Statistics

Colorado ranks:

• 50th in teacher wage competitiveness—compares teachers to non-teachers with similar education, experience and hours worked (Education Law Center, Great Ed national comparison chart)
• 49th in number of novice teachers in the classroom (Education Week, October 2016)
• 47th in per pupil spending change between 2002-03 and 2012-13 (National Center for Education Statistics)
• 44th in math gap (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 4th grade NAEP scale score)
• 42nd in per-pupil spending adjusted for regional cost differences (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 data)
• 42nd in poverty gap (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 data)
• 41st in pupil-teacher ratio (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014-15)
• 40th in per pupil spending (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012-13 data, Colorado vs National Per Pupil Spending)
• 39th in reading gap (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 4th grade NAEP scale score)
• 39th in spending on education adjusted for regional cost differences (Ed Week, 2016 Quality Counts, 2013 data)
• 39th out of the 44 states that provide state support for preschool/ECE. (National Institute for Early Education Research)

Note: The above stats are based on most current information available. Data are lagging indicators due to auditing.

Only Florida reports a higher proportion of novice teachers in the classroom (Education Week, October 2016).

The Great Education Colorado Index:

• $2,685 Amount below the national average that Colorado spends per pupil (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
• $4,511 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below Nebraska (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
• $8,019 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below Wyoming (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
• $2,157 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below Kansas (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]
• $1,243 Amount Colorado spends per pupil below New Mexico (adjusted for regional cost differences) [Ed Week, 2017 Quality Counts]

Stats on School Districts with 4-day School Week:

• 49% of Colorado districts (88 out of 178 school districts) are on or have some schools on 4-day school weeks.
• 50% growth in 4-day school weeks since 2005-06.
• The number of schools on 4-day school weeks has more than doubled since 2000.

Source: The Four-Day School Week Manual, Colorado Department of Education, August 2016

The Graph That Says it All (click here)