Number of Teachers, Number of Students, and Pupil-Teacher Ratio, 1870-2010
| Data for public elementary and secondary schools. Data for 1955 and later are from Digest of Education Statistics, 2001. Teacher data from 1870-1950 includes nonsupervisory staff, such as librarians and guidance staff. | |||
| Number of Teachers (000) | Number of Students Enrolled (000) | Pupil-Teacher Ratio | |
| 1870 | 201 | 6,872 | 34.2 |
| 1875 | 258 | 8,786 | 34.1 |
| 1880 | 287 | 9,868 | 34.4 |
| 1885 | 326 | 11,398 | 34.9 |
| 1890 | 364 | 12,723 | 35.0 |
| 1895 | 398 | 14,244 | 35.8 |
| 1900 | 423 | 15,503 | 36.7 |
| 1905 | 460 | 16,468 | 35.8 |
| 1910 | 523 | 17,814 | 34.1 |
| 1915 | 604 | 19,705 | 32.6 |
| 1920 | 680 | 21,578 | 31.7 |
| 1926 | 814 | 24,741 | 30.4 |
| 1930 | 854 | 25,678 | 30.1 |
| 1936 | 871 | 26,367 | 30.3 |
| 1940 | 875 | 25,434 | 29.1 |
| 1946 | 831 | 23,300 | 28.0 |
| 1950 | 914 | 25,111 | 27.5 |
| 1955 | 1,141 | 30,680 | 26.9 |
| 1960 | 1,408 | 36,281 | 25.8 |
| 1965 | 1,710 | 42,173 | 24.7 |
| 1970 | 2,059 | 45,894 | 22.3 |
| 1975 | 2,198 | 44,819 | 20.4 |
| 1980 | 2,184 | 40,877 | 18.7 |
| 1985 | 2,206 | 39,422 | 17.9 |
| 1990 | 2,398 | 41,217 | 17.2 |
| 1995 | 2,598 | 44,840 | 17.3 |
| 2000 est. | 2,953 | 47,160 | 16.0 |
[Continued]
Number of Teachers, Number of Students, and Pupil-Teacher Ratio, 1870-2010 [Continued]
| Number of Teachers (000) | Number of Students Enrolled (000) | Pupil-Teacher Ratio | |
| 2005 proj. | 3,142 | 47,536 | 15.1 |
| 2010 proj. | 3,192 | 47,131 | 14.8 |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics, 2001. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Projections of Education Statistics to 2011. Notes: est. stands for estimated. proj. stands for projected. | |||
Number of Teachers by Gender
| Data prior to 1961 include all nonsupervisory instructional staff and librarians. | ||||
| Number | Percentage | |||
| Female | Male | Female | Male | |
| 1870 | 123 | 78 | 61.3 | 38.7 |
| 1880 | 164 | 123 | 57.2 | 42.8 |
| 1890 | 238 | 126 | 65.5 | 34.5 |
| 1900 | 296 | 127 | 70.1 | 29.9 |
| 1910 | 413 | 110 | 78.9 | 21.1 |
| 1920 | 585 | 93 | 85.9 | 14.1 |
| 1930 | 703 | 140 | 83.4 | 16.6 |
| 1940 | 681 | 195 | 77.8 | 22.2 |
| 1950 | 724 | 196 | 78.7 | 21.3 |
| 1961 | 967 | 441 | 68.7 | 31.3 |
| 1966 | 1,178 | 532 | 68.9 | 31.1 |
| 1971 | 1,350 | 705 | 65.7 | 34.3 |
| 1976 | 1,474 | 722 | 67.1 | 32.9 |
| 1981 | 1,462 | 723 | 66.9 | 33.1 |
| 1986 | 1,518 | 688 | 68.8 | 31.2 |
| 1991 | 1,729 | 669 | 72.1 | 27.9 |
| 1996 | 1,610 | 554 | 74.4 | 25.6 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics, 1996 and 2001. | ||||
Highest Degree Held by Public School Teachers, 1961-1996
| Numbers in thousands. Figures based on number of public school teachers surveyed. | ||||||||
| 1961 | 1966 | 1971 | 1976 | 1981 | 1986 | 1991 | 1996 | |
| Less than bachelor's degree | 205.6 | 119.7 | 59.6 | 19.8 | 8.7 | 6.6 | 14.4 | 6.5 |
| Bachelor's degree | 871.6 | 1,190.1 | 1,430.3 | 1,352.7 | 1,094.7 | 1,065.5 | 1,110.3 | 943.5 |
| Master's or specialist degree | 325.2 | 396.7 | 556.9 | 814.7 | 1,077.2 | 1,118.4 | 1,261.3 | 1,179.4 |
| Doctor's degree | 5.6 | 1.7 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 6.6 | 15.4 | 12.0 | 36.8 |
