Youth Indicators 1996 / Indicator 30, Chart 1

Indicator 30. Pupil/Teacher Ratios and Expenditures per Student

Pupil/teacher ratios and expenditures per student in average daily attendance in public elementary and secondary schools: 1955-56 to 1995-96

NOTE: Expenditures per student not available for 1960-61.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 1995.

Between 1955 and 1988, the pupil/teacher ratio declined, from 27 to 17, but there have been only small changes since then. Partially as a result of the lower pupil/teacher ratio, per pupil expenditures in public elementary and secondary schools increased substantially. Between 1980-81 and 1990-91, expenditures per student (after adjustment for inflation) rose 36 percent, but showed only a small increase from 1990-91 to 1995-96.