Sliders List
Teaching & Leadership
Average teacher salary
| The average teacher salary in your district. The starting value is derived from the total instructional expense figure in the CCD. It does not include other compensation or benefits. The level, structure and distribution of teacher salaries can be an important driver in attracting and retaining high quality talent. |
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Starting teacher salary
| The starting salary for teachers with a Bachelor's degree and no experience. The starting value is an estimate based on your average teacher salary. It does not include other compensation or benefits. To attract high quality teaching candidates, starting teaching salary should be competitive with similar opportunities in the area. |
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Average salary of lowest paid 10% of teachers
| The average salary among teachers in the bottom 10% of your salary distribution. The starting value is an estimate based on your average teacher salary. It does not include other compensation or benefits. The level, structure and distribution of teacher salaries can be an important driver in attracting and retaining high quality talent. |
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Average salary of highest paid 10% of teachers
| The average salary among teachers in the top 10% of your salary distribution. The starting value is an estimate based on your average teacher salary. It does not include other compensation or benefits. Offering more opportunities for strong teachers to significantly increase their compensation by reaching pre-defined competency targets, taking on additional responsibilities, and exhibiting strong performance can increase teacher quality and retention. |
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Highest possible teacher salary
| The highest possible teacher salary in your district according to the salary schedule. The starting value is an estimate based on your average teacher salary. It does not include other compensation or benefits. Offering more opportunities for strong teachers to significantly increase their compensation by reaching pre-defined competency targets, taking on additional responsibilities, and exhibiting strong performance can increase teacher quality and retention. |
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Teacher collaborative planning hours per week
| The number of hours teachers spend each week in collaborative planning time. The starting value assumes that all teacher planning time is for individual planning, with no time specifically for collaboration. This assumption is based on ERS' analysis of representative teacher contracts. Research shows that teaching effectiveness improves when teams of teachers and expert coaches can collaborate for 90+ minutes per week around ongoing student work and assessment data and use this information to continually adjust instruction. |
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Teacher non-teaching days per year
| The number of days during the year when students are not in school, but teachers are expected to be working on school business. The starting value is an estimate based on National Center for Teaching Quality data. Time for teachers to plan, analyze student data and collaborate outside the classroom, when used well, can increase teacher effectiveness. |
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Professional development and instructional support as a % of total budget
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Percentage of expenditures dedicated to providing instructional services other than teacher salaries (e.g. training, curriculum development, and instructional technology) to students. The starting value is from CCD. Effective professional development and instructional support is critical to ensuring high quality teaching. The most effective professional development is job-embedded and focused on instructional practice. |
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Average admin positions per school
| The average number of administrator full time equivalents per
school. The starting value is from CCD. Schools need to have enough administrative capacity to allow school leaders to focus on teaching quality and evaluation. At the same time, administrators spend time performing functions that could be handled by clerical or other staff. |
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Average administrator salary
| The average administrator salary in your district. The starting value is derived from school administration salary data from CCD. The level, structure and distribution of administrator salaries can be an important driver in attracting and retain high quality talent. |
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Instructional aides per school
| The average number of instructional aide full time equivalents per school. The starting value is from CCD. While salaries for instructional aides are often much lower than for certified teachers, they have not been demonstrated to provide as high quality instruction. Replacing some aides with fewer high quality teachers may actually improve instructional quality. |
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Individual Attention
PreK class size
| Average number of students per class in preK classes. The starting value is an estimate based on a survey of state class size policies. Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters and assuming a teacher is proficient, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes. |
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Elementary school class size
| Average number of students per class in elementary school (excluding classes that are special education only). The starting value is an estimate based on your district's K-12 student-teacher ratio (from CCD), adjusting for estimated teacher non-teaching time and staffing inefficiencies. ERS splits elementary school class size into two subcategories – grade level and special subjects – in order to provide users the opportunity to make strategic resource changes and purposefully address student needs. Grade level classes are the students' "home base" classes – to differentiate them from special subject classes such as art, music and physical education. Special subject classes include art, music, physical education and other subjects that are taught outside of the grade level classes. We assume that the starting class size is the same across these subcategories. Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters and assuming a teacher is proficient, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes. |
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Middle school class size
| Average number of students per class in middle school, excluding special education-only classes. The starting value is an estimate based on your district's K-12 student-teacher ratio (from CCD), adjusting for estimated teacher non-teaching time and staffing inefficiencies. ERS splits middle school class size into two subcategories – core subject and non-core subjects – in order to provide users the opportunity to make strategic resource changes and purposefully address student needs. Core subject classes are classes in English/language arts, math, science, social studies and world language. Non-core classes are all other classes. We assume that starting class size is the same across these subcategories. Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters and assuming a teacher is proficient, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes. |
