Table 208.10.

Public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios, by selected school characteristics: Fall 2010 through fall 2021

Selected school characteristic	20101	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	20192	20203	20214
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
All schools	16.4	16.3	16.4	16.3	16.2	16.2	16.2	16.1	16.1	15.9	15.5	15.4
Enrollment size of school
Under 300	12.9	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.1	12.1
300 to 499	15.4	15.4	15.5	15.4	15.3	15.3	15.2	15.2	15.1	14.9	14.3	14.3
500 to 999	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.4	16.4	16.3	15.7	15.6
1,000 to 1,499	17.3	17.1	17.1	17.1	16.9	16.9	17.0	16.8	17.0	16.8	16.6	16.5
1,500 or more	19.5	19.0	19.0	19.1	19.0	19.0	18.9	18.8	18.8	18.6	19.1	18.6
Type
Regular schools	16.5	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.3	16.3	16.3	16.2	16.2	16.1	15.6	15.5
Alternative	14.8	14.7	14.8	14.3	14.5	14.4	14.4	13.9	14.0	14.4	14.2	14.9
Special education	6.9	7.1	7.2	6.6	7.0	7.4	7.2	7.3	7.3	6.3	5.9	5.9
Vocational	11.7	11.8	11.6	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.8	11.7	12.0	11.9	11.0	10.8
Percent of students eligible for free or    reduced-price lunch5
25 percent or less	16.8	16.9	16.5	16.5	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.2	16.4	16.3	15.7	15.7
26 percent to 50 percent	16.5	16.2	16.4	16.3	16.2	16.2	16.1	16.0	16.2	16.0	15.5	15.3
51 percent to 75 percent	16.2	15.8	16.2	16.1	16.0	16.0	15.9	15.9	15.9	15.8	15.4	15.3
More than 75 percent	16.0	15.5	16.3	16.5	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.2	16.1	15.9	15.4	15.0
Level and size
Prekindergarten	18.8	19.3	18.4	15.9	17.5	18.3	18.1	18.3	18.5	18.1	13.7	15.3
Elementary schools	16.4	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.2	16.1	16.1	16.0	16.0	15.8	14.9	15.0
Regular	16.4	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.2	16.2	16.1	16.0	16.0	15.8	14.9	15.0
Under 300	14.0	13.9	14.0	13.9	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.6	13.4	12.7	12.8
300 to 499	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.6	15.5	15.5	15.4	15.3	15.2	14.4	14.5
500 to 999	17.2	17.3	17.3	17.3	17.0	17.0	17.0	16.8	16.9	16.7	15.9	16.0
1,000 to 1,499	17.8	17.8	18.0	18.0	17.5	17.3	17.3	17.2	17.3	17.2	16.7	16.7
1,500 or more	17.3	17.5	17.4	18.1	17.7	17.8	17.8	16.4	15.8	15.9	21.3	19.6
Middle schools	16.2	16.1	16.1	16.1	16.0	15.9	15.9	16.0	16.1	16.0	15.6	15.2
Regular	16.2	16.1	16.1	16.1	16.0	15.9	15.9	16.0	16.2	16.0	15.6	15.2
Under 300	13.7	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.6	13.6	13.5	13.7	13.7	13.5	13.1	12.9
300 to 499	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	15.0	14.6	14.4	14.0
500 to 999	16.2	16.1	16.1	16.1	16.0	15.9	15.9	15.9	16.1	16.0	15.7	15.3
1,000 to 1,499	18.1	17.8	17.8	17.8	17.5	17.5	17.5	17.5	17.7	17.5	17.0	16.7
1,500 or more	19.9	19.4	19.3	19.4	19.3	19.1	19.0	18.6	19.1	18.5	18.9	17.5
Secondary and high schools	16.7	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.4	16.4	16.2	16.3	16.1
Regular	16.9	16.6	16.6	16.6	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.6	16.6	16.4	16.5	16.3
Under 300	12.1	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.7	11.9	12.1	11.9	11.9	11.6	11.6	11.5
300 to 499	14.6	14.5	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.6	14.5	14.4	14.3	13.9	13.9	13.7
500 to 999	15.5	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.4	15.5	15.5	15.5	15.4	15.1	15.3	15.1
1,000 to 1,499	16.7	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.4	16.5	16.2	16.3	16.3
