characteristics of the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts...

NCES 2011-301 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2008–09 Statistical Analysis Report

Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2008–09 Statistical Analysis Report NOVEMBER 2010 Jennifer Sable Chris Plotts Lindsey Mitchell Education Statistics Services Institute – American Institutes for Research Chen-Su Chen Project Officer National Center for Education Statistics

NCES 2011-301

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

U.S. Department of Education Arne Duncan Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences John Q. Easton Director

National Center for Education Statistics Stuart Kerachsky Acting Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high-priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high-quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public. Unless specifically noted, all information contained herein is in the public domain.

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Suggested Citation Sable, J., Plotts, C., and Mitchell, L. (2010). Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2008–09 (NCES 2011-301). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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Content Contact Chen-Su Chen (202) 502-7393 [email protected]

iii

Highlights

This report describes the characteristics of the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school

districts in the United States and its jurisdictions. These districts are defined as the 100 largest according

to the size of their student population. The information in this report was provided by state education

agency officials to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for inclusion in the Common Core

of Data (CCD). The report uses data from the 2008–09 school year and includes student membership1 and

staff in public schools and school districts in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the

Bureau of Indian Education, the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic), and

the four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

and the U.S. Virgin Islands).2 This report also includes graduate counts, high school dropout rates, and

graduation rates for the 2007–08 school year and revenues and expenditures for fiscal year (FY) 2008.

Highlights of the report include the following:

The 100 largest public school districts, representing less than 1 percent of all school districts in the United States and jurisdictions, were responsible for the education of 22 percent of all public

school students (table 1).

The 100 largest public school districts employed 22 percent of the United States and jurisdictions’ public school full-time-equivalent (FTE) teaching positions and contained 17 percent of all public

schools and 20 percent of 2007–08 school year public high school completers (table 1).

The 100 largest public school districts had larger average school enrollments compared to the average for all school districts (673 vs. 514) as well as a higher median pupil/teacher ratio (15.3

vs. 15.0) (table 1).

The majority of students in the 100 largest school districts were Hispanic or Black (63 percent) (table 2). The percentage of students in the 100 largest school districts who were Black was 26

percent, compared to 17 percent of students in all school districts, and the percentage who were

Hispanic was 37 percent, compared to 22 percent of students in all school districts.

In FY 2008, current expenditures per pupil in the 100 largest public school districts ranged from lows of $6,363 in the Granite District, Utah, and $6,734 in the Puerto Rico Department of

Education to highs of $23,298 in Boston, Massachusetts, and $22,071 in the New York City

Public Schools, New York (table A-14).

Three states—California, Florida, and Texas—accounted for 45 out of the 100 largest public school districts (table D-3).

1 The terms ―student membership‖ and ―enrollment‖ are used interchangeably in this report. 2 In this report, the term ―United States and jurisdictions‖ refers to these entities.

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v

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all of the professionals in state and local education agencies who

record, track, and report the data used in this report. Particular thanks are owed to the state

EDFacts coordinators and the Common Core of Data (CCD) coordinators, without whose efforts

the CCD survey system could not exist.

vi

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vii

Contents

Page

Highlights ..................................................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... v

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ viii

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... x

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1

Overview of the 100 Largest School Districts .............................................................................................. 3

Where Were the 100 Largest School Districts in 2008? ............................................................................... 3

How Did the 100 Largest School Districts Compare to All School Districts? ............................................. 5

General Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 5

School Characteristics ...................................................................................................................... 6

Student Body .................................................................................................................................... 7

Revenues and Expenditures for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008................................................................... 8

Changes in the 100 Largest School Districts Between 1998 and 2008 ......................................................... 9

References and Related Data Sources ........................................................................................................ 10

Appendix A–Basic Tables ....................................................................................................................... A-1

Appendix B–Methodology ........................................................................................................................ B-1

Data Quality ................................................................................................................................ B-1

Item Nonresponse ...................................................................................................................... B-1

High School Completers, Grades 9–12 Dropout Rate, and Averaged Freshman

Graduation Rate .......................................................................................................................... B-2

More Information on CCD Methodology .................................................................................. B-3

Appendix C–Glossary .............................................................................................................................. C-1

Appendix D–Supplementary Tables ........................................................................................................ D-1

viii

List of Tables

Table Page

1. Selected statistics for public elementary and secondary schools and school districts for the

United States and jurisdictions and the 100 largest and 500 largest school districts: School years

2008–09 and 2007–08 ......................................................................................................................... 1

2. Percentage of public elementary and secondary school students eligible for free or reduced-price

lunch and percentage enrollment by race and ethnicity in the 100 and 500 largest school districts

in the United States and jurisdictions: School year 2008–09 .............................................................. 2

3. Number and percentage of districts and students, by district membership size for regular public

elementary and secondary school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School year

2008–09 ............................................................................................................................................... 5

4. Number of public elementary and secondary students, full-time-equivalent (FTE) teaching

positions, and schools in all districts and the 100 largest school districts in the United States and

jurisdictions: School years 1998–99 and 2008–09 .............................................................................. 9

Appendix A—Basic Tables

A-1. Selected statistics for the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts in the

United States and jurisdictions, by school district: School years 2008–09 and 2007–08 ............... A-4

A-2. Mean and percentile distribution of public elementary and secondary regular school size in the

100 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by school district: School

year 2008–09 ................................................................................................................................... A-6

A-3. Median pupil/teacher ratios in regular public elementary and secondary schools in the 100

largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by specified instructional level

and school district: School year 2008–09 ....................................................................................... A-8

A-4. Number of regular public elementary and secondary schools in the 100 largest school

districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by specified instructional level and school

district: School year 2008–09 ....................................................................................................... A-10

A-5. Percentage distribution of full-time-equivalent (FTE) staffing types in public elementary and

secondary schools in the 100 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by

school district: School year 2008–09 ............................................................................................ A-12

A-6. Number and percentage of public elementary and secondary schools that are Title I eligible,

and percentage of students in membership in Title I eligible schools in the United States and

jurisdictions, by school district: School year 2008–09 .................................................................. A-14

A-7. Number and percentage of public elementary and secondary schools and percentage of

students in magnet and charter schools in the 100 largest school districts in the United States

and jurisdictions, by school district: School year 2008–09 ........................................................... A-16

A-8. Number of public elementary and secondary schools in the 100 largest school districts in the

United States and jurisdictions, by percentage distribution of combined Black, Hispanic,

Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races students,

total percentage of students who are combined Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander,

American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races, and school district: School year

2008–09 ......................................................................................................................................... A-18

ix

Table Page

Appendix A—Basic Tables (continued)

A-9. Racial/ethnic composition as a percentage of public elementary and secondary school district

membership and free and reduced-price lunch eligibility in the 100 largest school districts in

the United States and jurisdictions, by school district: School year 2008–09 ............................... A-20

A-10. Number of students in public elementary and secondary schools in the 100 largest school

districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by type of school and number and percentage

of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs): School year 2008–09 ..................... A-22

A-11. Number of public elementary and secondary schools in the 100 largest school districts in the

United States and jurisdictions, by type of school and school district: School year 2008–09 ...... A-24

A-12. Number of public high school completers, the grades 9–12 dropout rate, and the public school

averaged freshman graduation rate in the 100 largest school districts in the United States and

jurisdictions, by school district: School year 2007–08 .................................................................. A-26

A-13. Number of students in public elementary and secondary schools in the 100 largest school

districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by grade range and school district: School year

2008–09 ......................................................................................................................................... A-28

A-14. Public elementary and secondary revenues by source, current expenditures, and current

expenditures per pupil for the 100 largest school districts in the United States and

jurisdictions: Fiscal year 2008 ...................................................................................................... A-30

A-15. Percentage distribution of public elementary and secondary revenues by source and total

current expenditures for instruction for the 100 largest school districts in the United States

and jurisdictions, by school district: Fiscal year 2008 .................................................................. A-33