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High school class size
| Average number of students per class in high school, excluding special education-only classes. The starting value is an estimate based on your district's K-12 student-teacher ratio (from CCD), adjusting for estimated teacher non-teaching time and staffing inefficiencies. ERS splits high school class size into two subcategories – core subject and non-core subjects – in order to provide users the opportunity to make strategic resource changes and purposefully address student needs. Core subject classes are classes in English/language arts, math, science, social studies and world language. Non-core classes are all other classes. We assume that starting class size is the same across these subcategories. Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters and assuming a teacher is proficient, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes. |
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Other schools class size
| Average number of students per class in "other" school, excluding special education only classes. CCD defines "other" schools as those with a grade span configuration that does not fall into the elementary, middle, and high school definitions. The starting value is an estimate based on your district's K-12 student-teacher ratio (from CCD), adjusting for estimated teacher non-teaching time and staffing inefficiencies. ERS splits class size into two subcategories – core subject and non-core subjects – in order to provide users the opportunity to make strategic resource changes and purposefully address student needs. Core subject classes are classes in English/language arts, math, science, social studies and world language. Non-core classes are all other classes. We assume that starting class size is the same across these subcategories. Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters and assuming a teacher is proficient, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes. |
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% of students in tutoring and small group support
| Percentage of students who have been assigned to groups of 6-8 per teacher for additional attention for part of the school day. The starting value is an estimate based on ERS' district database. Small group instruction for part of the day can be a more effective and less costly way to provide students with targeted individual attention than reducing overall class size. |
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Student support services as a % of total budget
| Percentage of total expenditures dedicated to providing non-instructional support services (e.g. guidance, occupational therapy, and nursing) to students. The starting value is from CCD. Districts should ensure adequate support for students who need it; but should also explore ways to improve the efficiency of services provided, such as sharing resources across schools. Student support services can also fund investments in Response to Intervention Programs, This type of early intervention targets support for struggling students, keeping them on track within general education. Not only does this promote inclusion and differentiation of instruction for all students, it can limit referrals and placements into more costly and rigidly prescribed programs. |
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Use of Time
School days per year
| Number of days in a standard school year. The starting value is an estimate based on NCES national averages. Struggling students require instructional time to catch up. Districts should ensure adequate instructional time to meet student learning needs. |
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School hours per day
| Number of hours in a standard school day. The starting value is an estimate based on data from the National Center for Teaching Quality. Struggling students require instructional time to catch up. Districts should ensure adequate instructional time to meet student learning needs. |
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Average periods per day
| Number of periods in a standard school day for Middle School and High Schools (and "Other" schools as appropriate). The starting value is an estimate based on ERS' district database. The number of periods per day in secondary schools varies widely across districts and schools. Schools with a standard six or seven period day may be able to free time for additional core academic instruction and/or teacher collaborative planning by adding periods or using a block or other non-standard schedule. |
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% of students taking an extra section of ELA or math
| Percentage of students that are given an additional period of instructional time in core subjects during the school day. The starting value is an estimate based on ERS' district database. Increasing this value will increase the total number of teachers required, because we assume that these extra time classes are smaller than average classes, but could also be implemented at no additional cost by holding class sizes the same. Replacing elective or study hall blocks with focused academic instruction can improve performance, especially for struggling students, at little or no cost. |
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Percent of students with an extended day
| Percentage of students that are given one additional hour instructional time in core subjects beyond the standard school day. The starting value is assumed to be zero, based on ERS' district database. Struggling students who are significantly behind can benefit from an extended school day if the time is used effectively. |
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Minutes of additional time for extended day students
| The number of minutes beyond the standard school day that have been provided for instruction to students. Struggling students who are significantly behind can benefit from an extended school day if the time is used effectively. |
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Special Education
Special education students as a % of total
| Percentage of all K-12 students within the district who receive special education services of any type. The starting value is from CCD. There are side variations across districts in the number of students placed in special education services. Early intervention programs and alternative approaches to supporting struggling students in general education settings may be able to reduce inappropriate placements. |
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% of special education students in resource settings
| Percentage of all special education students within the district who spend more than 60% of their time in general education classrooms. The starting value is based on ERS' district database. Special education students are required to be placed in the "least restrictive setting" appropriate for their specific learning needs. Some special education students may be able to be moved from self-contained classrooms into inclusion or resource settings, especially with additional teacher training and other support. |
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% of special education students in self-contained settings
| Percentage of all special education students within the district who spend less than 40% of their time in general education classrooms. The starting value is an estimate based on NCES national data. Special education students are required to be placed in the "least restrictive setting" appropriate for their specific learning needs. Some special education students may be able to be moved from self-contained classrooms into inclusion or resource settings, especially with additional teacher training and other support. |
