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Comparing California (June 2008)

Table of Contents
 
The California Landscape
Student Demographics
Enrollment
Resources
Implications



The California Landscape
 
California has more than 6.2 million students, almost 2 million more than Texas, the next most populous state. Besides dealing with the complexities of running a school system of this magnitude, California educators face other challenges. The state has the highest percentage of English learners in the nation and is near the top in the proportion of children living in low-income families.

At the same time, funding and staffing levels in California schools lag behind other states. Although teacher salaries are comparatively high, the state is an expensive place to live, and this high cost of living is reflected in teacher salaries. California has been consistently below the national average in per-pupil spending and above the national average in the number of pupils per teacher and pupils per staff. As a result, California’s educators are each responsible for considerably more students than their counterparts in most other states.

A note about the data: This article uses the most recent (usually, from 2005–06) comparative data available from the National Education Association (NEA) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Therefore, it will not correspond with more recent California Department of Education data used elsewhere on Ed-Data.

Student Demographics
 
Students in California are a heterogeneous group, with no "majority" ethnic group. The state has larger percentages of Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians than the other four largest states but smaller percentages of Blacks and whites. Hispanics make up close to 50% of California’s student population but only 20% nationally. Although they are the majority nationally, whites comprise only 31% of California’s students. (This section uses 2005–06 data from the NCES, and uses the same ethnic group descriptions as the NCES.)





About 25% of California’s students are English learners (ELs), compared with almost 9% nationally. Most of California’s English learners (85%) speak Spanish. The next most common language is Vietnamese, spoken by about 2% of ELs. English learners in California speak more than 50 different languages. Texas has the second highest percentage of English learners among the five most populous states, but Nevada has the second highest percentage of English learners among all states.

Nearly half of California students (49%) are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals, compared to about 43% nationally. Students receiving Special Education services consistently make up almost 11% of the school population in California, less than the national average of 14% and the lowest among the five most populous states.

English Learners, Low-income Students, and Special Education Students
in the Five Largest States and in the United States, 2005-06

  Percentage of students identified as English learners Percentage of students identified as low income (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch Percentage of students identified as Special Education (those with an Individual Education Program or IEP)
California 25.1% 49.0% 10.8%
Texas 16.5% 50.5% 11.9%
New York 7.3% 47.2% 13.9%
Florida 8.4% 46.6% 15.2%
Illinois N/A 38.5% 15.8%
United States 8.8% 42.6% 14.0%

Data: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Note: Percentages are based on the total K-12 graded enrollment reported for the states. English learner data for Illinois were not available from the NCES.


Enrollment
 
California has more residents—and students—than any other state. California has nearly 2 million more students than Texas, the next largest state, and nearly three times as many students as Illinois, the fifth largest state.

  NCES Enrollment, 2005-06
(K-12 graded students only)
California 6,259,972
Texas 4,317,427
New York 2,668,050
Florida 2,627,784
Illinois 2,039,114
United States 47,751,099

Data: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

However, K–12 enrollment growth trends and projections in California differ significantly from the other large states, according to data used in the NCES report, Projections of Education Statistics to 2016.

Although Texas and Florida are expected to have continuous and rapid enrollment growth, enrollment in California is projected to dip slightly in 2008 and 2009 before increasing again in 2010. According to NCES, between 1998 and 2016, enrollment in California will increase by about 14%. In Texas and Florida, however, enrollment will increase by about 41% and 39%, respectively, over the same time period. Enrollment in New York is projected to decline.

This represents a significant change for California. Between 1998 and 2004, California’s enrollment increases were roughly proportional to those of Florida and Texas, and higher than that of the United States. However, between 1998 and 2016, California’s enrollment is projected to increase at less than half the rate of increases expected in Texas and Florida.




Data: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Note: Because Ed-Data examined only K-12 enrollment projections from NCES, the numbers presented here differ from the Pre-K–12 and primary and secondary school projections available in the NCES report, Projections of Education Statistics to 2016. In addition, the numbers differ slightly from the latest projections from the California Department of Finance. However, the NCES numbers allow for state and national comparisons. The NCES enrollment projection data set is based on reported enrollment through 2004 and projected enrollment from 2005–2016.


