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Students
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State of California Education Profile     FISCAL YEAR:  2011-12
California Department of Education (CDE)
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 319-0791
This page includes:
Schools by Type
Charter Schools
Districts by Type
Enrollment by Grade
Average Class Size
Technology by School Type
Number of Private Schools
Number of Students In Private Schools
Related links:
 Definitions
This site reports data for California's K-12 public school system only.

California MapCalifornia’s public education system is immense: more than six million students in about 9,900 schools, which are governed by almost 1,000 elected school boards and regulated by a complex Education Code. The schools are funded through a finance system largely controlled by the Legislature and governor. These Ed-Data Profiles provide a comprehensive picture of the state of California—plus each school, district and county, with statewide totals and links to additional data or explanations. The Profiles are organized in three sections: General, Students and Staffing. Click on the tabs to move between them.

 

Schools by Type
State of California, 2011-12
  Number of Schools Enrollment Full-Time Equivalent Teachers1 Pupil-Teacher Ratio2
Preschool  
40
   
Elementary
5,768
3,070,578
132,649.4
23.1
Middle
1,267
1,010,696
43,767.1
23.1
Junior High
46
27,918
1,225.0
22.8
High School
1,305
1,790,418
74,878.3
23.9
K-12
202
115,400
5,388.4
21.4
Alternative
247
65,332
2,769.6
23.6
Special Education
132
24,361
3,383.9
7.2
Continuation
486
69,362
3,752.6
18.5
Community Day
270
8,225
774.6
10.6
Opportunity
32
2,435
232.7
10.5
Juvenile Court
80
8,799
741.0
11.9
County Community
76
16,988
864.1
19.7
Calif. Youth Authority
5
713
   
State Special Schools
3
876
158.8
5.5
Nonpublic, Nonsectarian3  
8,034
   
District Office4  
818
   
Total
9,919
6,220,993
270,585.5
23.0
1FTE teacher counts include those assigned to a particular type of school; district and county office of education teachers not associated with a school are excluded.
2The Pupil-Teacher Ratio is enrollment divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. Because some teachers are not assigned to a classroom, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio is usually smaller than the average class size.
3Nonpublic, nonsectarian schools serve as an alternative Special Education service available to districts, Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs), county offices of education, and parents. "Nonsectarian" means a nonpublic school or agency that is not owned, operated, controlled by, or formally affiliated with a religious group.
4Some students were not assigned a school code, so their enrollment is counted under the heading of District Office.
Trends: Public Schools by Type
Trends: Enrollment by Type of Public School
Schools by Type definitions
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, pubschls 12/10/12, enr11 12/10/12)
Schools vary in their grade-level configuration. Most elementary schools encompass K-5, middle schools 6-8, junior high 7-9, and high schools 9-12.

This table includes charter schools in the appropriate category.

Note about school totals:
The total number of schools does not include Preschool, Nonpublic Nonsectarian, and District Office schools, therefore the total number of schools in this table may differ from the total on the DataQuest website.
Charter Schools
State of California, 2011-12
Number of Schools
1,018
Enrollment
438,474
Full-Time Equivalent Teachers
19,723.9
Pupil-Teacher Ratio1
22.2
1The Pupil-Teacher Ratio is enrollment divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. Because some teachers are not assigned to a classroom, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio is usually smaller than the average class size.
Trends: Charter Public Schools
Pop-trends
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, pubschls 12/10/12, enr11 12/10/12)
Since the enabling legislation was passed in 1992, the number of approved charter schools has increased annually. The 2011-12 count of operating charter schools is 1018 (which includes 18 Statewide Benefit Charters and 13 State Board of Education Charters). Some charter schools are new, while others are conversions from existing public schools. Charter schools are part of the state's public education system and are funded by public dollars. For additional charter information, click here.
Districts by Type
State of California, 2011-12
  Number of Districts Enrollment Full-Time Equivalent Teachers Pupil-Teacher Ratio1
Elementary
540
1,219,575
53,032.5
23.0
High
80
589,228
24,579.1
24.0
Unified
338
4,315,483
189,454.9
22.8
County Office of Education
58
84,834
6,608.7
12.8
Calif. Youth Authority
4
713
   
