales representatives, and engineers. Even teachers
with higher education degrees (
Doctorate of Education
) earn less than people in other fields that have a similar level
of education. Average salaries for teachers range between $20,354
in South Dakota to $43,326 in Connecticut -- with salaries in
affluent suburban districts much higher than those in cities or
rural communities within the same area. The resources needed to
make recommended reforms to the American school system constitute
less than 1% of the amount spent for the federal savings and loan
bailout. Reallocate $40 billion from nonteaching functions to
classroom teaching. This is half of the annual $80 billion
currently spent on nonteaching costs, excluding costs of
transportation, building maintenance, and food service.
Reallocations of resources should aim for staffing patterns in
which at least 60% of staff are classroom teachers. Reallocate $10
billion to restructured compensation systems that reward teacher
knowledge and skill. Of an estimated $19 billion spent annually on
the portion of teacher salaries granted for education credits, we
recommend that one-half be gradually redirected to restructured
compensation systems that incorporate salary steps for performance
based licensing and National Board Certification along with
experience and other education. Spend $4.8 billion on improved
recruitment, teacher education, and professional development. This
amount is less than 1% of the amount spent for the federal savings
and loan bailout of several years ago and less than the annual
interest on school debt.
2007
WHY DO TEACHERS QUIT pdf ?
A new study from the Center for Teacher Quality at California
State University boldly states that bureaucracy is the single
biggest reason why teachers stop teaching, even more important
than pay. The researchers surveyed more than 1,900 current and
former teachers in an effort to understand why 18,000 California
teachers quit every year.
December 2006
UNCERTIFIED TEACHERS PERFORMING WELL, STUDY FINDS
According to a new study, uncertified teachers end up performing
just as well in the classroom as certified teachers and
alternatively trained teachers. The study's results appear to
challenge requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act
that every classroom have a "highly qualified" teacher, instead
suggesting that schools should put more emphasis on weeding out
bad apples after the teachers have been hired. "These are people
who have no prior experience in teaching and they go into the
lowest performing schools, and they do just as well," said Jonah
Rockoff, a Columbia University Business School professor who
co-authored the study. "Where you went to college and what your
GPA was doesn't seem to tell you how good you're going to be in
the classroom." In the study, reports Sarah Garland in the New
York Sun, researchers at the Hoover Institution used standardized
test scores to measure the performance of New York City students
taught by traditionally certified teachers, uncertified teachers,
and teachers who enter the profession through alternative programs
such as Teach for America and Teaching Fellows. They found that
while alternatively certified and uncertified teachers do worse at
first, they appear to improve at faster rates than traditionally
certified teachers in their first years on the job. By the
teachers' third year on the job, students of alternatively
certified and uncertified teachers are performing just as well as
those of traditionally certified teachers.
Too Few Entering Teachers Have Adequate Preparation http://www.glef.org/php/resources.php?id=Item_202348
More than 12% of all newly hired "teachers" enter the workforce
without any training at all, and another 15% enter without having
fully met state standards.
More than 50,000 people who lack the training required for their
jobs have entered teaching annually on emergency or substandard
licenses. Only 500 of the nation's 1,200 education schools meet
common professional standards.
Too Many Current Teachers Are Under qualified
Fewer than 75% of all teachers have studied child development,
learning, and teaching methods, have degrees in their subject
area, and have passed state licensing requirements Nearly
one-fourth (23%) of all secondary teachers do not have even a
college minor in their main teaching field. This is true for more
than 30% of mathematics teachers.
More than half (56%) of high school students taking physical
science courses, 27% of those taking mathematics courses are
taught by teachers who don't have backgrounds in these fields. The
proportions are much higher in high-poverty schools and in lower
track classes.
Number of Teachers Has Declined While Non-Teaching Staff Has
Risen
The proportion of school staff classified as classroom teachers
has fallen from 70% in 1950 to 52% in 1993 -- while the number of
non-teaching staff increased by over 40%. For every four classroom
teachers, there are nearly six other school employees in the
United States, indicating that teachers make up only 43% of total
school employment. Conversely, teaching staff in other countries
comprise 60% to 80% of school employment. A recent eight-nation
study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
revealed that the U.S. has by far the lowest ratio of core
teaching staff to non-teaching staff (less than 1:1), well behind
the leaders, Belgium (4:1), Italy (3,5:1), and Japan (3,4:1).