Resources
 
Although California’s demographics present unique challenges to educating its students, the state is also one of the nation’s wealthiest. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), if California were a nation, its gross state product of over $1.6 trillion in 2005 would have made it the world’s eighth largest economy. Texas has the second largest state economy, which is only about 60 percent the size of California’s. However, coupled with these vast resources is a cost of living that is higher than in many other parts of the country. (This section uses data from the National Education Association’s annual publication Rankings and Estimates.)

Capacity

At $35,172 per capita personal income (the aggregate income from all sources divided by the number of persons residing in a state), California ranked 12th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2004. However, the traditional measure of a state’s capacity to support K–12 public education is the state’s total personal income divided by the number of K–12 public school students. Because California has a higher proportion of young people compared with most other states (ranking fifth in the percentage of residents under 18 in 2004), the state is slightly below average in its capacity by this calculation. In 2004 it ranked 22nd, a little more than $1,200 below the national average of $201,678. (More recent numbers are not yet available.)

California's Capacity to Support Schools, 2004

  California U.S. Average CA Compared to the U.S. Average California has more personal income per resident than the U.S. average; it also has a higher proportion of children, resulting in slightly lower than average personal income per student in 2004.
Personal income per resident $35,172 $33,041 6.1% ($2,131)
Proportion of population under 18 26.8% 25.0% 1.8%
Personal income per student $200,429 $201,678 0.6% ($1,249)

Data: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates 2006-07.


Effort: Overall Spending
A state’s effort toward supporting K–12 public education can be measured several different ways. One way is by the amount it actually spends on schools per $1,000 in personal income. California’s investment in 2003–04 was $38 per $1,000 in personal income, three dollars below the national average, for a ranking of 33rd. The state was second to last among the five largest states, a position it has held in three of the last five years for which data are available (1999–2004); California was also below the U.S. average each of those five years.



A second measure of effort is public school revenue per $1,000 in personal income. When this yardstick is used, California ranked below the national average in three of the five years between 1999 and 2004.

Public School Revenue per $1,000 in Personal Income

  California (Rank) U.S. Average
2003-04 $46 (26) $47
2002-03 $49 (18) $48
2001-02 $46 (28) $47
2000-01 $42 (24) $42
1999-00 $41 (36) $44

Data: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates.

Note: Revised figures used for 1999-2003.

A third measure of effort is expenditure per capita, which is the amount a state spends on its schools divided by the number of people in the state. By this measure, California has been above average since 2001–02, ranking tenth in the nation in 2003–04. This ranking represents an improvement since the turn of the century. For more than 20 years prior to 2001–02, California was consistently below the national average in per capita expenditures on K–12 schools.

This above-average per capita expenditure for K–12 schools does not translate into above-average expenditures per student in part because California has such a high proportion of children to adults compared to other states. In other words, even though California spends more than the national average per capita on K–12 schools, the spending is spread over more students than in other states.

Although the state’s spending on education is above the national average (by 7% for K–12 and 4% for higher education), California spends more than 20% above the average in corrections, police and fire, and health and hospitals.




Effort: Per-Pupil Expenditures
Perhaps the most salient measure of a state’s effort is how much it spends per pupil. California remains below the national average in per-pupil expenditures, ranking 29th in 2005–06, according to the National Education Association (NEA) Rankings & Estimates 2006–07. At $8,486, California was at 93% of the national average and ranked in the middle of the five most populous states.

Expenditures per K–12 Pupil in Fall Enrollment for California
Over the Last 10 Years

  California Rank U.S Average
2005–06 $8,486 29 $9,100
2004–05 $7,935 30 $8,717
2003–04 $7,745 27 $8,340
2002–03 $7,580 26 $8,065
2001–02 $7,055 31 $7,532
2000–01 $7,018 24 $7,296
1999–00 $6,333 27 $6,824
1998–99 $5,666 36 $6,455
1997–98 $5,580 31 $6,174
1996–97 $5,191 36 $5,949

Data: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates.