State Special Schools
3
876
158.8
5.5
SBE Charter2
18
5,899
285.3
20.7
Statewide Benefit Charter3
3
4,385
209.2
21.0
Total
1,044
6,220,993
274,328.5
22.7
1The Pupil-Teacher Ratio is enrollment divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. Because some teachers are not assigned to a classroom, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio is usually smaller than the average class size.
2State Board of Education Charters are classified as a "school district" beginning in 2004-05. However, they do not report accountability or financial data at the district level.
3Statewide Benefit Charters are classified as a "school district" beginning in 2007-08. However, they do not report accountability or financial data at the district level.
Trends: Number of Public School Districts by Type
Trends: Enrollment by Type in Public School Districts
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, pubschls 12/10/12, enr11 12/10/12)
With a few exceptions, the typical district grade configurations in California are elementary (K-8), high (9-12), and unified (K-12). Districts sometimes merge or consolidate; the number of districts can change annually.
Enrollment by Grade
State of California, 2011-12
  Enrollment
Kindergarten
488,742
Grade 1
490,042
Grade 2
472,220
Grade 3
467,758
Grade 4
462,403
Grade 5
452,546
Grade 6
467,554
Grade 7
465,108
Grade 8
468,275
Grade 9
501,258
Grade 10
495,009
Grade 11
487,466
Grade 12
495,945
Ungraded
6,667
Total
6,220,993
Trends: Number of Students Enrolled in Public School
Enrollment by Grade definitions
Pop-trends
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, enr11 12/10/12)
Enrollment is measured by counting the number of students enrolled in school on a particular day in October.

Average Class Size
State of California, 2011-12
  Number of Classes1 Average Class Size
Schoolwide
850,334
23.6
English
151,740
22.1
Math
124,225
22.8
Social Science
99,635
23.7
Science
90,966
25.8
1"Filtered" counts exclude classes with zero enrollment or enrollment over 50 and other minor items.
Note:Average class size data for self-contained classrooms are not available for 2011-12.
Trends: Average Class Size
Average Class Size definitions
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, assign11 1/11/13)
Average class size is the number of students enrolled in classes divided by the number of classes. The data in this table is calculated using the California Department of Education's "filtered" definition of average class size.

Technology by School Type
State of California, 2011-12
  Students Per Computer
Elementary
5.6
Middle
4.0
High
4.7
Continuation
3.0
Alternative
4.1
Community Day
2.1
Trends: Technology By School Type
Technology definitions
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, cbedsora11a.txt 5/8/12, pubschls 12/10/12)
In addition to computers available for use by students, those used by staff for instructional activities are also included when counting computers at the various schools. This count is then divided by student enrollment to arrive at a students-per-computer figure.
Number of Private Schools
State of California, 2011-12
Church Affiliated
1,473
Religious/Other
1,620
Total
3,093
Trends: Number of Private Schools
Source: California Department of Education, Private School Affidavits.
Private school enrollment has fluctuated over the past ten years but it stays at or below 10% of California's total student population. Approximately two-thirds of the students are in church-affiliated or religious schools. About a third of the private schools are very small, between 6 and 35 students.
Number of Students In Private Schools
State of California, 2011-12
Kindergarten
43,753
Elementary
297,393
High School
145,553
Total
486,699
Trends: Number of Students in Private Schools
Source: California Department of Education, Private School Affidavits.
 

All contents copyright © 2013, Education Data Partnership. All rights reserved.

Ed-Data is a partnership of the California Department of Education, EdSource and the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) designed to offer educators, policy makers, the legislature, parents, and the public quick access to timely and comprehensive data about K-12 education in California.