Comments on: Response to ATRA’s K-12 Education Funding Comparison http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2009/06/response-to-atras-50-children-per-classroom/ PUBLIC EDUCATION KEEPS THE AMERICAN DREAM ALIVE Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:04:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: aenadmin http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2009/06/response-to-atras-50-children-per-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-41 aenadmin Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:28:20 +0000 http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/?p=601#comment-41 Former Teacher: In reference to your question, it is also worth noting that the researchers involved all emphasized that the pupil-to-teacher ratios for each state were an "apples to apples" comparison...in other words, they used the same definition of FTE employees for each statistical state group and didn't include some FTE employees (librarians, for example) in some of the samples but not in others. Mr. Lefevre's ALEC report highlights the fact that there are only four US states which have seen a growth in pupil-teacher ratios between 1986-2007: Alaska (0.8%), Oregon (3.5%), Utah (3.9%) and Arizona (31.7%). If you'd like to read more of the ALEC report, you can access their 2008 Report Card on American Education via www.alec.org. Former Teacher: In reference to your question, it is also worth noting that the researchers involved all emphasized that the pupil-to-teacher ratios for each state were an “apples to apples” comparison…in other words, they used the same definition of FTE employees for each statistical state group and didn’t include some FTE employees (librarians, for example) in some of the samples but not in others.

Mr. Lefevre’s ALEC report highlights the fact that there are only four US states which have seen a growth in pupil-teacher ratios between 1986-2007: Alaska (0.8%), Oregon (3.5%), Utah (3.9%) and Arizona (31.7%). If you’d like to read more of the ALEC report, you can access their 2008 Report Card on American Education via http://www.alec.org.

]]> By: aenadmin http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2009/06/response-to-atras-50-children-per-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-40 aenadmin Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:03:48 +0000 http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/?p=601#comment-40 Thank you for your question -- it took us a few days to contact all of the organizations involved. We started by contacting Justin Olson, the author of the ATRA paper. He<em> <em>thought </em></em>it meant <em>all teachers</em> but since he used a chart from ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) we called them to check with the original author. The original author, Andy Lefevre, is not a staff member with ALEC but is an employee of the REACH (Road to Educational Achievement Through Choice) - a Pennsylvania pro-school-choice advocacy center. His information in turn came from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) research; when we spoke to a researcher there, they confirmed that their data was for all Full Time Equivalent (FTE) teachers, teaching daily at the school. *** We also received this reply from Andy Lefevre, the ALEC (freelance) author: "I was able to sit down and quickly look thru (sic) the Report Card last night. The data points on pupil teacher ratio is what was reported to the NCES. It was calculated by them as total students reported divided by total teachers reported." *** Thank you for your question — it took us a few days to contact all of the organizations involved.
We started by contacting Justin Olson, the author of the ATRA paper. He thought it meant all teachers but since he used a chart from ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) we called them to check with the original author.
The original author, Andy Lefevre, is not a staff member with ALEC but is an employee of the REACH (Road to Educational Achievement Through Choice) – a Pennsylvania pro-school-choice advocacy center. His information in turn came from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) research; when we spoke to a researcher there, they confirmed that their data was for all Full Time Equivalent (FTE) teachers, teaching daily at the school.
***
We also received this reply from Andy Lefevre, the ALEC (freelance) author:
“I was able to sit down and quickly look thru (sic) the Report Card last night. The data points on pupil teacher ratio is what was reported to the NCES. It was calculated by them as total students reported divided by total teachers reported.”
***

]]> By: aenadmin http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2009/06/response-to-atras-50-children-per-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-36 aenadmin Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:41:38 +0000 http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/?p=601#comment-36 That is a very good question. We will do some research and give you as precise of an answer as we can get. Please stay tuned. That is a very good question. We will do some research and give you as precise of an answer as we can get. Please stay tuned.

]]> By: Former teacher http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2009/06/response-to-atras-50-children-per-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Former teacher Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:44:39 +0000 http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/?p=601#comment-35 Just how is the ratio of "teacher to student" figured. In formulating the number of "teachers", are individuals such as Special Area Teachers and Psychologists considered as "academic teachers" and added to the total of teachers. There is a big difference between 35 students in an academic classroom when just the academic teaching staff is counted and "24 students to one teacher when all certified individuals or support individuals on campus that may work with students, or teach untested subjects" are counted as "teachers". It really changes the number of students that are really in each classroom with one teacher. Could "teacher" be defined so that the ratio can be better understood? Just how is the ratio of “teacher to student” figured. In formulating the number of “teachers”, are individuals such as Special Area Teachers and Psychologists considered as “academic teachers” and added to the total of teachers. There is a big difference between 35 students in an academic classroom when just the academic teaching staff is counted and “24 students to one teacher when all certified individuals or support individuals on campus that may work with students, or teach untested subjects” are counted as “teachers”. It really changes the number of students that are really in each classroom with one teacher. Could “teacher” be defined so that the ratio can be better understood?

]]> By: AZMama http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2009/06/response-to-atras-50-children-per-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-5 AZMama Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:41:23 +0000 http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/?p=601#comment-5 Very informative piece. Very informative piece.

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