Appendix D—Supplementary Tables

D-1. Directory information for the 500 largest public school districts in the United States and

jurisdictions, by student enrollment: School year 2008–09 ............................................................ D-2

D-2. Alphabetic list and rank (by size) of the 500 largest public school districts in the United

States and jurisdictions: School year 2008–09 .............................................................................. D-10

D-3. Number of the 100 largest public school districts and percentage of the 100 largest public

school district students in the United States and jurisdictions, by state: School year 2008–09 .... D-14

D-4. Selected statistics for the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts in the

United States and jurisdictions: School year 1998–99 .................................................................. D-15

D-5. Local education agency identification numbers (LEAIDs) used in the Common Core of Data

(CCD) for the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts in the United

States and jurisdictions: School year 2008–09 ............................................................................. D-17

D-6. Local education agency identification numbers (LEAIDs) used in the Common Core of Data

(CCD) for the 33 geographic districts associated with the New York City Public Schools

district: School year 2008–09 ........................................................................................................ D-19

x

List of Figures

Figure Page

1. The 100 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School year 2008–09 ........... 4

1

Introduction

The purpose of this publication is to provide basic descriptive information about the 100 largest school districts

(ranked by student membership, that is, the number of students enrolled at the beginning of the school year) for

the 2008–09 school year in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Bureau of Indian Education,

the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic), and the four outlying areas (American

Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). In this report,

the term ―United States and jurisdictions‖ refers to these entities. This is different from most National Center for

Education Statistics (NCES) reports, which include only the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the totals.

Over one in five public school students in the United States and jurisdictions is served by one of the 100 largest

school districts (table 1). These districts are distinct from all school districts by characteristics other than just the

size of their membership. They also differ in average school size, median pupil/teacher ratio, and the distribution

of students in various racial and ethnic categories (tables 1 and 2).

Table 1.—Selected statistics for public elementary and secondary schools and school districts for the United States and jurisdictions and the

Table 1.—100 largest and 500 largest school districts: School years 2008–09 and 2007–08

100 largest school districts 500 largest school districts

All school

Percent of

Percent of

Characteristic districts Total national total Total national total

Districts2 17,953 100 0.6 500 2.8

Schools3 100,713 16,905 16.8 32,957 32.7

Students 49,921,068 11,143,875 22.3 21,507,513 43.1

Full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching positions4 3,269,814 710,155 21.7 1,344,340 41.1

High school completers (2007–08)5 3,052,260 617,538 20.2 1,226,072 40.2

Median pupil/teacher ratio6 15.0 15.3 † 15.6

†

Average school enrollment7 513.8 673.1 † 668.1 †

† Not applicable. 1 Total may differ from other published estimates due to inclusion of Puerto Rico, the outlying areas, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the

Department of Defense dependents schools. 2 Totals for number of districts may differ from published estimates since they exclude closed, inactive, and future school districts.

3 Totals for number of schools may differ from published estimates since they exclude closed, inactive, and future schools.

4 FTE is the amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position. It is computed by dividing the

amount of time employed by the amount of time normally required for a full-time position. FTE is not a head count; for example, two half-time employees represent one FTE. The national total is based on state-level reports, whereas reports for the 100 and 500 largest districts are based on district-level reports. 5 Includes high school diploma recipients as well as other high school completers (e.g., certificates of attendance), but not high school

equivalencies (e.g., General Education Development (GEDs)). Total may differ from other published estimates due to inclusion of Puerto Rico, the outlying areas, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense dependents schools. 6 Includes only schools where student membership was greater than zero and for which pupil/teacher ratio data were available. The median

is given because it is unaffected by very high or very low values. 7 Includes only schools where membership was greater than zero.

NOTE: Data include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic). The 500 largest school districts include 17 school districts that are some other configuration besides prekindergarten (PK) or K–12, although all of the 100 largest school districts are PK or K–12.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/ Secondary School Universe Survey," 2008–09, Version 1a, "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 2008–09, Version 1a, "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 2008–09, Version 1a, "Local Education Universe Survey Dropout and Completion Restricted-Use Data File," 2008–09, Version 1a, and "State Dropout and Completion Data File," 2007–08, Version 1a.

2

In this report, the terms ―public school districts,‖ ―school districts,‖ and ―elementary and secondary school

districts‖ are used interchangeably. These include regular school districts; local supervisory unions that provide

management services for a group of associated school districts; regional education service agencies that typically

provide school districts with research, testing, and data processing services; state and federally operated agencies;

and other agencies that do not fall into these groupings (e.g., charter schools reported as their own school

districts). A ―regular school district,‖ a subset of ―public school districts‖ or ―school districts,‖ is an agency

responsible for providing free public education for school-age children residing within its jurisdiction. With the

exception of the New York City Public Schools, New York, all of the 100 largest districts are regular school

districts.2

To provide context for the information on the 100 largest districts, tables 1–4 provide data for the United States

and jurisdictions and tables 1, 2, and 4 provide data for the 100 largest school districts; tables 1 and 2 also include

data for the 500 largest districts. Figure 1 shows the location of the 100 largest school districts. Appendix A

presents basic data tables for the 100 largest school districts. Appendix D (tables D-1 to D-6) provides

supplementary information about the 100 and 500 largest school districts. Table D-1 lists the 500 largest school

districts with some identifying information. Table D-2 is an alphabetic list of the 500 largest districts that includes

their rank by membership size. Table D-3 provides a count of the number of 100 largest districts by state. Table

D-4 provides selected data for the 100 largest school districts in the 1998–99 school year for comparison with the

data in table A-1 for the 2008–09 school year. Tables D-5 and D-6 provide the unique local education agency

identification numbers (LEAIDs) associated with the 100 largest school districts and the 33 geographic districts

that comprise the New York City Public Schools, New York district so that data users can find more information

about these districts in the Common Core of Data (CCD) data files.

Table 2.—Percentage of public elementary and secondary school students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and percentage

Table 2.—enrollment by race and ethnicity in the 100 and 500 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School year

Table 2.—2008–09

All school 100 largest 500 largest

District characteristic districts school districts school districts

Membership eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, of those

schools that reported free and reduced-price lunch1 45.2

55.9

51.2

Percentage enrollment by race and ethnicity

2

American Indian/Alaska Native 1.3 0.5 0.7 Asian/Pacific Islander 4.9 7.7 6.9 Hispanic 22.3 36.8 32.1 Black 16.8 25.9 23.0

White 54.3 28.9 36.9 Two or more races 0.5 0.3 0.5 1 These percentages should be interpreted with caution. The Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic),

American Samoa, and Guam did not report free and reduced-price lunch eligibility and are not included in the totals. Also, states may not have reported students eligible for reduced-price lunch, and a number of states reported participation instead of eligibility data, which may not be strictly comparable. See the Methodology section, appendix B, for further description. Percentages are based on those schools that reported data. 2 Black includes African American, Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories do not

include Hispanic.

NOTE: Data include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic). Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/ Secondary School Universe Survey," 2008–09, Version 1a, and "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 2008–09, Version 1a.

1 See appendix B for more information on the New York City Public Schools, New York district.

3

Overview of the 100 Largest School Districts

In the 2008–09 school year, there were 17,953 operational public school districts, 100,713 operational public

schools, and 49.9 million students in public schools in the United States and jurisdictions (table 1). Additionally,

there were 3.3 million full-time equivalent (FTE)3 teaching positions in the 2008–09 school year and 3.1 million

high school completers in the 2007–08 school year.4 The 100 largest school districts comprised less than 1 percent

of all public school districts but served 22 percent of all public elementary and secondary students. These school

districts contained 17 percent of all public schools and employed 22 percent of all FTE teaching positions. In

comparison, the 500 largest school districts comprised 3 percent of all public school districts, 33 percent of public

schools, and served 43 percent (21.5 million) of all public elementary and secondary students in the United States

and jurisdictions.

