Track School District Indicators with PolicyMap

PolicyMap has updated our elementary and secondary school data offerings with data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core of Data and the U.S. Census’ survey of public school finance. These datasets, displayed at the school district level, show information about public (and public-charter) schools and their students. PolicyMap users can now access education indicators including total student population, student-teacher ratios, and the number of English language learners for school years ending in 2000 through 2011.

With the inclusion of the Census Public School Finance survey, we have enhanced the availability of revenues and expenditures with more recent years of data.

As states grapple with funding shortages, class sizes in public schools are on the rise. Comparing current school finances to student population characteristics for school districts across the country is now easier than ever. For example, the map below shows the average class size by district. The 2011 school year shows a dramatic increase in the number of Southern California school districts with over 25 students for each full-time teacher, compared to previous years.

Over the same time period, the chart below shows how combined revenue per pupil in four California districts has decreased or failed to outpace the cost of inflation since 2008:

These datasets and more are available on PolicyMap under the Education tab.