46th in class size
42nd in education spending
$2 billion less for schools
$548 less per student
Dead last in compensation
46th in class size out of 50 states
and Washington, D.C.
- Washington class sizes are among the largest in the nation.
- We would need 12,778 more classroom teachers to match the
national pupil-to-teacher average.
- Reducing class sizes in early grades improves learning in
all subject areas, especially for children living in poverty.
- Reducing class sizes can improve classroom behavior and give
students more individualized attention. Needing less time for
discipline, teachers can spend more time on instruction.
- Studies show that small classes improve teacher-student interaction
and teacher morale, along with enriched learning experiences.
45th in education spending out of 50 states
and Washington, D.C.
- Alabama and Arkansas spend more per student than we do in Washington.
- New Jersey, the top state for education spending per student, spends $3,923 more per student than we do here in Washington. Washington spends $6,985 while New Jersey spends $10,908 per pupil.
- If Washington spent $2,300 more for each student we would break into the top 10 states for per-pupil spending.
- The national average for per-pupil spending is $8,041 -- $1,056 more than Washington.
$2 billion less for schools due to state funding not keeping pace
- Twenty-five years ago, Washington spent just over half -- 50.4 percent -- of the state Operating Budget on K-12 public education. Now we spend just 42.1 percent.
- These "fair share" dollars could be used to reduce class sizes, to attract and retain quality teachers and to provide updated textbooks and technology.
- Given that Washington has the strongest constitutional language in the country in terms of education funding -- naming it the state's "paramount duty" -- it's appalling that it spends less of our state budget on education than it did 25 years ago.
$548 less per student compared with 1992
- Inflation has risen each year along with the demands for increased student achievement. Yet, today's schools are asked to do more with less. That's unacceptable.
- With funding eroding, schools have less to invest in technology, textbooks and other instructional materials needed for our children to develop the skills necessary to compete for good jobs in the global, high-tech economy.
- Schools lack the resources to restore or expand enrichment programs, like music or art, or to help students meet the state's high standards and graduation requirements.
Dead last incompensation among the five West Coast states
- The average salary paid to Washington's classroom teachers lags far behind what is paid to all classroom teachers in West Coast states (California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii) -- $9,552 less!...and it is $2,084 below the national average.
- Last year, our teacher salaries slipped further behind West Coast and national averages than in the prior year.
- From 1992 to 2005, the average salary paid to Washington's Education Support Professionals (ESP) fell further behind per-capita income in the state and lost more purchasing power because of inflation.
- Competitive salaries are key to attracting and retaining high-quality teachers. After five years of teaching, one in three has left the profession.
Source material:
46th in CLASS SIZE
• NEA Rankings and Estimates Update, Fall
2005 using data provided by state departments of education.
• Finn, Jeremy, Class Size Reduction in
Grades K-3 from "School Reform Proposals: The Research Evidence,"
Editor: Alex Molnar, Education Policy Research Unit, Arizona State University,
January 2002 --
http://www.nea-nm.org/PDF/epru-2002-101.pdf
• Deutsch, Francine M., "How small
classes benefit high school students," National Association of
Secondary School Principals. NASSP Bulletin, June 2003 -- http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3696/is_200306/ai_n9287449
45th in EDUCATION SPENDING
• Source: Education Week, January
2008. Data from Editorial Projects in Education Research Center,
2008. Figures adjusted using NCES Geographic Cost of Education
Index.
$2 BILLION LESS FOR SCHOOLS
• Washington State Legislative Budget Notes.
http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/lbns/1991-93partiii.pdf
http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/lbns/2005appendix.pdf
$548 LESS PER STUDENT
• OSPI and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
as published in the League of Education Voters Report, "Turning
Promise into Practice: A Quality Education for Every Washington Student,"
January 2006.
DEAD LAST IN COMPENSATION
• NEA Rankings and Estimates Update, Fall
2005 using data provided by state departments of education.
• "A Different Approach to Solving
the Teacher Shortage Problem," Teaching Quality Policy Briefs,
Number 3, January 2001 http://depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/PDFs/Brief_three.pdf
• SPI, "Preparing Washington Students
for the 21st Century: Five-Year Strategic Plan for the Office of Superintendent
of Public Instruction, 2002-2007," January 2003. http://www.k12.wa.us/AboutUs/strategicplan.pdf
• CPI-U for Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton and
per-capita income figures based on school year estimates derived from
Forecast Council figures contained in the Sept. 2005 "Washington
Economic and Revenue Forecast." Average salary figures from OSPI.
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