The 100 largest school districts ranged in size from 47,448 to 981,690 students in 2008–09 (table A-1). Twenty-

seven of these districts served more than 100,000 students. The largest public school district was New York City

Public Schools, New York, with 981,690 students enrolled in 1,496 schools. The next largest was Los Angeles

Unified, California, with 687,534 students in 860 schools. The enrollment of each of these two largest districts

was greater than the enrollment of each of the 26 smallest states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the

Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic).5

Where Were the 100 Largest School Districts in 2008?

There were 27 states and jurisdictions that each had at least one of the 100 largest school districts in the 2008–09

school year (table A-1, figure 1, and table D-3). Texas had 19 districts among the 100 largest, followed by Florida

with 14 and California with 12. Several other states had more than one district represented among the 100 largest:

Georgia, Maryland, and Virginia each had 6; North Carolina had 5; Colorado, Tennessee, and Utah each had 4;

and Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio each had 2. Each of the following states had one school district among the 100

largest: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New

York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. (Hawaii and Puerto Rico have only one school

district each for their entire jurisdiction.)

3 FTE is a proportion of a full-time position. FTE is not a head count. For example, two half-time employees represent one FTE. 4 In the CCD, data on high school completers are collected 1 year after the completions occur. For example, data on 2007–08 high school

completers are collected in the 2008–09 data collection. 5 State enrollment data can be found in the following CCD data file: ―State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education,‖

2008–09, Version 1a and in Sable and Plotts (2010), table 1.

4

Figure 1. The 100 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School year 2008–09

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), ―Local Education Agency Universe Survey,‖ 2008–09, Version 1a.

About three-quarters of the 100 largest school districts were located in coastal and Gulf Coast states (see table D-

3 for a count of the 100 largest districts by state). The school districts among the 100 largest also tended to be in

cities and counties with large populations, with administrative offices typically located in large cities and their

environs. Many of the districts were in states where the school districts have the same boundaries as counties.

However, school district boundaries need not be the same as county, city, or town boundaries.

5

How Did the 100 Largest School Districts Compare to All School Districts?

General Characteristics

In the 2008–09 school year, each of the 100 largest school districts had at least 47,448 students, whereas 72

percent of all regular school districts had fewer than 2,500 students (tables 3 and A-1). However, these smaller

districts served only 16 percent of all students; 84 percent of students were enrolled in districts of 2,500 or more

students (table 3).

The average school district in the United States and jurisdictions had 6 schools; in comparison, the 100 largest

school districts averaged 169 schools per district (derived from table 1). Two of the three largest districts—New

York City Public Schools, New York, and the Puerto Rico Department of Education—each had more than 1,400

schools (table A-1).

Table 3.—Number and percentage of districts and students, by district membership size for regular public elementary and secondary

Table 3.—school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School year 2008–09

District size

Districts Students Cumulative totals

(number of

Cumulative

Cumulative

students) Number Percent percent Number Percent percent Districts Students

Total

13,976 100.0 † 48,604,272 100.0 † † †

100,000 or more 27 0.2 0.2 6,391,373 13.1 13.1 27 6,391,373

25,000 to 99,999 254 1.8 2.0 10,747,069 22.1 35.3 281 17,138,442

10,000 to 24,999 595 4.3 6.3 9,054,578 18.6 53.9 876 26,193,020

7,500 to 9,999 356 2.5 8.8 3,093,499 6.4 60.3 1,232 29,286,519

5,000 to 7,499 695 5.0 13.8 4,246,834 8.7 69.0 1,927 33,533,353

2,500 to 4,999 1,995 14.3 28.1 7,079,061 14.6 83.6 3,922 40,612,414

2,000 to 2,499 773 5.5 33.6 1,728,043 3.6 87.1 4,695 42,340,457

1,500 to 1,999 1,041 7.4 41.0 1,803,375 3.7 90.8 5,736 44,143,832

1,000 to 1,499 1,459 10.4 51.5 1,799,129 3.7 94.5 7,195 45,942,961

800 to 999 810 5.8 57.3 728,220 1.5 96.0 8,005 46,671,181

600 to 799 963 6.9 64.2 668,988 1.4 97.4 8,968 47,340,169

450 to 599 886 6.3 70.5 463,924 1.0 98.4 9,854 47,804,093

300 to 449 1,036 7.4 77.9 383,681 0.8 99.1 10,890 48,187,774

150 to 299 1,359 9.7 87.6 301,211 0.6 99.8 12,249 48,488,985

1 to 149 1,490 10.7 98.3 115,287 0.2 100.0 13,739 48,604,272

Not applicable 237 1.7 100.0 † † 100.0 13,976 48,604,272

† Not applicable. District level student membership is counted at the district that provides financial support for the student, and not where the student is enrolled or receives educational services. Therefore, it is possible to have operational school districts that have not applicable enrollment because the students enrolled in the district are paid for by another district. NOTE: Data include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic). Not included in this table are local supervisory unions, regional education service agencies, and state and federally operated agencies. For analytical purposes, New York City Public Schools, New York, is treated as a regular school district. The number of regular districts presented in this table differs from that presented in table 1, which represents all districts. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 2008–09, Version 1a.

6

School Characteristics

Average regular school6 size based on student membership ranged from a low of 335 students (in the Puerto Rico

Department of Education) to a high of 1,415 (in Gwinnett County, Georgia) in the 100 largest school districts in

the 2008–09 school year (table A-2). The largest regular school in the 100 largest districts was the 7,693-student

Vick Early Childhood and Family Center, Illinois, in the City of Chicago School District 299, Illinois.7

The 100 largest school districts had more students per school on average than the average school district (673 vs.

514) (table 1). Eleven of the 100 largest school districts had an average regular school size of more than 1,000

students (table A-2). In addition to larger school sizes, the 100 largest school districts also had a higher median

pupil/teacher ratio than the average school district (15.3 to 1 vs. 15.0 to 1) (table 1). Among the 100 largest public

school districts, Granite District, Utah, had the highest median pupil/teacher ratio in regular schools (22.8 to 1)

and the Puerto Rico Department of Education, had the smallest (12.5 to 1) (table A-3). The median pupil/teacher

ratio for regular primary schools among the 100 largest public school districts was lower than that for high

schools (15.2 to 1 vs. 16.9 to 1).

Of the 15,396 regular schools with membership in the 100 largest public school districts, 10,030 were primary

schools, 2,544 were middle schools, 2,161 were high schools, and 661 were schools with other instructional levels

(table A-4). The New York City Public Schools, New York—which had the most schools with membership in

total—had the largest number of middle schools (279) and high schools (274), whereas the Puerto Rico

Department of Education has the largest number of primary schools (869).

School staff. For the United States and jurisdictions, 51 percent of FTE staff positions were teaching positions,8

while in the 100 largest districts 52 percent of FTE staff positions were teachers (table A-5). Fifty-eight of the 100

largest districts reported that 50 percent or more of staff were teachers, and 9 districts reported that 60 percent or

more of staff were teachers (these districts were City of Chicago School District 299, Illinois; Clark County

School District, Nevada; Broward, Florida; Duval, Florida; Greenville 01, South Carolina; Washoe County

School District, Nevada; Santa Ana Unified, California; San Francisco Unified, California; and Plano

Independent School District, Texas). In 27 of the 100 largest school districts 1 percent or more of the staff were

district administrators.

Title I eligibility. Each of the 100 largest school districts reported data for Title I eligible schools and programs for

the 2008–09 school year (table A-6). The percentage of Title I eligible schools in these districts ranged from 5

percent (in Jordan District, Utah and Loudon County Public Schools, Virginia) to 100 percent (the Philadelphia

City School District, Pennsylvania; Cleveland Municipal, Ohio; and Clayton County, Georgia). Within the 100

largest school districts, 64 percent of students attended a Title I eligible school, whereas 62 percent of all students

in the United States and jurisdictions attended Title I eligible schools (Chen 2010).