Expenditures per K–12 Pupil in Fall Enrollment
for the Five Largest States, 2005-06

  Expenditures per K-12 pupil in fall enrollment, 2005-06 Rank Percentage of national average
California $8,486 29 93.3%
Texas $7,547 44 82.9%
New York $13,551 3 148.9%
Florida $7,762 41 85.3%
Illinois $9,456 21 103.9%
United States $9,100    

Data: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates 2006-07.


Effort: Salaries and Staffing Ratios
California’s average teacher salary—$59,825 in 2005–06—is higher than that of any other state. However, the relatively high cost of living in California is a contributing factor. In comparisons of teacher salaries among states, both the cost of living in each state and the seniority of the workforce play a role. The American Federation of Teachers looked at average teacher salaries in 2000–01 and determined that when cost-of-living factors were taken into account, California ranked 16th in the nation.

Average Teacher Salary
in the Five Largest States, 2005-06

California $59,825
Illinois $58,686
New York $57,354
United States $49,026
Florida $43,302
Texas $41,744

Data: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates 2006-07

A more recent 2005 analysis of elementary school teacher pay in 50 major metropolitan areas by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) provides further perspective. NCPA found that although elementary school teachers in San Francisco rank 2nd among the 50 areas with an unadjusted average salary of $59,284, the salary falls to $32,663 when adjusted for the cost of living, and San Francisco falls to 49th. Similarly, Los Angeles elementary school teachers’ average salary ranked 4th before a cost-of-living adjustment, and 48th after. Findings for secondary school teachers were similar. (NCPA determined metropolitan areas’ cost of living by using the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association Cost of Living Index, and determined average teacher salaries using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates report.)

Although California has the highest average teacher salary, the total amount California spends on teacher salaries per pupil is below the U.S. average. This is largely because other states have fewer students per teacher. California spends $2,847 per pupil on teacher salaries, and New York spends $4,663.



California ranked next to last among states on the ratio of total school staff to students in 2005–06, according to the NCES. The state had only 72% as many school staff members as the average state. With respect to school and district leadership, California had 0.4 district officials and administrators per 1,000 students that year. That was considerably lower than the U.S. average of 1.3 per 1,000 students, and lower still than the average of 1.8 per 1,000 students in Texas and Illinois. California had only 33% as many district officials/administrators as the national average and only 63% as many school principals and assistant principals.

With respect to teachers, California ranked 49th, with 75% as many as the national average. California ranked 51st—last—on guidance counselors and librarians. The state had only 1.1 guidance counselors per 1,000 students, compared with an average of 2.1 nationally, and only 0.2 librarians per 1,000 students, compared to 1.1 nationally.
Staff per 1,000 Pupils in 2005–06
  New York Texas Illinois U.S. Average Florida California California's Rank % National Average
Total Staff 132.7 137.1 125.4 124.7 117.5 90.0 50 72%
Total District Staff* 8.6 2.9 5.7 5.7 6.6 5.0 35 88%
Officials and Administrators 1.1 1.8 1.8 1.3 0.7 0.4 47 33%
School Staff* 103.8 99.7 96.0 95.2 87.0 70.0 51 74%
Principals/Asst. Principals 3.1 7.0 3.1 3.4 2.7 2.2 49 63%
Teachers 77.8 66.8 63.4 63.9 59.4 48.0 49 75%
Guidance Counselors 2.4 2.3 1.5 2.1 2.1 1.1 51 52%
Librarians 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.2 51 17%
Total Certified School Staff 84.5 77.2 69.0 70.5 65.3 51.5 49 73%

Data: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2005–06.

Note: The District of Columbia is included with the 50 states. NCES includes pre-K public school students and their teachers in these data. NCES estimated that there were 125,099 pre-K students and 8,850 pre-K teachers in California in 2005–06.

* District and school totals include classified staff.

