The Center for Education Reform» In the States

Parent Power Index Scoring Rubric

Michelle — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:57:50 +0000

April 10, 2013

Download or print your PDF copy of the Parent Power Index Scoring Rubric

Parent Power Index Scoring Rubric

Michelle — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:02:15 +0000

January 22, 2013

Download or print your PDF copy of the Parent Power Index Scoring Rubric

Click here for more on Parent Power Index Methodology.

North Carolina Voters Want More School Options, Strong & Equitable Charter School Law

admin — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:03:33 +0000

Summary of Findings from Latest Survey

July 2012

The Center for Education Reform (CER) conducted a random survey of registered North Carolina voters* to gauge their knowledge and perceptions of charter schools. Key findings are highlighted below.

North Carolina strongly supports charter schools. 70 percent of surveyed North Carolinians say they support “allowing communities to create new public schools, called charter schools, that give parents a choice of where they send their children that would be held accountable for student results and that would be required to meet the same academic standards/testing requirements as other public schools but not cost taxpayers any additional money.”

Charter schools enjoy tri-partisan support in the Tar Heel State. Republicans (81 percent), Democrats (59 percent), and Independents (67 percent) overwhelmingly support the creation of charter schools. Support for charter schools is strongest among African Americans (85 percent), women (82 percent), and those registered voters with school-aged children (81 percent).

North Carolinians support the opportunity to choose among a wide variety of schools. 50 percent prefer “allowing the parent to choose from a number of public schools” over “assigning children to one public school based solely on where they live.” Support for school choice is strongest among African Americans (68 percent), women (56 percent), parents of school-aged children (52 percent) and those voters who politically identified themselves as Independents (61 percent).

North Carolinians support charter school laws that allow multiple authorizers. After being told, “other states allow entities such as universities, mayors and independent commissions to approve and help monitor charter schools, [and] in addition to local school boards, the law in North Carolina grants the University of North Carolina (UNC) the authority to approve the creation of charter schools, but it has not chosen to do so;” 48 percent of registered voters would support UNC if it began to approve and monitor charter schools in North Carolina.

North Carolina supports equitable funding of charter schools. Given that charter schools are public schools yet receive only 90 percent of the funding that all other public schools receive, 65 percent of those surveyed agreed that charters should be funded the same or more as all other public schools.

North Carolinians are highly aware of charter schools, but a majority still does not identify them as public schools. Of the 82 percent who said they know at least a little about charter schools, 42 percent correctly identified them as public schools. The majority identified charters as either private (25 percent), magnet (11 percent), religious (4 percent), something else (17 percent) or didn’t even venture a guess (1 percent).

*The Center for Education Reform partnered with Majority Opinion Research – a leading U.S. research organization based in Atlanta, GA – to conduct a random statewide telephone survey of 528 registered voters between June 20 and June 21, 2012. The margin of error for the North Carolina survey is +/- 4.2 percent.

For related press release, click here.

Floridians Want More School Options, Strong & Equitable Charter School Law

admin — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:40:22 +0000

Summary of Findings from Latest Survey

July 2012

The Center for Education Reform (CER) conducted a random survey of registered Florida voters* to gauge their knowledge and perceptions of charter schools. Key findings are highlighted below.

Floridians strongly support charter schools. 60 percent of surveyed Floridians say they support “allowing communities to create new public schools, called charter schools, that give parents a choice of where they send their children that would be held accountable for student results and that would be required to meet the same academic standards/testing requirements as other public schools but not cost taxpayers any additional money.” Support is strongest (81 percent) among those registered voters with school-aged children.

Floridians support equitable funding of charter schools. Given that charter schools are public schools yet receive only 75 percent of the funding that all other public schools receive, 61 percent of those surveyed agreed that charters should be funded the same or more as all other public schools.

Floridians understand and support charter school laws that allow multiple authorizers. After being told, “other states allow entities such as universities, mayors and new independent state boards to approve and help monitor charter schools,” 54 percent agree, “the legislature should grant one or more of these entities the authority to approve the creation of and to help monitor charter schools in Florida.”

Floridians are aware of charter schools, but still do not identify them as public schools. Of the 76 percent who said they know at least a little about charter schools, only 35 percent correctly identified them as public schools.

*The Center for Education Reform partnered with Majority Opinion Research – a leading U.S. research organization based in Atlanta, GA – to conduct a random statewide telephone survey of 517 registered voters between June 18 and June 19, 2012. The margin of error for the Florida survey is +/- 4.2 percent.

For related press release, click here.