Magnet schools and charter schools. Among the 100 largest school districts there were 1,394 magnet schools9

(table A-7). The largest number of magnet schools among these districts was in the City of Chicago School

District 299, Illinois, with 288 magnet schools (or 46 percent of its schools and 47 percent of its students in

magnet schools). There were 892 charter schools administered by the 100 largest school districts in the 2008–09

school year.10 Three percent of the students in these districts attended one of these charter schools. In the United

States and jurisdictions, there were 4,694 charter schools, including both independent and dependent charter

6 A regular school is a public elementary/secondary school that does not focus primarily on vocational, special, or alternative education. 7 Data on school enrollment can be found in the following CCD file: ―Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,‖ 2008–09,

Version 1a. This data source is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asp. 8 Data on teachers and staffing can be found in the following CCD file: ―State Nonfiscal Universe Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary

Education,‖ 2008–09, Version 1a. This data source is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/stnfis.asp. Percentage may differ from

other published estimates due to inclusion of Puerto Rico, the outlying areas, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of

Defense dependents schools. 9 Counts of magnet schools include magnet programs that exist within schools that are not primarily magnet schools. 10 Because districts are administrative units, not geographic units, charter schools located in the same geographic area as the district’s

schools, but not administered by the district, are not included in this total or in table A-7.

http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/ccd/stnfis.asp

7

schools, attended by 3 percent of students in 2008–09 (Chen 2010). The largest number of charter schools

administered by any of the 100 largest school districts was 150 schools in Los Angeles Unified, California.

Student Body

Overall, the 100 largest school districts in 2008–09 enrolled 22 percent of the United States and jurisdictions’

public school students (table 1). Certain student characteristics, such as race/ethnicity, poverty level, and

disability status, varied across the 100 largest school districts about which the CCD collected data in 2008–09.

Race/ethnicity. American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Blacks, Whites,

and Two or more races are the seven racial/ethnic groups about which the CCD collected data in 2008–09. For the

purposes of this report, data on Asian and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students are collapsed into a single category,

resulting in six racial/ethnic groups: American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Blacks,

Whites, and Two or more races.11 The 100 largest school districts served 35 percent of the 22.8 million public

school students in the United States and jurisdictions who are Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American

Indian/Alaska Native, or Two or more races, compared to serving 12 percent of the 27.1 million students in the

U.S. and jurisdictions who are White (derived from tables 1 and 2).12 In 70 of the 100 largest districts, Whites

comprised less than 50 percent of student membership (derived from table A-8). In more than one-third (35) of

the 100 largest districts, students who were Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska

Native, or Two or more races comprised more than 75 percent of the student membership (table A-8). Seven of

the 10 largest school districts had combined Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska

Native, and Two or more races student memberships of more than 75 percent.

Even with the relatively high combined Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native,

and Two or more races membership in the 100 largest school districts, 30 of the districts reported 50 percent or

more of their students as White (table A-8 and table A-9). In 6 of these 30 districts, at least 75 percent of students

were White (table A-9). In 13 of the 100 largest districts, half or more of the membership was Black. Twenty-two

districts reported that the majority of students were Hispanic; 4 of these were among the 10 largest districts. In

Hawaii, a one-district state, the majority of students were Asian/Pacific Islander.

Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility. The 100 largest school districts had a disproportionate percentage of

students eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program relative to all public school districts. Among the 99

largest school districts that reported free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, 56 percent of students were eligible,

compared to 45 percent of students in all districts (table 2). Forty-six of these 99 districts reported 50 percent or

more of their students as eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program (table A-9).

Students with disabilities. Approximately 1.4 million students in the 100 largest school districts had

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) (table A-10). Students with IEPs made up 13 percent of all students in

these districts, the same as the percentage for the United States and jurisdictions as a whole.13 About 2 percent of

the schools in the 100 largest school districts were special education schools (derived from table A-11).

High school completers, the averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR), and grades 9–12 dropout rate. The

number of 2007–08 high school completers in the 93 of the 100 largest school districts for which data were

available ranged from 2,010 (in Garden Grove Unified, California) to 55,290 (in the New York City Public

Schools, New York) (table A-12). The AFGR14 was 65 percent for the 100 largest school districts in 2007–08, as

11 Prior to 2008–09, race/ethnicity data were collected in the following five categories: American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific

Islander, Hispanic, Black, and White. Starting with the data collection for 2008–09, race/ethnicity data were collected in the following

seven categories: American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic, Black, White, Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander, and Two or more

races. In this report, data for Asian and Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander students were collapsed into a single category to correspond with

the category of Asian/Pacific Islander used prior to 2008–09. See appendix B for more information. 12 For the 100 largest school districts, the numbers of students in different racial/ethnic categories are reported at the school level and are

aggregated up to the district level. 13 Data on Individualized Education Programs can be found in the following CCD file: ―Local Education Agency Universe Survey,‖ 2008–

09, Version 1a. This data source is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubagency.asp. 14 The averaged freshman graduation rate for 2007–08 was calculated as total high school diploma recipients in 2007–08 divided by the

averaged class membership of 8th-graders in 2003–04, 9th-graders in 2004–05, and 10th-graders in 2005–06. See the Methodology section,

8

compared to a rate of 75 percent for the United States and jurisdictions (Stillwell 2010). This ranged from a low

of 39 percent (in Cleveland Municipal, Ohio) to a high of 96 percent (in Loudoun County Public Schools,

Virginia). For the 99 of the 100 largest school districts for which data were available, the grade 9–12 dropout

rate15 was 5 percent. Among these 99 districts, this ranged from 0.2 percent (in the Shelby County School District,

Tennessee) to 16 percent (in the City of Chicago School District 299, Illinois).

Enrollment by grade level. In the 2008–09 school year, the majority of students enrolled in the 100 largest school

districts were enrolled in grades prekindergarten through grade 6 (6.1 million) followed by grades 7 through 9

(2.6 million) and grades 10 through 12 (2. 3 million) (table A-13). Of the 15 of the 100 largest school districts that

used ungraded status for some students, 121,221 students were assigned as ungraded students.

Revenues and Expenditures for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008

All revenue and expenditure data presented in this report are in current (unadjusted) dollars. In the 2007–08

school year (FY 2008), the 100 largest school districts received approximately $134 billion in revenues for public

elementary and secondary education (table A-14). Of this approximately $134 billion, 31 percent ($42 billion)

went to the 5 largest school districts (New York City Public Schools, New York; Los Angeles Unified, California;

Puerto Rico Department of Education; City of Chicago School District 299, Illinois; and Dade, Florida). Current

instructional expenditures per pupil in FY 2008 ranged from a low of $6,363 (in Granite District, Utah) to a high

of $23,298 (in Boston, Massachusetts) in the 100 largest school districts in FY 2008. (See Glossary section,

appendix C, for definitions of specific revenues and expenditures.)

Across the 100 largest districts, state sources accounted for 47 percent of revenues, local sources for 44 percent,

and federal sources for 10 percent (table A-15). Revenues from the federal government received by the 100

largest school districts constituted between a low of 2 percent (in the Douglas County School District No Re 1,

Colorado) and highs of 17 percent (in the San Antonio Independent School District, Texas) and 28 percent (in the

Puerto Rico Department of Education) of all revenues to the district.

The percentage of total current expenditures for instruction ranged from a low of 31 percent (in the Philadelphia

City School District, Pennsylvania) to highs of 65 percent (in New York City Public Schools, New York) and 96

percent (in the Puerto Rico Department of Education) in the 100 largest school districts (table A-15).

Expenditures for charter and private schools. Payments by, or on behalf of, public school districts to independent

charter schools and private schools are not included in the expenditures in this report. In some states these

payments are made by some entity other than the public school district, and are therefore not reported on the

School District Finance Survey. Information on expenditures for independent charter schools and private schools,

for those school districts reporting these expenditures, can be found on the Build a Table application at

http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/.

appendix B, for more information. 15 The grades 9–12 dropout rate is calculated by dividing the number of grades 9–12 dropouts by the grades 9–12 enrollment. See the

Methodology section, appendix B, for more information.

9

Changes in the 100 Largest School Districts Between 1998 and 2008

While there has been considerable change in rank by size within the 100 largest school districts over time, the lists

of school districts in 1998–99 and 2008–09 are similar. Only 20 of the 100 largest school districts in 1998–99

were not among the 100 largest school districts in 2008–09 (see table D-4 for a list of the 100 largest school

districts in 1998–99).16

Between 1998–99 and 2008–09, the number of students in the 100 largest school districts increased by 3 percent,

and the number of FTE teaching positions increased by 20 percent (table 4). However, while the numbers of

students and teachers increased between these years, the proportion of the total for the United States and

jurisdictions these numbers represent was essentially unchanged. For example, the 100 largest school districts

included 23 percent of all students in 1998–99 and 22 percent in 2008–09.

Table 4.—Number of public elementary and secondary students, full-time-equivalent (FTE) teaching positions, and schools in all districts and

Table 4.—the 100 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School years 1998–99 and 2008–09

Percent change

1998–99

2008–09

(1998–99 to 2008–09)

100 largest

100 largest

districts as

districts as

100 a percent

100 a percent

100

District All largest of national

All largest of national

All largest

characteristic districts districts total districts districts total districts districts

Students 46,610,830 10,869,903 23.3 49,921,068 11,143,875 22.3 7.1 2.5

FTE teaching positions1 2,831,419 593,277 21.0 3,269,814 710,155 21.7 15.5 19.7

Schools2 92,885 15,412 16.6 100,713 16,905 16.8 8.4 9.7

1 Full-time equivalent (FTE) is the amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position. It is

computed by dividing the amount of time employed by the amount of time normally required for a full-time position. FTE is not a head count; for example, two half-time employees represent one FTE. 2 Totals for number of schools may differ from published estimates since for 1998–99 they exclude closed schools, and for 2008–09, they

exclude closed, inactive, and future schools. Because inactive and future schools were not distinguished in 1998–99, and therefore cannot be excluded, the school totals for 1998–99 and 2008–09 are not directly comparable. NOTE: Data include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Bureau of Indian Education, and Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic). In 1998–99, data for the Department of Defense dependents schools (domestic) were not collected, and therefore are not included. The Department of Defense dependents schools (domestic) accounted for 0.1 percent of students, 0.1 percent of teachers, and 0.1 percent of schools among all districts in 2008–09. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/ Secondary School Universe Survey," 1998–99, Version 1a, and 2008–09, Version 1a, "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 1998–99, Version 1a, and 2008–09, Version 1a, and "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1998–99, Version 1b, and 2008–09, Version 1a.

16 When comparing the 100 largest school districts in 1998–99 to those in 2008–09, note that some of the districts changed their name

during this period. The 17 public school districts that were among the 100 largest in 1998–99 but not in 2008–09 include Oakland Unified,

California; San Juan Unified, California; District of Columbia Public Schools, District of Columbia; Escambia County School District,

Florida; Wichita, Kansas; Caddo Parish School Board, Louisiana; East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, Louisiana; Jefferson Parish

School Board, Louisiana; Orleans Parish School Board, Louisiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis City, Missouri;

Buffalo City School District, New York; Cincinnati City School District, Ohio; Portland School District 1J, Oregon; Ysleta Independent

School District, Texas; and Seattle, Washington.

10

References and Related Data Sources

References

Chen, C. (2010). Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools From the Common Core of

Data: School Year 2008–09 (NCES 2010-345). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National

Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 16, 2010, from

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010345.

Sable, J., and Plotts, C. (2010). Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment

and Staff Counts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008–09 (NCES 2010-347). U.S. Department

of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences.

Retrieved August 12, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010347.

Stillwell, R. (2010). Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data:

School Year 2007–08 (NCES 2010-341). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for

Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 9, 2010, from

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010341.

Data Files

Data files for school, agency, and state universe surveys may be found on the CCD Data Files page of the CCD

website at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ccddata.asp.

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010345http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010347http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010341http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ccddata.asp

A-1

Appendix A—Basic Tables

Table A-1 presents basic data such as the number of students receiving educational services, full-time equivalent (FTE)

teaching positions, 2008–09 completers, and number of schools for each of the 100 largest school districts. Also shown is

information to fully identify each school district by its city, county, or state, since the name of the district is not always

sufficient for this purpose. In this and all of the other basic tables, the districts are shown in descending order of size

(students in membership as of October 2008). Since the districts are displayed by the number of students, it is easy to note

differences in the numbers of teachers, high school completers, and schools as they relate to districts of similar size. For

example, the Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, though smaller in size, has more high school completers than the

five districts immediately preceding it.

Tables A-2, A-3, A-4, A-6, A-8, and A-9 include only schools with student membership (or regular schools with students,

as specified in tables A-2, A-3, and A-4).1

Table A-2 provides information on school characteristics in the 100 largest school districts by displaying school size

(students in membership) at different percentile levels, as well as mean school size for each district (computed using

regular schools having membership). For example, in New York City Public Schools, New York, the table shows that the

smallest 25 percent of schools have student memberships of 360 or less, while the largest 25 percent have student

memberships of 769 or more. Dividing all the students in regular schools in the district by the number of such schools

yields a mean, or average, size of 649 students. If all the regular schools in New York City Public Schools were listed by

size, the school at the midpoint on the list (the median) would have 511 pupils in membership.

Table A-3 presents median pupil/teacher ratios for the schools in the 100 largest school districts by instructional level. For

some districts, data were not computed for some instructional levels because data were missing for more than 20 percent

of schools.

Table A-4 provides information on how many ―primary,‖ ―middle,‖ and ―high‖ schools there are in the 100 largest school

districts. Grade spans, defined by a school’s lowest and highest grade offered, are used to determine a school’s

instructional level. The following four categories are used: primary (lowest grade of prekindergarten to 3; highest grade

up to 8), middle (lowest grade 4 to 7; highest grade 4 to 9), high (lowest grade 7 to 12; highest grade 12), and other (all

other configurations, including prekindergarten, kindergarten, or 1 to 12).

Table A-5 presents the percentage distribution of different types of FTE staff positions in each district. Teachers

represented the largest proportion of staff. ―Other staff,‖ which made up 32 percent of the total, is defined in the appendix

C—Glossary.

Table A-6 reports the number and percentage of Title I eligible schools, the percentage of students in Title I eligible

schools, and the percentage of students in Title I school-wide eligible programs. The percentage of schools that were Title

I eligible ranged from 5 to 100 percent.

Table A-7 reports magnet and charter schools. All districts in states that had charter schools reported the number of

charter schools administered by that district. Many charter schools function as their own school districts, which is why a

number of the districts in this report do not report any charter schools.

Table A-8 gives the number of schools in each district in five ranges of percentage of combined Black, Hispanic,

Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races student membership, as well as the overall

percentage of combined Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races

student membership in each district. For example, in 9,357 schools, more than 80 percent of students were Black,

Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Two or more races. Across all of the 100 largest

1 Schools with membership are schools that have an enrollment of at least one student. In the Common Core of Data (CCD), schools can be reported

legitimately with no student enrollment because students can be included in the enrollment for only a single school. For example, if a student is

dually enrolled in a regular school and a vocational school, that student can only be reported in the membership of one of these schools. Total number

of schools includes schools with and without membership.

