Public education in the U.S. costs more than $500 billion per year. (NCES National Center for Education Statistics)
Around 50 million students attend public schools in the U.S. , in kindergarten through grade 12. (U.S. Dept. of Education)
Education spending increased about 2% per year over the past 15 years (from $350 billion in 1996 to more than $500+ billion today). Spending per pupil increased about 5% per year over this period (from $4,900 per student to $10,300 per student). (NCES National Center for Education Statistics)
State & local governments provide about 90% of school funding; the federal government provides about 10%. (U.S. Dept. of Education)
There are large disparities in education spending between states and between school districts within a state. Two examples: New Jersey spends $16,100 per year pupil per year, Utah spends $5,700; Ohio spends $13,100 per student per year in some large, urban districts and $8,700 in other small, rural districts. (Center for American Progress)
About 60% of education dollars are spent on instruction in the classroom, and 40% on administration, operations and infrastructure. (NCES National Center for Education Statistics)
Because different school districts define spending categories in unexpected ways, there is no clear accounting that distinguishes instructional spending from all other spending outside the classroom. (NCPA National Center for Policy Analysis)
The percentage of students who graduate from high school within four years of entering ninth grade is 70%-75% percent nationwide. (U.S. News and World Report)
There is no single methodology universally accepted for measuring high school graduation rates. (The Urban Institute, Education Policy Center)
The educational achievement of 15-year-old students in the United States lags behind that of their peers who attend public schools in other nations. (PISA Programme for International Student Assessment)
Today only 40 percent of fourth-grade children in the U.S. are proficient in math, along with 34 percent of eighth-graders. In 2011, just 32 percent of fourth- and eighth-graders can read proficiently. (NAEP National Assessment of Educational Progress)
Most parents approve of the performance of their own, local public schools, but think the education system in the U.S. in general needs significant improvement. (Phi Delta Kappa International Gallup poll 2010)
The factor that correlates most strongly with student performance is parental involvement. (The Mackinac Center for Public Policy)
The quality of the teacher in the classroom is the single most important factor in determining how well a child learns. (EPI The Economic Policy Institute)
A teacher's effectiveness is not measured, recorded, or used to inform decision-making in any meaningful way. (TNTP The New Teacher Project)
The overwhelming majority of teachers receive top performance ratings, even in failing schools. (TNTP The New Teacher Project)
Today's teachers make about $11,000 less in annual earnings than other professionals with similar backgrounds. (Brookings Foundation)
When salary and benefits are combined, a typical public school teacher earns 52% more than a private-sector employee with similar skills. (Heritage Foundation)
When it comes to the cost of public education, nothing is more expensive than a child not learning. (Nathan Levenson, former superintendent of pubic schools, Arlington, Mass.)
There are no easy answers to problems facing the U.S. public school system. (BD Brian Dalziel Rants)
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