Oregon schools pack in more students per teacher than any state except California, new report says
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| Member of an honors biology class composed of 37 freshmen prepare to head out for a field study. Oregon schools pack in more students per teacher than any state but California, a new report says, and classes this large or nearly so have become common in Portland-area high schools. (Faith Cathcart / The Oregonian) |
Oregon schools enrolled 21.8 students for every teacher in fall 2012, worse than all other states except California, according to the latest school statistics and rankings compiled by the National Education Association.
For many years, Oregon has ranked third- or fourth-worst among states when it comes to student-teacher ratios. But the new NEA rankings estimate that Oregon has surpassed Utah to make its teachers second-most-overloaded among states.
The Oregonian has covered the issue of class sizes and student-teacher ratiosin several recent articles.
Several factors help explain why Oregon schools are so jam-packed with students and light on teachers.
- Oregon funds schools with less money per student than the national average (about $11,600 per student in 2012-13 compared with about $12,200 nationally, these NEA estimates say). The national teachers union's researchers estimate Oregon's spending was 5 percent below the national average.
- Oregon pays its teachers more than the national average: $57,600 on average, compared with the national average teacher pay of $56,100, the NEA says. That Oregon schools pack in more students per teacher than any state except California, new report says | OregonLive.com: