ERIC Number: ED583004
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2017-May
Pages: 49
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Back to the Staffing Surge: The Great Teacher Salary Stagnation and the Decades-Long Employment Growth in American Public Schools
Scafidi, Benjamin
EdChoice
In reports released in 2012 (see ED536674) and 2013 (see ED543118), the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice--now EdChoice--showed that American public schools had been on a six-decade staffing surge. That is, between 1950 and 2009, public schools added school personnel at a rate that far exceeded the increases needed to keep up with student enrollment growth. This staffing surge was documented using publicly available data that state departments of education annually report to the US Department of Education, where each public school employee was placed into one of two categories--teachers and all other staff. This study updates the original Staffing Surge reports by analyzing staffing patterns in American public schools using more recent data--through fiscal years (FY) 2014 or 2015, as available. It could be argued that this staffing surge was worth it in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, and early 1990s because during those decades public schools began welcoming students with special needs and were allowed to integrate by race or were actively integrated by government policies. But, the staffing surge has continued even after its first 42-year period that ended in 1992. The modern staffing surge, which began in 1992, has been expensive for taxpayers and has posed a tremendous opportunity cost on teachers and parents.
Descriptors: Public Schools, Teacher Salaries, Reports, Trend Analysis, Educational History, Academic Achievement, Costs, Standardized Tests, Scores, High School Graduates, Graduation Rate, Educational Resources, Outcomes of Education, School Personnel, Economic Climate, Teacher Student Ratio, Expenditure per Student, National Competency Tests
EdChoice. 111 Monument Circle Suite 2650, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Tel: 317-681-0745; e-mail: info@edchoice.org; Web site: http://www.edchoice.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: EdChoice
Identifiers - Location: United States
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Assessment of Educational Progress
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A