A-2

school districts, 71 percent of students were Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, or

Two or more races.

Table A-9 presents the percentage of students in each district by specific racial/ethnic categories. This table illustrates that

some school districts are made up of many racial/ethnic groups while others have high concentrations of one group. For

example, in Los Angeles Unified, California, 73 percent of students are Hispanic and 11 percent are Black, whereas in the

New York Public Schools, New York, the proportions are closer for Hispanic and Black students (40 and 31 percent,

respectively).

Also shown in table A-9 is the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. One district did not report

data on the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Among the 99 of the 100 largest public school

districts for which data were available, the percentages of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch under the

National School Lunch Program varied greatly. This percentage ranged from a low of less than 1 percent in the

Brownsville Independent School District, Texas to a high of 91 percent in the Puerto Rico Department of Education.

Table A-10 presents the numbers of students assigned to the schools in the 100 largest school districts. It should be noted

that students attending a ―non-regular‖ school (i.e., special education, vocational education, and other or alternative

education school) are often counted at their regular home school rather than the school they attend part of the day. The

number and percentage of students having Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), in accordance with the Individuals

With Disabilities Education Act, Part B, is also shown in table A-10. Except for IEP data, the student counts presented in

this table are aggregated from the school level and may differ from counts presented elsewhere in this report that are

derived from the school district level. For example, student counts from the district level could include students enrolled

in the district but not assigned to a school (e.g., hospitalized or homebound students).

Table A-11 presents the number of schools in the 100 largest districts by type of school. All but four of the districts have

specialized schools devoted to special, vocational, or alternative education. This table also includes schools that do not

have students. Schools may not have students for a variety of reasons, the most common being that the school serves a

student population that is counted at another school. For example, students with dual enrollment in a regular school and a

vocational education school would be counted in only one of these schools.

Table A-12 presents the number of high school completers (regular diploma recipients and other completers) in the 100

largest school districts in 2007–08. Note that high school completers are reported on the CCD for the previous year (e.g.,

2007–08 high school completers are reported on the 2008–09 collection). This table also presents the grades 9–12 dropout

rate and the public school averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR) (using diploma recipients only) for each district for

2007–08 (see appendix B—Methodology for a discussion of the calculation of the grades 9–12 dropout rate and the

averaged freshman graduation rate).

Table A-13 presents data on the number of students assigned to graded (three categories) and ungraded levels. In

accounting for their students, 85 of the 100 largest districts assigned all of their students to numbered grades and 15 used

the ungraded status for some students in some settings, such as special education, vocational education, and other

specialized or alternative education programs. In this table, students assigned to all types of schools are counted in the

grade for which they are reported. The student counts presented in this table are aggregated from the school level, and

may differ from counts presented elsewhere in this report that are derived from the school district level. For example,

student counts from the district level could include students enrolled in the district but not assigned to a school (e.g.,

hospitalized or homebound students).

Table A-14 presents data on school district revenues and expenditures and is based on fiscal year 2008 (school year

2007–08) local government financial data collected by the Governments Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. It presents

the amount of revenue received by source (local, state, and federal); current expenditures and those current expenditures

for instruction; and current expenditures per pupil in membership for fiscal year 2008. Data for Puerto Rico were obtained

from the CCD National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS).

A-3

Whereas table A-14 presents data on the dollar amounts of revenues and expenditures, table A-15 presents the percentage

distribution of revenues by source as well as the percentage of current expenditures spent on instruction. For example, the

100 largest school districts received 47 percent of their revenues from state sources and spent 53 percent of their current

expenditures on instruction.

Table A-1.—Selected statistics for the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by school district: School years

2008–09 and 2007–08

Number of full-

Number time-equivalent Number of Number

of (FTE) teaching 2007–08 of

Name of reporting district City State County students1

positions2

completers3

schools4

Total † † † 11,143,875 710,155 617,538 16,905

New York City Public Schools New York NY New York County 981,690 71,824 55,290 1,496

Los Angeles Unified Los Angeles CA Los Angeles County 687,534 35,084 30,580 860

Puerto Rico Department of Education Hato Rey PR San Juan Municipio 503,635 39,356 30,016 1,511

City of Chicago School District 299 Chicago IL Cook County 421,430 21,512 20,285 630

Dade Miami FL Miami-Dade County 345,525 22,384 20,791 496

Clark County School District Las Vegas NV Clark County 312,761 15,348 13,031 350

Broward Fort Lauderdale FL Broward County 256,351 18,729 15,742 303

Houston Independent School District Houston TX Harris County 200,225 11,994 7,976 296

Hillsborough Tampa FL Hillsborough County 192,007 13,986 10,503 285

Hawaii Department of Education Honolulu HI Honolulu County 179,478 11,294 11,833 290

Orange Orlando FL Orange County 172,257 10,975 10,672 236

Palm Beach West Palm Beach FL Palm Beach County 170,757 13,213 10,879 247

Fairfax County Public Schools Falls Church VA Fairfax County 169,030 9,274 12,150 193

Philadelphia City School District Philadelphia PA Philadelphia County 159,867 10,258 8,732 274

Dallas Independent School District Dallas TX Dallas County 157,352 10,937 6,371 232

Gwinnett County Suwanee GA Gwinnett County 157,219 10,978 8,472 115

Montgomery County Public Schools Rockville MD Montgomery County 139,282 9,401 10,316 204

Wake County Schools Raleigh NC Wake County 138,443 9,317 7,717 156

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Charlotte NC Mecklenburg County 135,064 9,312 6,611 166

San Diego Unified San Diego CA San Diego County 132,256 6,855 6,778 218

Prince George's County Public Schools Upper Marlboro MD Prince George's County 127,977 8,870 8,644 215

Duval Jacksonville FL Duval County 122,606 7,973 6,502 175

Memphis City School District Memphis TN Shelby County 111,954 7,201 6,547 200

Cobb County Marietta GA Cobb County 106,747 8,215 7,090 118

Pinellas Largo FL Pinellas County 106,061 7,878 6,790 173

Baltimore County Public Schools Baltimore MD Baltimore County 103,180 7,339 7,571 172

Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District Houston TX Harris County 100,685 6,411 5,294 78

Dekalb County Decatur GA Dekalb County 99,775 6,902 5,424 146

Jefferson County Louisville KY Jefferson County 98,774 6,144 5,396 174

Detroit City School District Detroit MI Wayne County 97,577 5,953 — 197

Albuquerque Public Schools Albuquerque NM Bernalillo County 95,934 6,542 5,239 174

Polk Bartow FL Polk County 94,657 7,548 5,068 156

Northside Independent School District San Antonio TX Bexar County 89,000 5,782 4,704 101

Fulton County Atlanta GA Fulton County 88,299 6,530 5,087 98

Long Beach Unified Long Beach CA Los Angeles County 87,509 4,017 5,054 92

Jefferson County School District No R 1 Golden CO Jefferson County 85,946 4,959 5,968 162

Milwaukee School District Milwaukee WI Milwaukee County 85,381 5,158 — 215

Austin Independent School District Austin TX Travis County 83,483 5,890 3,903 120

Baltimore City Public Schools Baltimore MD Baltimore City 82,266 5,839 4,116 194

Jordan District Sandy UT Salt Lake County 81,485 3,221 — 99

Lee Fort Myers FL Lee County 79,434 5,034 4,491 117

Fort Worth Independent School District Fort Worth TX Tarrant County 79,285 5,167 3,529 147

Fresno Unified Fresno CA Fresno County 76,621 3,922 3,870 106

Davidson County School District Nashville TN Davidson County 74,312 5,307 4,018 139

Denver County 1 Denver CO Denver County 74,189 4,356 3,190 143

Prince Wm County Public Schools Manassas VA Prince William County 73,917 3,845 4,560 83

