Section 5. Elementary and Secondary Teachers: Pupil/Teacher Ratios
About pupil/teacher ratios
The overall elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratio and
pupil/teacher ratios for public and private schools were computed
based on elementary and secondary enrollment and the number
of classroom teachers by control of school.
Figure J. Actual and middle alternative projected numbers for the pupil/teacher ratio in elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1990–2015
SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, The NCES Common Core of Data
surveys, various years; Private School Universe Survey, various years; and
Elementary and Secondary Teacher Model. (See reference table 33.)
Total elementary and secondary teachers
The pupil/teacher ratio in elementary and secondary schools (figure J; table 33)
- decreased from 16.9 to 16.0 between 1990 and 2003; and
- is projected to be 14.6 in 2015 in the middle alternative projections.
Figure K. Actual and middle alternative projected numbers for the pupil/teacher ratio in elementary and secondary schools, by control of school: Selected years, 1990–2015
SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, The NCES Common Core of Data
surveys, various years; Private School Universe Survey, various years; and
Elementary and Secondary Teacher Model. (See reference table 33.)
Public school teachers
The pupil/teacher ratio in public elementary and secondary schools (figure K; reference figure 30 and table 33)
- decreased from 17.2 to 15.9 between 1990 and 2003; and
- is projected to be 14.4 in 2015 in the middle alternative projections.
Private school teachers
The pupil/teacher ratio in private elementary and secondary schools (figure K; reference figure 30 and table 33)
- increased from 14.7 to 16.3 between 1990 and 2003; and
- is projected to be 16.3 in 2015 in the middle alternative projections.
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William J. Hussar
