Historical public education information in Rhode Island, 2011-2015

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on Rhode Island's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view Rhode Island's public education page.

The Rhode Island public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 Rhode Island had 142,854 students enrolled in a total of 308 schools in 54 school districts. There were 11,414 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 13 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. There was roughly one administrator for every 317 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Rhode Island spent $13,815 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 10th highest in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 77 percent in 2012.

State agencies

See also: Rhode Island Department of Education

The Rhode Island Department of Education oversees K-12 education in the state. The chief administrative officer of the Rhode Island Department of Education is the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner of Education is appointed by the Rhode Island Board of Education. As of June 2015, the officeholder in this position was Deborah Gist.

The Rhode Island Board of Education governs all public education in the state. The board is composed of 11 members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate.

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Rhode Island compared to three neighboring states in school year 2011-2012 with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison, 2011-2012
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
Rhode Island	308	54	142,854	11,414	1:12.5	1:316.8	$13,815
Connecticut	1,150	200	554,437	43,805	1:12.7	1:252.1	$15,600
Massachusetts	1,835	401	953,369	69,342	1:13.7	1:210.1	$13,941
New Hampshire	477	281	191,900	15,049	1:12.8	1:349.6	$13,224
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	16	295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12" U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Rhode Island as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for Rhode Island's K-12 public school system, 2011-2012
Ethnicity	Students	State percentage	United States percentage**
American Indian	913	0.64%	1.10%
Asian	4,123	2.89%	4.68%
African American	11,597	8.12%	15.68%
Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl.	216	0.15%	0.42%
Hispanic	30,816	21.57%	24.37%
White	91,400	63.98%	51.21%
Two or more	3,789	2.65%	2.54%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity.

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

A majority of students in Rhode Island attended suburban schools during school year 2011-2012. Approximately 86 percent of the state's students attended city or suburban schools, compared to the approximately 14 percent who attended rural or town schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2011-2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Rhode Island	31.4%	54.4%	2.4%	11.9%
Connecticut	28.1%	53.7%	4%	14.2%
Massachusetts	20.8%	66.1%	2.2%	11%
New Hampshire	14.4%	31.8%	16.3%	37.5%
U.S. average	28.9%	34%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire), Rhode Island had the smallest share of fourth and eighth grade students who scored at or above proficient in both math and reading in school year 2012-2013.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Rhode Island	42%	36%	38%	36%
Connecticut	45%	37%	43%	45%
Massachusetts	58%	55%	47%	48%
New Hampshire	59%	47%	45%	44%
U.S. average	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Rhode Island and surrounding states for 2012 and 2013.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT composite, 2012		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Rhode Island	77%	Fourth	22.9	13%	1,468	72%
Connecticut	85%	First	23.8	27%	1,532	85%
Massachusetts	85%	Second	24.1	23%	1,553	83%
New Hampshire	86%	First	23.8	19%	1,567	70%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1,498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Rhode Island was higher than the national average at 5.2 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 4.2 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Rhode Island

As of June 2015, school choice options in Rhode Island included: charter schools, a school choice tax incentive program and an inter-district open enrollment policy. In addition, about 16.27 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-2012 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-2013.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Rhode Island state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Rhode Island spent approximately 14.2 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. As a share of the budget, this was down 1.30 percentage points, or 8.4 percent, from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent 15.5 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Rhode Island	14.2%	$13,815	10.76%	36.53%	52.72%
Connecticut	13.9%	$15,600	8.27%	33.65%	58.09%
Massachusetts	10.7%	$13,941	7.85%	37.91%	54.24%
New Hampshire	19.7%	$13,224	6.49%	37.29%	56.21%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in Rhode Island totaled approximately $2.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including revenue sources, for Rhode Island and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Rhode Island	$244,530	$830,220	$1,198,254	$2,273,004
Connecticut	$799,526	$3,254,757	$5,618,933	$9,673,216
Massachusetts	$1,197,383	$5,783,240	$8,275,257	$15,255,880
New Hampshire	$184,768	$1,061,011	$1,599,416	$2,845,195
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=650x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Federal revenue,State revenue,Local revenue Rhode Island,10.76,36.53,52.72 Connecticut,8.27,33.65,58.09 Massachusetts,7.85,37.91,54.24 New Hampshire,6.49,37.29,56.21 U.S. total,12.34,44.09,43.56 </pbars>

Public school revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in Rhode Island totaled approximately $2.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for Rhode Island and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	General expenditures**	Capital outlay	Other***	Total expenditures
Rhode Island	$2,059,636	$47,973	$198,338	$2,305,947
Connecticut	$8,367,518	$533,188	$404,820	$9,305,526
Massachusetts	$12,894,969	$817,228	$767,052	$14,479,249
New Hampshire	$2,502,899	$206,241	$129,038	$2,838,178
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Current expenditures,Capital outlay,Other Rhode Island,89.32,2.08,8.60 Connecticut,89.92,5.73,4.35 Massachusetts,89.06,5.64,5.30 New Hampshire,88.19,7.27,4.55 U.S. total,86.31,8.78,4.90 </pbars>

Public school expenditures, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Rhode Island, the average salary decreased by 1.3 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Rhode Island	$64,286	$63,711	$63,221	$63,474	-1.3%
Connecticut	$70,762	$68,690	$70,621	$69,766	-1.4%
Massachusetts	$63,656	$73,945	$72,915	$73,129	14.9%
New Hampshire	$51,567	$54,912	$55,079	$55,599	7.8%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

Unions

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Rhode Island ranked fifth overall, or "strongest," which was in the first of five tiers.

The main unions related to the Rhode Island school system are the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers (RIFT) and NEA Rhode Island (NEARI), an affliate of the National Education Association (NEA). NEARI is the largest education association in the state. For the 2003 tax period NEARI had: $3.49 million in total revenue, $3.22 million in total expenses and $4.45 million in total assets. For the same period, RIFT had: $1.96 million in total revenue, $1.81 million in total expenses and $727,960 in total assets.

List of local Rhode Island school unions:

• Rhode Island Federation of Teachers
• NEA Rhode Island
• Providence Teachers Union
• East Providence Education Association
• American Federation Of Teachers (AFT) Cranston
• Warwick Teachers Union
• AFT Pawtucket
• AFT Coventry
• Woonsocket Teachers' Guild
• AFT Lincoln

Government sector lobbying

See also: Rhode Island government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Rhode Island Association of School Committees.

Transparency

Rhode Island maintains a Transparency Portal, which includes financial records and personnel statements for at least 15 government departments. The Department of Education provides information pertaining to projects, teacher pensions, scholarships, loans and grants.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Public education in Rhode Island
• Rhode Island
• Education Policy in the U.S.