The animated “bar chart race” visualization above is an updated version of several previous versions featured on CD over the last several years and shows the growth over nearly the last 50 years in (a) the number of students enrolled in public schools (K-12), (b) the number of public school teachers, (c) the number of non-teaching public school staff (administrators, principals, assistant principals, support staff, librarians, guidance counselors, and instructional aides), and (d) the inflation-adjusted cost of public school education per pupil, all from 1970 to 2018. All of the figures shown in the animated chart are the percentages of 1970 values. Here are some observations:

1. From 1970 to the mid-1980s, public school enrollment decreased by nearly 6.5 million students (and by 14%) before rebounding by 1997 to the 1970 level of 45.9 million students and then increasing steadily to more than 50 million students by 2013. Watch the red bar for “Students” in the chart decline from 100% between 1970 and 1986 before increasing and reaching 100% again in 1996.

2. Between 1970 and 1999 total public school enrollment increased by only 2.5% (and by 1.1 million students) over that period from 45.9 million to 47.0 million students. And yet during that same 29-year period, the number of non-teaching public school staff more than doubled (+105%) as did the real, inflation-adjusted cost per public school student (+104%). Not too surprising that a doubling of non-teaching staff at public schools would coincide with a doubling of the inflation-adjusted cost per pupil over that period.

3. Over the entire 1970-2018 period, the increase in the number of students attending US public schools increased only 11.3% from 45.9 million to 51.1 million.

4. In comparison to students, the number of public school teachers increased by 57.2% between 1970 and 2018 from about 2 million to 3.17 million, which reduced the pupil-to-teacher ratio by 30%, from almost 23-to-1 in 1970 to 16-to-1 in 2018.

5. Over the same period, the number of non-teaching staff at public schools more than doubled, increasing by 152% from 1.34 million in 1970 to 3.38 million in 2018. Interestingly, while the number of public school teachers peaked in 2008 and has fallen slightly since then, the number of non-teaching staff has continued to grow and by 2015 there were more non-teaching staff than teachers for the first time and that gap has grown larger since then (see chart below). In 2018, there were 217,530 more non-teaching public school staff members (3.39 million) than teachers (3.17 million).

6. As a direct result of public school staff (both teachers and non-teachers) growing so much greater (57% and 152% respectively) than the increase in public school students (11.3%) between 1970 and 2018, the inflation-adjusted cost of educating a student in US public schools increased by 156.2% between 1970 and 2017, from $5,037 to $12,905.

7. With the 156% inflation-adjusted increase in spending per public school pupil and the 30% reduction in the pupil-to-teacher since 1970, have there been any demonstrable educational improvements in student test scores? Unfortunately, No. While not shown in the animated chart above, this 2016 Department of Education report found that “Average reading and mathematics achievement for 17-year-olds did not change significantly between the early 1970s and 2012 or between 2008 and 2012.” (Note: Although the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) achievement results are for students in both private and public schools, private school enrollment represents less than 9% of students in grades 9-12.) For example, the NAEP average reading score of 285 for 17-year olds in 1971 was not significantly different from the 287 average score in 2015. Likewise, the 304 average score for the NAEP math assessment in 1971 was not significantly different from the 306 average score in 2015.

More recent NAEP test results show that average reading scores for students in grade 12 declined from 292 in 1992 to 285 in 2019, the lowest average score during the 1992-2019 period. Average math scores for 12th graders have been flat since 2005.

Bottom Line: Despite the significant increase between 1970 and 2018 in the number of public school teachers (57%) and non-teaching staff (152%) relative to the 11.3% increase in students and the significant 30% decrease in the pupil-to-teacher ratio in public schools and the significant 156% increase in inflation-adjusted spending per pupil attending public schools over that period, there was basically no change in academic achievement. More spending + more teachers + more administrators + no change in education outcomes = a failing public school monopoly that benefits entrenched unionized teachers who vigorously try to squash competition from charter schools and educational choice at the expense of taxpayers, parents, and students.

The post Animated chart of the day: Public school enrollment, staff, and inflation-adjusted cost per pupil, 1970 to 2018 appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.