Tennesseans Want More School Options, Strong Charter School Laws

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:25:14 +0000

Summary of Findings from Latest Survey

May 2012

In May 2012, the Center for Education Reform (CER) conducted a random survey of registered Tennessee voters* to gauge their knowledge and perceptions of charter schools. Key findings are highlighted below.

Tennesseans overwhelmingly support charter schools. 71 percent of surveyed Tennesseans say they support “allowing communities to create new public schools, called charter schools, that give parents a choice of where they send their children that would be held accountable for student results and that would be required to meet the same academic standards/testing requirements as other public schools but not cost taxpayers any additional money. Charter schools also enjoy tri-partisan support in the Volunteer State. Republicans (79 percent), Democrats (66 percent) and Independents (65 percent) overwhelmingly support the creation of charter schools.

Tennesseans support the opportunity to choose among a wide variety of schools. 60 percent prefer “allowing the parent to choose from a number of public schools” over “assigning children to one public school based solely on where they live.”

Tennesseans understand and support charter school laws that allow multiple authorizers. After being told “other states allow entities such as universities, mayors, and independent commissions to approve and help monitor charter schools”; 57 percent agree “the legislature should allow other entities the authority to approve the creation of charter schools in Tennessee.”

Tennesseans are aware of charter schools but still do not identify them as public schools. Of the 75 percent who said they know at least a little about charter schools, only 26 percent correctly identified them as public schools.

*The Center for Education Reform partnered with Majority Opinion Research – a leading U.S. research organization based in Atlanta, GA – to conduct a random statewide telephone survey of 657 registered voters May 3 – May 7, 2012. The margin of error for the Tennessee survey is +/- 3.7%

For related press release, click here.

K-12 Facts

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:35:01 +0000

1) SCHOOLS — 2)  ENROLLMENT — 3) TEACHERS —  4) STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO — 5)  EXPENDITURES —  6) SALARIES AND WAGES — 7)  FUNDING

Schools:

TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS: 13,809  
(Digest of Education Statistics: 2010, Table 91)

TOTAL NUMBER OF K-12 SCHOOLS: 132,656 
(Digest 2010, Chapter 1, Table 5)

Elementary: 88,982

Secondary: 27,575

Combined: 14,837

Other: 1,262 
(Digest 2010, Chapter 1, Table 5)

TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS: 98,706

Elementary: 67,148

Secondary: 24,348

Combined: 5,632

Other: 1,587
(Digest 2010, Table 97)

TOTAL NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: 5,714 
(Center for Education Reform, National Charter School & Enrollment Statistics, November 2011)

TOTAL NUMBER OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS: 28,220

Elementary: 16,370

Secondary: 3,040

Combined: 8,810
 (Digest 2010, Table 63)

TOTAL NUMBER OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: 7,400

Elementary: 5,960

Secondary: 1,080

Combined: 370
(Digest 2010, Table 63)

Enrollment:

TOTAL K-12 ENROLLMENT: 55,235,000
(Digest 2010, Table 2)

Elementary: 38,860,000

Secondary: 16,375,000
(Digest 2010, Table 2)

TOTAL PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: 49,266,000

Elementary: 34,286,000

Secondary: 14,980,000
(Digest 2010, Table 39 )

TOTAL CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: 1,941,831
(The Center for Education Reform, National Charter School & Enrollment Statistics, November 2011)

TOTAL PRIVATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: 5,165,280

Elementary: 2,462,980

Secondary: 850,750

Combined: 1,851,550
(Digest 2010, Table 63)

TOTAL HOME SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: 1,508,000 (estimate) or 2.9% (estimate) of America’s school population
 (Digest 2010, Table 40)

TOTAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: 2,224,470

Elementary: 1,457,960

Secondary: 620,840

Combined: 145,680

(Digest 2010, Table 63)

TOTAL FULL TIME ONLINE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: approx. 250,000
(iNACOL Key Stats)

Teachers:

TOTAL PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS: 3,219,458

Elementary: 1,758,169

Secondary: 1,234,197

Unclassified: 227,092
(Digest 2010, Table 69)

TOTAL CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHERS: 72,000 
(Digest 2010, Table 105)

TOTAL PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS: 456,270

Elementary: 207,230

Secondary: 69,240

Combined: 179,800
(Digest 2010, Table 62)

TOTAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS: 146,630

Elementary: 94,800

Secondary: 42,400

Combined: 9,430
(Digest 2010, Table 62)

Student-Teacher Ratio:

PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO: 15.7:1

Elementary: 15.5:1

Secondary: 16.2:1

Combined: 13.9:1
(Digest 2010, Table 67)

PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO: 11.1:1

Elementary: 12.1:1

Secondary: 11.9:1

Combined: 9.6:1
(Private School Universe Survey 2008, Table 12)