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Target class size (Special Education)
| The class size on which your special education staffing ratio is based. This would be your actual class size if staffing were 100% efficient. For example, assume your target special education class size is 8. You will only have ACTUAL class sizes of 8 at a given school if there are exactly 8, 16, 24 or some other multiple of 8 self-contained special education students at that school. If not, then your ACTUAL class size will likely be lower. The starting value is based on ERS' district database. Target class sizes for special education should reflect the group sizes required by student Individual Education Plans (IEPs). |
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Special education fill rate
| Fill rate is the ratio of actual special education class size to target special education class size. Because schools tend to have a low number of self-contained special education students, fill rates in special education can be quite low. For example, assume your target special education class size is 8. If a given school only has 12 self contained special education students, the ACTUAL class size will only be 6 because you will still need to staff two teachers at that school. The fill rate would be 6/8 or 75%. The starting value is based on ERS' district database. Special education class sizes that are lower than district targets and Individual Education Plan (IEP) requirements drive up costs and can result in funding inequity across schools without significantly improving student performance. Districts may be able to increase fill rates by re-examining student assignment and program placement policies. |
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Class Size (Special Education)
| Average actual number of students in each classroom for self contained (separated) Special Ed classrooms. This value is read only and is calculated as the product of the target class size and the fill rate. You can change it by changing those values. Special education class sizes that are lower than district targets and Individual Education Plan (IEP) requirements drive up costs and can result in funding inequity across schools without significantly improving student performance. |
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PreK enrollment in full day as a % of eligible students
| Percentage of eligible students in your district enrolled in full day, district run, and pre-kindergarten programs. Total preK enrollment is derived by dividing district preK enrollment by the average of kindergarten, grade one and grade two enrollments, all from CCD. Based on national figures from NCES, approximately 61% of all preprimary preK enrollment is full day. However, for this model we assume as a starting value that all preK enrollment is in full day. Research strongly suggests that preK is a highly effective long-term investment that improves school readiness and future success especially for at-risk students. |
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PreK enrollment in half day as a % of eligible students
| Percentage of eligible students in your district enrolled in half day, district run, and pre-kindergarten programs. Total prek enrollment is derived by dividing district preK enrollment by the average of kindergarten, grade one and grade two enrollments, all from CCD. For this model we assume as a starting value that all preK enrollment is in full day. Research strongly suggests that preK is a highly effective long-term investment that improves school readiness and future success especially for at-risk students. |
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Buildings
Number of schools
| Total count of schools managed by the district directly (i.e. exclude any special education, charter schools, etc. that are not managed by the district offices). If you click on “detail” you will access sliders for the number of schools by each school level. For this model, we have defined elementary schools as schools that comprise pre-K or kindergarten through fifth or sixth grade; middles schools as schools that comprise sixth or seventh through eighth or ninth grade; and high schools as schools that comprise ninth or tenth through twelfth grade. We categorize any schools that do not fit into one of these categories as "other." The number of schools and grade levels of each school come from CCD. Districts with significant unfilled capacity may be able to free resources to invest in other areas by closing or consolidating schools. |
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Number of small schools
| Number of elementary schools with fewer than 300 students; number of
middle and high schools with fewer than 500 students. The starting
value is from CCD. Small schools are often more expensive to operate on a per pupil basis than larger schools. Reducing the number of small schools or increasing their size can free resources to invest in other areas. |
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Efficiency
Central leadership and management as a % of total budget
| Percentage of total expenditures dedicated to central office functions. This includes expenditure for the board of education, executive administration, fiscal services, and other central support services. The starting value is from CCD. Revisiting central office functions, restructuring work content and processes, automating clerical tasks, and taking advantage of electronic information and data systems can yield cost savings. |
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Operations and facilities as a % of total budget
| Percentage of expenditures dedicated to operations, facilities, and maintenance. This includes building services, care and upkeep of grounds and equipment, non-student transportation, and security. The starting value is from CCD. While it can be politically difficult, sharing resources across schools, renegotiating contracts or outsourcing can yield savings in this area. |
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Transportation as a % of total budget
| Percentage of expenditures dedicated to student transportation. The
starting value is from CCD. Changing walk zones and routes can result in significant savings. Changing program placement, school choice and assignment policies can reduce net transportation costs. |
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Food services as a % of total budget
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Percentage of expenditures dedicated to food services/cafeteria. The starting value is from CCD. While it can be politically difficult, sharing resources across schools, renegotiating contracts or outsourcing can yield savings in this area. |
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Benefits as a % of total salary expense
| The percentage of a teacher's total salary that comes from benefits. The starting value is an estimate based on the average across districts in ERS' database. Employee benefits can account for over 20% of total district expenditures. Replacing expensive and unusually generous one-size-fits-all packages with a menu of benefit options and increasing the employee level of contribution can yield significant savings. This may require renegotiating employee contracts, but depending on how it is implemented can appeal to a wider variety of employees and free up resources to be invested in other areas. |
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