| Total no. of teachers surveyed | 1,408.0 | 1,710.0 | 2,055.0 | 2,196.0 | 2,185.0 | 2,206.0 | 2,398.0 | 2,164.0 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics, 2001. | ||||||||
Teacher Certification, School Year 2000
| Teachers Who are Not Certified (%) | Average Number of Students Being Taught by Non-Certified Teachers (000) | Total Number of Teachers | Number of Teachers Not Certified | |
| Total | 6.2 | 2,921 | 2,948,444 | 182,566 |
| High-poverty districts | 8.8 | 997 | 709,366 | 62,308 |
| Elementary ed. | 4.7 | 833 | 1,101,739 | 52,047 |
| Bilingual ed./ESL — all levels | 5.2 | 179 | 217,302 | 11,204 |
| Special ed. — all levels | 9.1 | 560 | 384,899 | 35,013 |
| English/lang. arts — secondary | 4.8 | 211 | 273,381 | 13,217 |
| Mathematics — secondary | 5.7 | 182 | 198,421 | 11,387 |
| Science — secondary | 7.3 | 198 | 170,011 | 12,350 |
| Social studies — secondary | 4.8 | 144 | 188,960 | 9,031 |
| Source: "Title II State Report 2001—Waivers," all states and Washington D.C.. Retrieved May 9, 2002 from http://www.title2.org. | ||||
Projected Number of Job Openings and Projected Number of Graduates to Fill Them, 2000-2010
| Job Openings, 2000-2010 | Number of Degrees Conferred, 2000-2010 | Number of Graduates Still in the Teaching Profession After 1 Year | |
| Elementary education | 551,000 | 601,022 | 516,578 |
| Secondary education (including middle school) | 676,000 | 616,590 | 529,959 |
| Special education | 197,000 | 213,422 | 183,436 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics, 1996-2001 editions. Daniel E. Hecker. "Occupational employment projections to 2010." Monthly Labor Review, November 2001. | |||
Top Reasons for Teacher Dissatisfaction, 1993-1994
| Data are in percent. | |||
| All Schools | Urban, High-Poverty Public Schools | Small, Private Schools | |
| Poor salary | 45 | 46 | 73 |
| Lack of student motivation | 38 | 50 | 14 |
| Student discipline problems | 30 | 27 | 12 |
| Inadequate administrative support | 30 | 18 | 34 |
| Inadequate time to prepare | 23 | 8 | 18 |
| Unsafe environment | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| Poor opportunity for advancement | 10 | 24 | 9 |
| Class size too large | 13 | 7 | 13 |
| Source: Ingersoll, Richard M. Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. University of Washington. Teacher Turnover, Teacher Shortages, and the Organization of Schools, January 2001. | |||
Average Teacher Salaries Compared to All Workers and All Government Workers, 1956-2000
| Teachers | All Workers | All Government Workers | |
| 1956 | 25,564 | 25,535 | 24,112 |
| 1958 | 27,521 | 26,311 | 26,028 |
| 1960 | 29,165 | 27,663 | 27,272 |
| 1962 | 31,566 | 28,958 | 28,546 |
| 1964 | 33,434 | 30,655 | 30,572 |
| 1966 | 34,298 | 31,522 | 31,369 |
| 1968 | 36,383 | 32,592 | 32,886 |
| 1970 | 37,751 | 33,031 | 34,983 |
| 1972 | 39,733 | 35,210 | 38,556 |
| 1974 | 36,134 | 33,451 | 35,625 |
| 1976 | 37,643 | 34,701 | 36,337 |
| 1978 | 36,514 | 34,073 | 35,320 |
| 1980 | 32,461 | 31,790 | 32,100 |
| 1982 | 33,775 | 32,923 | 33,671 |
| 1984 | 36,310 | 33,249 | 34,630 |
| 1986 | 39,776 | 34,542 | 36,587 |
| 1988 | 40,534 | 34,725 | 36,315 |
| 1990 | 40,765 | 34,015 | 36,038 |
| 1992 | 41,602 | 35,176 | 37,586 |
| 1994 | 41,569 | 34,893 | 38,265 |
| 1996 | 41,211 | 35,067 | 38,370 |