CATHOLIC SCHOOL STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO: 14.7:1

Elementary: 15.3:1

Secondary: 14.0:1

Combined: 11.3:1
(Private School Universe Survey 2008, Table 12)

Expenditures:

TOTAL PUBLIC SCHOOL EXPENDITURES: $596.6 billion

Current Expenditures: $506.8 billion

Instruction: $308.2 billion

Support Services: $178.2 billion

Food Services: $19.2 billion

Enterprise Operations: $1.1 billion

Capital Outlay: $65.7 billion

Interest on School Debt: $15.7 billion

Other Current Expenditures: $8.3 billion  
(Digest 2010, Table 186)

AVERAGE DISTRICT PUBLIC SCHOOL PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE: $12,744 
(Digest 2010, Table 190)

AVERAGE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE: $8,001  
(The Center for Education Reform, Annual Survey of America’s Charter Schools, 2010, page 15)

AVERAGE ONLINE SCHOOL PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE:

Fully online: $6,400

Blended learning: $8,900
(iNACOL Online Learning Key Facts)

AVERAGE PRIVATE SCHOOL TUITION: $8,549

Elementary: $6,733

Secondary: $10,549

Combined: $10,045
(Digest 2010, Table 63)

AVERAGE CATHOLIC SCHOOL TUITION: $6,018

Elementary: $4,944

Secondary: $7,826

Combined: $9,066
(Digest 2010, Table 63)

Salaries And Wages:

PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS:

Superintendents: $159,634
(District Administration’s 10th Annual Salary Survey, September 2010)

PUBLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPALS:

High School: $97,486

Middle School/Junior: $91,334

Elementary School: $85,907
(Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Education Administrators: Education Administrators)

PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS:

High School: $79,391

Middle School/Junior: $76,053

Elementary School: $71,192
(Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Education Administrators)

PUBLIC SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL:

Counselor: $57,800

Librarian: $54,650

School Nurse: $64,260 (average)
(Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics Counselors, Librarians, Registered Nurses)

AVERAGE TEACHER BASE SALARY:

Public School: $49,630

Private School: $36,250
(Digest 2010, Table 79)

PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF SALARIES:

Secretaries: $29,850

Accounting Payroll: $34,810

Teacher Aides: $22,000
(Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Secretaries, Accounting Payroll, Teacher Assistants)

HOURLY WAGE RATES:

Custodians: $13.74

Cafeteria Workers: $10.93

School Bus Drivers: $13.43

Library Clerks: $13.03
(Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2010, Education, Training and Library Occupations, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010-2011)

Funding:

TOTAL FUNDING OF PUBLIC EDUCATION: $593,061,181,000

Federal: $56.7 billion (9.6% of total)

State: $277 billion (46.7% of total)

Local: $259.25 billion (43.7% of total)
(Revenues and Expenditures: School Year 2008-09, Table 1)

Virginia: Moving Forward or Backward in Education?

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:57:21 +0000

Entering 2012, the state of Virginia was coping with the effects of a faulty funding formula, which did not provide equity for all students statewide, that the existence of full-time virtual schools had exposed.

Senate Bill 598 was introduced in January to fix the problem by insuring fair funding for public school students who wanted access to full-time, statewide virtual schools that had been approved by during a rigorous review process by the Virginia Department of Education. The fixes—themselves worked through in a lengthy and rigorous process—insured fair funding not only for the students, but also in a way that could work for the districts.

In the last week of February, however, changes were introduced to the bill that struck out all of the well-balanced language in the bill designed to fix the faulty funding formula. Read More…

Charter Cap Lift Bill Faces Tough Senate Floor Vote

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:41:08 +0000

For the past few years, Idaho senators have stood in the way of removing a statewide cap on the number of charter schools created each year.

It looks like that barrier has been partially broken, but one more test remains to eliminate the cap. Read More…

Charter Deadline Limits Potential Openings for Fall 2012

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:17:18 +0000

The Maine Charter School Commission has given itself a July 1 deadline to decide whether to approve proposals for charter schools.

That deadline leaves any group that plans to a start a school this September with only 60 days to recruit students, hire teachers and prepare classrooms.

As a result, only one or two schools will be able to open in Maine in 2012, said Commissioner Donald Mordecai, speaking before about 50 people at Deering High School on Monday. Read More…

Student Surveys Part of Effort to Gauge Effective Teaching

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:51:56 +0000

Hey, kids: How good is your teacher?

This spring, students in the Charlotte region will test-drive a survey that could eventually give them a voice in their teachers’ job evaluations.

Once results are in, state officials will consider whether and how to incorporate a student survey into teacher and principal evaluations. Read More…