Anne Arundel County Public Schools Annapolis MD Anne Arundel County 73,653 4,939 5,297 124

Brevard Viera FL Brevard County 73,098 5,290 5,018 121

Guilford County Schools Greensboro NC Guilford County 72,951 5,091 4,776 119

Va Beach City Public Schools Virginia Beach VA Virginia Beach City 71,554 3,984 5,341 84

Greenville 01 Greenville SC Greenville County 70,441 4,542 — 94

Mesa Unified District Mesa AZ Maricopa County 70,346 3,755 4,284 90

Granite District Salt Lake City UT Salt Lake County 70,166 2,854 — 115

Fort Bend Independent School District Sugar Land TX Fort Bend County 68,708 4,354 4,439 68

Pasco Land O Lakes FL Pasco County 66,784 5,082 3,506 102

Davis District Farmington UT Davis County 66,614 2,781 — 100

Washoe County School District Reno NV Washoe County 65,421 3,461 3,191 104

Seminole Sanford FL Seminole County 64,927 4,519 4,266 73

North East Independent School District San Antonio TX Bexar County 63,452 4,311 3,927 73

Arlington Independent School District Arlington TX Tarrant County 63,045 4,076 3,214 76

See notes at end of table.

A-4

Table A-1.—Selected statistics for the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts in the United States and jurisdictions, by school district: School years

2008–09 and 2007–08—Continued

Number of full-

Number time-equivalent Number of Number

of (FTE) teaching 2007–08 of

Name of reporting district City State County students1

positions2

completers3

schools4

Volusia Deland FL Volusia County 63,018 4,445 3,856 96

Mobile County Mobile AL Mobile County 62,531 3,772 3,360 113

El Paso Independent School District El Paso TX El Paso County 62,322 4,402 3,481 93

Alpine District American Fork UT Utah County 62,281 2,523 — 71

Elk Grove Unified Elk Grove CA Sacramento County 62,172 2,941 3,745 66

Aldine Independent School District Houston TX Harris County 61,526 4,144 2,483 72

Chesterfield County Public Schools Chesterfield VA Chesterfield County 59,080 3,195 4,294 64

Douglas County School District No Re 1 Castle Rock CO Douglas County 58,723 3,133 2,903 79

Garland Independent School District Garland TX Dallas County 57,510 3,785 3,344 74

Santa Ana Unified Santa Ana CA Orange County 57,439 2,579 2,404 60

Tucson Unified District Tucson AZ Pima County 57,391 3,352 3,230 125

Loudoun County Public Schools Ashburn VA Loudoun County 56,894 3,222 3,341 73

Katy Independent School District Katy TX Fort Bend County 56,862 3,916 3,555 55

Boston Boston MA Suffolk County 55,923 4,374 3,506 137

Knox County School District Knoxville TN Knox County 55,535 3,831 3,464 87

San Francisco Unified San Francisco CA San Francisco County 55,183 3,168 3,905 113

San Bernardino City Unified San Bernardino CA San Bernardino County 54,727 2,639 2,421 73

San Antonio Independent School District San Antonio TX Bexar County 54,696 3,321 2,153 100

Cumberland County Schools Fayetteville NC Cumberland County 54,288 3,736 3,363 87

Plano Independent School District Plano TX Collin County 54,203 4,067 3,315 75

Columbus City Columbus OH Franklin County 53,536 3,186 2,569 132

Forsyth County Schools Winston Salem NC Forsyth County 52,906 3,895 2,998 78

Capistrano Unified San Juan Capistrano CA Orange County 52,681 2,262 3,548 61

Corona Norco Unified Norco CA Riverside County 52,138 2,371 3,250 50

Osceola Kissimmee FL Osceola County 51,941 3,117 3,309 60

Pasadena Independent School District Pasadena TX Harris County 51,578 3,457 2,216 64

Cherry Creek 5 Greenwood Village CO Arapahoe County 51,199 2,950 3,426 57

Lewisville Independent School District Flower Mound TX Denton County 50,216 3,666 3,004 64

Cleveland Municipal Cleveland OH Cuyahoga County 49,952 3,585 2,082 108

Howard County Public Schools Ellicott City MD Howard County 49,905 3,887 3,767 73

Clayton County Jonesboro GA Clayton County 49,508 3,723 2,528 65

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta GA Fulton County 49,032 3,764 2,114 107

Henrico County Public Schools Richmond VA Henrico County 48,991 2,654 3,514 69

Anchorage School District Anchorage AK Anchorage Municipality 48,837 2,839 3,040 97

Brownsville Independent School District Brownsville TX Cameron County 48,587 3,322 2,216 55

Garden Grove Unified Garden Grove CA Orange County 48,574 2,098 2,010 67

Sacramento City Unified Sacramento CA Sacramento County 48,155 2,316 2,348 90

Omaha Public Schools Omaha NE Douglas County 48,014 3,386 2,336 98

Conroe Independent School District Conroe TX Montgomery County 47,996 3,082 2,835 51

Shelby County School District Memphis TN Shelby County 47,448 2,982 2,921 51

† Not applicable.

— Not available.

1 Count of students receiving educational services from the school district may differ somewhat from the counts in table A-10, which reflects the count of students from the

schools aggregated up to the school district.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,"

2008–09, Version 1a, "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 2008–09, Version 1a, and "Local Education Universe Survey Dropout and Completion Restricted-Use

Data File," 2007–08, Version 1a.

NOTE: Data include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic).

4 Totals for number of schools may differ from published estimates since they exclude closed, inactive, and future schools.

2 Full-time equivalent (FTE) is the amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position. It is computed by dividing the amount of

time employed by the amount of time normally required for a full-time position. FTE is not a head count; for example, 2 half-time employees represent 1 FTE.3 The number of total completers for the entire 100 largest school districts includes districts that reported diploma data but did not report other completer data. The number

of total completers for individual districts that reported diploma data but did not report other completer data were set to missing. Therefore, the number of total completers for

the entire 100 largest school districts is greater than the sum of the district-level total completer counts.

A-5

Table A-2.—Mean and percentile distribution of public elementary and secondary regular school size in the 100 largest school districts in the United States and

Table A-2.—jurisdictions, by school district: School year 2008–09

Regular

schools Mean

having school 10th

25th

75th

90th

Name of reporting district State membership membership Minimum percentile percentile Median percentile percentile Maximum

Total † 15,396 707.8 1 234 380 578 848 1,281 7,693

New York City Public Schools NY 1,454 648.8 51 235 360 511 769 1,149 4,447

Los Angeles Unified CA 759 859.0 4 213 376 598 993 1,949 4,657

Puerto Rico Department of Education PR 1,446 335.0 25 120 187 297 439 604 1,337

City of Chicago School District 299 IL 612 688.5 19 236 341 523 793 1,325 7,693

Dade FL 397 859.5 10 185 446 720 1,059 1,586 4,154

Clark County School District NV 321 960.5 6 440 628 788 1,028 1,635 3,644

Broward FL 268 932.1 6 138 552 794 1,164 1,992 3,928

Houston Independent School District TX 274 718.6 23 321 443 641 834 1,160 3,447

Hillsborough FL 230 813.6 2 323 500 704 927 1,498 2,865

Hawaii Department of Education HI 285 628.7 20 171 354 524 831 1,177 2,635

Orange FL 195 873.0 16 219 502 721 989 1,400 4,332

Palm Beach FL 186 898.4 1 379 557 801 1,095 1,664 3,137

Fairfax County Public Schools VA 186 902.4 270 417 549 708 945 1,820 4,031

Philadelphia City School District PA 256 590.8 81 280 384 488 682 1,000 3,068

Dallas Independent School District TX 223 701.4 100 291 446 634 857 1,136 4,572

Gwinnett County GA 111 1,415.2 124 626 985 1,152 1,735 2,717 4,116

Montgomery County Public Schools MD 193 716.7 191 370 433 570 772 1,420 2,681

Wake County Schools NC 153 897.8 11 428 570 781 1,030 1,697 2,721

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools NC 162 823.4 100 339 515 692 989 1,321 2,937

