Staff-Per-Pupil Ratios in California 2008-09
In 2008–09, California ranked 36th in the country in per-pupil expenditures. The state’s modest per-pupil expenditures combined with high labor costs (for example, average teacher salaries in California were the third highest in the country in 2008–09) result in schools not being able to hire as many people.
Ratio of Staff to 1,000 Pupils by Position, Fall 2008-09
| California Rank in U.S. | U.S. Ratio | California Ratio | % of U.S. Ratio |
Total Staff to Students | 49
| 128.4
| 93.3
| 73%
|
All Professional (certified) Staff to Students | 50 | 73.2 | 52.4 | 72% |
Total District Staff (including classified staff) | 36 | 6.6 | 5.5 | 83% |
District Officials/Administrators Only | 45 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 50%* |
Total School Staff (including classified staff) | 49 | 97.8 | 71.3 | 73% |
Certified School Staff Only | 50 | 73.7 | 54.6 | 74% |
School Principals & Asst. Principals | 48 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 71% |
Guidance Counselors | 51 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 56% |
Librarians | 51 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 17% |
All Teachers | 50 | 65.4† | 48.0† | 73% |
Elementary Teachers (grades 1-8) | 34 | 52.1 | 48.3 | 93% |
Secondary Teachers (grades 9-12) | 51 | 82.9 | 43.8 | 53% |
† These numbers translate into a student/teacher ratio of 20.8 students to 1 teacher for California and 15.3 to 1 for the entire United States. Only Utah has a higher student/teacher ratio than California.
Notes: (1) The District of Columbia is included. (2) The numbers in this table are based on fall enrollment data and include pre-K public school students and their teachers. NCES estimated that there were 70,497 pre-K students and 3,749 pre-K teachers in California in 2008–09. If the pre-K students and teachers are not included, California’s student/teacher ratio is still 20.8. (3) The “total staff to students” row includes all district and school staff plus those who fall under the NCES category “All Other Support Staff.”
DATA: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2008–09, 1/24/11