In 2005–06 California’s pupil-teacher ratio ranked 49th in the nation, with a larger pupil-teacher ratio (21.0 to 1) than any other states except for Arizona and Utah, according to the NEA. (Note that student-teacher ratios are not synonymous with class size. The ratios are calculated by dividing the total enrollment by the number of full-time equivalent teachers, even though not all teachers are classroom teachers.)

Students Enrolled per Teacher and Per Student Expenditures
for the 50 States and D.C.

  Students Enrolled Per Teacher in Public K–12 Schools, Fall 2005 Rank Per Student Expenditures, Fall Enrollment, 2005–06 Rank
Alabama 14.9 26 $7,706 42
Alaska 16.7 41 $10,171 13
Arizona 21.8 51 $5,585 50
Arkansas 13.5 12 $8,402 30
California 21.0 49 $8,486 29
Colorado 17.0 43 $8,861 24
Connecticut 13.5 13 $12,436 6
Delaware 15.6 34 $12,036 7
District of Columbia 12.4 4 $15,508 1
Florida 16.4 40 $7,762 41
Georgia 14.8 24 $8,534 27
Hawaii 16.0 37 $9,879 18
Idaho 18.0 45 $7,042 46
Illinois 16.0 38 $9,456 21
Indiana 17.1 44 $8,935 23
Iowa 13.7 17 $7,807 40
Kansas 14.4 20 $8,373 32
Kentucky 15.9 36 $8,300 34
Louisiana 14.8 25 $8,519 28
Maine 12.5 5 $11,285 9
Maryland 14.9 27 $9,771 19
Massachusetts 13.2 9 $12,596 4
Michigan 16.8 42 $9,880 17
Minnesota 16.3 39 $9,675 20
Mississippi 15.4 32 $7,215 45
Missouri 13.6 15 $7,840 38
Montana 14.1 18 $8,361 33
Nebraska 13.6 16 $7,900 37
Nevada 19.0 46 $6,755 49
New Hampshire 13.3 11 $10,206 12
New Jersey 12.6 6 $13,781 2
New Mexico 14.9 28 $8,622 26
New York 12.3 3 $13,551 3
North Carolina 14.6 21 $7,675 43
North Dakota 12.8 8 $7,807 39
Ohio 15.6 35 $10,034 14
Oklahoma 15.2 31 $6,944 48
Oregon 19.8 48 $8,649 25
Pennsylvania 15.0 30 $10,711 11
Rhode Island 11.1 2 $11,089 10
South Carolina 14.6 22 $8,377 31
South Dakota 13.5 14 $7,911 36
Tennessee 15.5 33 $6,979 47
Texas 14.9 29 $7,547 44
Utah 21.3 50 $5,347 51
Vermont 10.5 1 $12,475 5
Virginia 13.2 10 $9,275 22
Washington 19.3 47 $7,958 35
West Virginia 14.1 19 $9,886 16
Wisconsin 14.7 23 $9,965 15
Wyoming 12.6 7 $11,596 8
U.S. Average 15.6   $9,100  

Data: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates 2006–07.


Implications
 
Comparing California with other states has some inherent difficulties. The data are not always consistent from one state to another. Differences can occur in what numbers are collected, how they are collected, and variations in their interpretations and reporting. States are dramatically different in size, ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics, cost of living, and in how they set policy, fund public education, and govern their schools. Teachers’ salaries can reflect the changing characteristics of the workforce over time, particularly the addition of new teachers. In addition, averages and aggregates, while often illuminating, can mask variations that are informative and important to the accuracy of the picture they paint.

Still, in the absence of a robust data system capable of tracking inputs and outputs, comparison data offer valuable information to California’s citizens: California schools are attempting to educate the most diverse and challenging school population in the country and doing it with substantially fewer human resources than almost any other state. The state has the most students, a diverse group of students, more English learners than any other state, and substantial numbers of students from low-income backgrounds. It will also soon again face increasing enrollment. At the same time, the state has fewer school staff per pupil than all other states and spends less than the national average per pupil.

These conditions and comparisons provide important context for understanding the state’s public school system, its performance, and its challenges.


Education Data Partnership
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All contents copyright © 2010, Education Data Partnership.
All rights reserved. Revised February 09, 2010.
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