[Continued]
Average Teacher Salaries Compared to All Workers and All Government Workers, 1956-2000 [Continued]
| Teachers | All Workers | All Government Workers | |
| 1998 | 41,760 | 37,170 | 39,497 |
| 2000 | 41,820 | 38,074 | 39,772 |
| Source: Nelson, F. Howard. The Research & Information Services Department. American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. Survey & Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends 2000. | |||
Average Class Size and Pupil-Teacher Ratio, 1987-2000
| Ideal class size is 17. | ||||
| 1987-1988 | 1990-1991 | 1993-1994 | 1999-2000 | |
| Class size, public | 24.2 | 23.4 | 23.9 | 22.3 |
| Class size, private | 20.9 | 19.8 | 20.4 | 18.9 |
| Pupil-teacher ratio, public | 17.3 | 17.3 | 17.3 | 16.0 |
| Pupil-teacher ratio, private | 15.2 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.9 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. The Condition of Education, 1997 and 2002 editions. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics, 2001. | ||||
Top Serious Problems in Schools According to Teachers, 1993-1994
| Data in percentage. | ||
| Public | Private | |
| Students come unprepared to learn | 28.8 | 4.1 |
| Lack of parental involvement | 27.6 | 4.0 |
| Student apathy | 23.6 | 4.5 |
| Poverty | 19.5 | 2.7 |
| Student disrespect for teachers | 18.5 | 3.4 |
| Student use of alcohol | 9.3 | 3.1 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Educational Statistics, 2001. | ||
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Achievement for 4th Graders, 1992-2000
| Percentage of students at reading level. | ||||
| Below Basic | Basic | Proficient | Advanced | |
| 1992 | 38 | 34 | 22 | 6 |
| 1994 | 40 | 31 | 22 | 7 |
| 1998 | 38 | 32 | 24 | 7 |
| 2000 | 37 | 31 | 24 | 8 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U. S. Department of Education. The Nation's Report Card: Fourth Grade Reading Highlights 2000, 2001. | ||||
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Mathematics Achievement for 12th Graders, 1990-2000
| Percentage of students at reading level. | ||||
| Below Basic | Basic | Proficient | Advanced | |
| 1990 | 42 | 46 | 10 | 1 |
| 1992 | 36 | 49 | 13 | 2 |
| 1996 | 31 | 53 | 14 | 2 |
| 2000 | 35 | 48 | 14 | 2 |
| Source: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. "The Nation's Report Card: National Mathematics Achievement-Level Results, Grade 12: 1990-2000." Retrieved June 11, 2002 from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/results/natachieve-g12-pf.asp. | ||||
Percentage of High School Students Who Agree With the Following Statements, 1998
| 1998 | |
| It's important for me to be a person with good character | 97.1 |
| I am satisfied with my own ethics and character | 90.8 |
| Within the last year, I lied to a parent | 92.1 |
| Within the last year, I lied to a teacher | 81.8 |
| Within the last year, I cheated on a test in school | 70.2 |
| Stolen something from parents and relatives | 31.1 |
| Stolen something from a store | 47.1 |
| Within the last year, I hit a person because I was angry | 69.7 |
| Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics. 1998 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, October 1998. | |
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