Teachers Have Too Little Time and Too Heavy Workloads
Most elementary school teachers have only 8.3 minutes of
preparatory time for every hour they teach, while high school
teachers have just 13 minutes of prep time per class hour.
Teaching loads for high school teachers generally exceed 100
students per day and reach nearly 200 per day in some cities
Nationally, there is one staff member for every nine children, but
fewer than half of them are actual classroom teachers.
Consequently, the average class size is 24 students, with some
areas having as many as 30 students per classroom.
Too Few Resources Go Toward Teacher Development and Salaries
School districts spend only 1% to 3% of their resources on teacher
development, as compared to much higher expenditures in most
corporations and in other countries' schools Teachers earn
substantially less than other professionals, including
accountants, sales representatives, and engineers. Average
salaries for teachers range between $20,354 in South Dakota to
$43,326 in Connecticut -- with salaries in affluent suburban
districts much higher than those in cities or rural communities
within the same area. The resources needed to make recommended
reforms to the American school system constitute less than 1% of
the amount spent for the federal savings and loan bailout.
Reallocate $40 billion from nonteaching functions to classroom
teaching. This is half of the annual $80 billion currently spent
on nonteaching costs, excluding costs of transportation, building
maintenance, and food service. Reallocations of resources should
aim for staffing patterns in which at least 60% of staff are
classroom teachers. Reallocate $10 billion to restructured
compensation systems that reward teacher knowledge and skill. Of
an estimated $19 billion spent annually on the portion of teacher
salaries granted for education credits, we recommend that one-half
be gradually redirected to restructured compensation systems that
incorporate salary steps for perforrnance based licensing and
National Board Certification along with experience and other
education. Spend $4.8 billion on improved recruitment, teacher
education, and professional development. This amount is less than
1% of the amount spent for the federal savings and loan bailout of
several years ago and less than the annual interest on school
debt.
Type of Investment Basis of Estimate Cost per Year
Scholarships for able recruits in high-need fields and areas
25,000 candidates at $20,000 per candidate for a four-year
commitment to teaching $500 million $4.875 billion Investments For
Improving Teaching. In its report,
What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future, the Commission
has described how to reallocate resources and make strategic
investments to increase teacher knowledge and improve the quality
of teaching. Among its recommendations are the following:
Reallocate $40 billion from nonteaching functions to classroom
teaching. This is half of the annual $80 billion currently spent
on nonteaching costs, excluding costs of transportation, building
maintenance, and food service. Reallocations of resources should
aim for staffing patterns in which at least 60% of staff are
classroom teachers. Reallocate $10 billion to restructured
compensation systems that reward teacher knowledge and skill. Of
an estimated $19 billion spent annually on the portion of teacher
salaries granted for education credits, we recommend that one-half
be gradually redirected to restructured compensation systems that
incorporate salary steps for perforrnance based licensing and
National Board Certification along with experience and other
education. Spend $4.8 billion on improved recruitment, teacher
education, and professional development. This amount is less than
1% of the amount spent for the federal savings and loan bailout of
several years ago and less than the annual interest on school
debt.
Type of Investment Basis of Estimate
HOW MUCH DO WE SPEND ON EDUCATION
While these may sound like substantial amounts of money, they
represent only a modest investment in teachers and teaching in
light of other U.S. expenditures. For example, In 1994-95 total
expenditures for education were $50.3 billion ($307.5 billion for
elementary and secondary schools) 1994 national defense and
international relations: $333.4 billion l994 interest on national
debt:$202.7 billion 1995 federal support for education: $100
billion 1994-95 appropriations for compensatory education: $7
billion l992 interest on school debt: $5.1 billion We give more to
other countries than we do to teaching.. and to kids.. our future.
2001