1,500 or more	19.3	18.8	18.9	18.9	18.9	18.8	18.7	18.6	18.7	18.5	18.7	18.4
Other, ungraded, and not applicable/not      reported	14.7	14.3	14.5	14.3	14.1	15.2	15.1	15.0	15.3	14.9	15.9	15.2
Regular	17.0	16.3	16.6	16.9	16.0	17.0	17.0	17.0	17.0	16.8	18.1	16.8
Under 300	10.9	11.0	11.3	11.0	10.8	11.1	11.4	11.0	11.1	11.0	11.1	11.1
300 to 499	14.9	14.3	14.2	14.5	14.5	14.7	15.4	14.8	14.6	14.2	14.5	14.7
500 to 999	16.7	15.9	16.1	15.9	15.4	16.4	16.5	16.6	16.5	16.4	16.8	15.0
1,000 to 1,499	18.9	17.9	17.4	17.6	17.5	17.7	17.5	16.8	17.2	17.5	18.2	17.7
1,500 or more	27.8	26.0	25.2	26.2	22.0	25.2	23.8	23.7	22.9	22.4	24.6	22.5
Level, type, and percent of students eligible    for free or reduced-price lunch5
Elementary, regular
25 percent or less	17.1	16.9	16.8	16.7	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.2	16.3	16.2	14.9	15.2
26 to 50 percent	16.5	16.4	16.5	16.4	16.1	16.1	15.9	15.8	15.8	15.7	14.7	14.8
51 to 75 percent	16.0	15.9	16.2	16.1	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.6	15.6	15.5	14.7	14.8
More than 75 percent	16.2	15.8	16.6	16.7	16.6	16.5	16.4	16.3	16.2	16.0	15.2	14.9
Middle, regular
25 percent or less	16.1	16.1	15.9	15.9	15.8	16.0	15.9	15.7	15.9	15.7	15.3	15.3
26 to 50 percent	16.5	16.2	16.4	16.2	16.1	16.2	16.0	16.1	16.3	16.1	15.7	15.2
51 to 75 percent	16.1	15.8	16.0	16.0	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.9	16.1	16.0	15.6	15.2
More than 75 percent	16.1	15.4	16.2	16.3	16.2	16.1	16.1	16.2	16.3	16.2	15.7	14.8
Secondary and high, regular
25 percent or less	17.1	17.3	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.9	16.8	16.5	16.7	16.6	16.7	16.6
26 to 50 percent	16.8	16.3	16.5	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.4	16.6	16.3	16.3	16.1
51 to 75 percent	17.2	16.1	16.7	16.7	16.9	16.9	16.8	16.8	16.7	16.4	16.6	16.4
More than 75 percent	16.5	15.5	16.4	16.8	16.8	17.0	17.1	16.8	16.5	16.2	16.5	15.8

1Includes imputations for California and Wyoming.

2Includes imputations for California.

3Teacher data are missing for Illinois and Utah for 2020-21.

4Teacher data are missing for Nevada for 2021-22.

5The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program. To be eligible for free lunch under the program, a student must be from a household with an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty threshold; to be eligible for reduced-price lunch, a student must be from a household with an income between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty threshold. The free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) counts show large shifts in the last several years in some states. These changes were due to (1) the Seamless Summer Option, which allowed schools to provide meals to all students, regardless of demonstrated need beginning October 1, 2020, and (2) the shift away from in-person instruction (particularly for school year 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic), which may have caused a decrease in the number of students applying for FRPL because they were not present to apply for it. For 2020-21, data are missing for Alaska, Illinois, and Virginia; for 2021-22, data are missing for Alaska.

NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes only schools that reported both enrollment and teacher data. Ratios are based on data reported by schools and may differ from data reported in other tables that reflect aggregate totals reported by states. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2010-11 through 2021-22. (This table was prepared February 2023.)