San Diego Unified CA 208 620.1 95 255 340 491 714 1,218 2,646

Prince George's County Public Schools MD 194 642.9 92 260 357 509 723 1,091 2,964

Duval FL 156 769.5 38 312 404 605 1,104 1,334 2,939

Memphis City School District TN 190 587.9 7 215 348 478 742 1,032 2,142

Cobb County GA 113 943.7 221 485 620 836 1,005 1,832 2,632

Pinellas FL 126 809.3 7 361 522 642 987 1,819 2,328

Baltimore County Public Schools MD 154 644.9 195 332 403 509 711 1,220 2,192

Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District TX 74 1,356.6 811 872 968 1,105 1,447 2,985 3,479

Dekalb County GA 136 725.5 38 321 442 617 939 1,306 2,034

Jefferson County KY 138 692.9 58 370 484 563 790 1,224 2,260

Detroit City School District MI 175 516.2 29 242 295 422 604 919 2,299

Albuquerque Public Schools NM 160 584.6 41 165 311 458 694 1,119 2,292

Polk FL 127 719.0 10 320 498 648 843 1,277 2,186

Northside Independent School District TX 88 999.5 399 571 628 738 1,124 1,613 2,959

Fulton County GA 93 943.0 16 529 654 839 1,031 1,794 2,791

Long Beach Unified CA 87 982.4 1 352 562 822 1,027 1,221 4,756

Jefferson County School District No R 1 CO 152 555.7 44 268 356 451 618 987 2,042

Milwaukee School District WI 203 414.4 1 77 191 358 556 780 1,991

Austin Independent School District TX 108 758.1 196 367 501 674 883 1,183 2,753

Baltimore City Public Schools MD 176 421.5 50 182 282 367 516 682 1,667

Jordan District UT 85 938.1 391 524 653 825 1,054 1,491 2,821

Lee FL 93 827.3 44 370 605 813 977 1,425 1,904

Fort Worth Independent School District TX 118 655.8 82 363 443 569 780 971 2,300

Fresno Unified CA 97 764.3 53 407 499 675 779 998 3,193

Davidson County School District TN 132 557.9 13 251 334 489 664 857 2,853

Denver County 1 CO 132 542.7 77 293 353 474 617 895 2,078

Prince Wm County Public Schools VA 83 890.6 216 434 531 675 1,051 1,707 2,762

Anne Arundel County Public Schools MD 111 656.3 137 260 361 497 696 1,391 2,493

Brevard FL 93 775.0 73 408 505 688 831 1,372 2,759

Guilford County Schools NC 113 627.6 93 226 375 525 828 1,172 2,104

Va Beach City Public Schools VA 82 872.6 297 432 509 617 1,066 1,868 2,520

Greenville 01 SC 88 798.6 86 391 563 704 1,006 1,263 2,164

Mesa Unified District AZ 84 829.8 94 459 572 706 862 1,447 2,629

Granite District UT 87 794.1 163 455 568 725 883 1,211 2,276

Fort Bend Independent School District TX 66 1,039.4 422 587 689 816 1,245 2,127 2,733

Pasco FL 76 869.1 180 435 605 720 1,022 1,569 2,501

Davis District UT 80 815.4 143 431 582 747 928 1,324 2,320

Washoe County School District NV 101 639.1 16 211 406 550 731 1,102 2,385

Seminole FL 61 1,054.8 17 532 707 832 1,160 2,253 3,199

North East Independent School District TX 63 1,001.9 330 464 591 844 1,104 1,791 3,192

Arlington Independent School District TX 70 888.0 43 567 598 708 855 1,132 3,234

See notes at end of table.

School size at different percentile levels

A-6

Table A-2.—Mean and percentile distribution of public elementary and secondary regular school size in the 100 largest school districts in the United States and

Table A-2.—jurisdictions, by school district: School year 2008–09—Continued

Regular

schools Mean

having school 10th

25th

75th

90th

Name of reporting district State membership membership Minimum percentile percentile Median percentile percentile Maximum

Volusia FL 72 855.8 29 340 517 698 963 1,315 3,321

Mobile County AL 90 686.4 78 295 435 545 813 1,322 2,568

El Paso Independent School District TX 82 753.3 118 350 478 646 843 1,329 3,002

Alpine District UT 65 944.3 127 476 610 892 1,184 1,441 2,229

Elk Grove Unified CA 59 1,023.9 286 502 693 919 1,052 1,905 2,843

Aldine Independent School District TX 68 898.0 113 549 741 844 935 1,118 2,892

Chesterfield County Public Schools VA 62 945.9 188 519 656 771 1,088 1,754 2,484

Douglas County School District No Re 1 CO 76 769.1 74 401 508 634 787 1,393 3,135

Garland Independent School District TX 69 823.8 316 409 502 626 830 1,989 2,627

Santa Ana Unified CA 56 1,006.6 114 472 625 833 1,230 1,725 3,368

Tucson Unified District AZ 108 521.1 24 193 303 425 555 915 2,948

Loudoun County Public Schools VA 73 779.4 84 205 539 728 936 1,273 1,837

Katy Independent School District TX 50 1,132.8 395 676 808 950 1,179 2,633 2,936

Boston MA 118 418.0 97 168 238 332 484 706 2,449

Knox County School District TN 78 709.3 129 268 386 623 1,003 1,308 1,919

San Francisco Unified CA 108 500.5 48 214 256 362 565 941 2,638

San Bernardino City Unified CA 64 825.3 139 377 516 683 817 1,206 3,184

San Antonio Independent School District TX 87 621.3 37 289 409 540 691 950 2,133

Cumberland County Schools NC 81 650.7 78 243 350 553 799 1,264 1,872

Plano Independent School District TX 66 819.0 389 443 522 629 914 1,380 2,805

Columbus City OH 122 431.7 29 227 299 371 497 763 1,315

Forsyth County Schools NC 68 750.6 120 282 479 664 929 1,450 1,975

Capistrano Unified CA 56 925.4 100 413 545 674 999 1,618 3,213

Corona Norco Unified CA 42 1,195.0 526 659 779 994 1,169 2,154 3,916

Osceola FL 49 1,041.0 33 475 750 954 1,286 1,844 2,430

Pasadena Independent School District TX 57 903.5 470 543 641 757 858 987 3,381

Cherry Creek 5 CO 56 909.0 344 473 556 664 912 2,047 3,556

Lewisville Independent School District TX 61 819.1 274 452 547 667 781 1,007 3,046

Cleveland Municipal OH 108 455.1 92 208 284 404 538 788 1,618

Howard County Public Schools MD 70 709.8 282 429 506 633 743 1,305 1,509

Clayton County GA 60 825.1 123 510 572 747 896 1,548 1,845

Atlanta Public Schools GA 102 480.0 35 243 299 406 553 889 1,752

Henrico County Public Schools VA 64 759.0 201 398 478 540 873 1,667 2,104

Anchorage School District AK 85 544.1 41 248 348 420 525 870 2,193

Brownsville Independent School District TX 49 990.7 99 469 686 855 1,104 2,211 3,126

Garden Grove Unified CA 63 760.6 274 402 517 608 710 1,930 2,300

Sacramento City Unified CA 84 556.6 84 239 337 462 565 853 2,211

Omaha Public Schools NE 86 554.3 32 235 309 437 620 854 2,592

Conroe Independent School District TX 47 1,017.4 36 564 620 774 1,081 2,100 3,709

Shelby County School District TN 51 930.4 211 501 658 803 1,073 1,524 2,000

† Not applicable.

School size at differen

characteristics of the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts...

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