Major Challenges Facing Texas Education Today
”Nothing is more important than education. Our state‘s future tax base and fiscal well-being depend directly on a highly educated work force."
—Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller
This report is also available in PDF format.
Texas Where We Stand (PDF, 528 KB)
If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will need to download the latest version to view and print the PDF file.Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn set 10 principles for Texas in this century when she took office in 1999. The first three were education related: develop a better-educated work force, direct more of every education dollar into the classroom, and raise the bar on student performance. Comptroller Strayhorn’s priorities have not changed. Her goal remains crystal clear—she wants Texas to have the most educated work force in the nation.
Comptroller Strayhorn is the state‘s chief financial officer and is responsible for all the state‘s fiscal concerns. As Comptroller, Strayhorn has eight statutory responsibilities directly related to education. Presented here are some of the latest available key Texas education-related facts from recognized sources.
- Texas is #49 in verbal SAT scores in the nation (493) and #46 in average math SAT scores (502).
- Texas is #36 in the nation in high school graduation rates (68%).
- Texas is #33 in the nation in teacher salaries. Teacher salaries in Texas are not keeping pace with the national average. The gains realized from the last state-funded across-the-board pay raise authorized in 1999, which moved the ranking from 33 to as high as 26th in the nation, have disappeared over the last five years.
- Texas was the only state in the nation to cut average per pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2005, resulting in a ranking of #40 nationally; down from #25 in fiscal year 1999.
- Texas is #6 in the nation in student growth. The general student population in Texas public schools grew by 11.1% between school years 1999 and 2005, with the largest percent of growth seen among low income and minority children.
- Between school years 1999 and 2005, the number of central administrators employed by Texas public schools grew by 32.5%, overall staffing in public schools grew by 15.6%, while the number of teachers grew only 13.3%.
- From fiscal years 2002 to 2006, average tuition and fees at public universities increased 61.4%. Average tuition and fees at community colleges increased 51.3%.
- From fiscal years 2002 to 2007, the Texas state budget was cut in terms of real dollar, per-student funding for universities by 19.92%; for community colleges the per-student cut was 35.29%.
- California has nine nationally recognized research institutions; New York has seven; Pennsylvania has four; while Texas, the second most populous state in the nation, has only three.
- Out of Texas’ 145 public and private higher education institutions, only one private institution, Rice University, ranked among the nation’s top 50.
- The number of students attending Texas colleges and universities increased by 23.6% from Fall 1999 to Fall 2005 with the highest growth in community and technical colleges.
#1 Number of operating public school districts, school year 2004 (1,227)
#2 Public school enrollment, Fall 2005 (4,383,871)
#6 Percentage change in public school enrollment, Fall 2002 to Fall 2003 (1.7 percent)
#50 Percent of Texans with a high school diploma (Only 78.3 percent of Texans 25 years of age and older had a high school diploma in 2004)
Student Demographics:#11 Percentage of public elementary and secondary students eligible for free or reduced-price meals in school year 2003 (46.2%)
Students School Year 1999 School Year 2005 Percent Change Student Enrollment 3,945,367 4,383,871 11.1% African American 567,998 621,999 9.5% Hispanic 1,523,769 1,961,549 28.7% White 1,741,690 1,653,008 -5.1% Native American 11,904 14,305 20.2% Asian/Pacific Islander 100,006 133,010 33.0% Economically Disadvantaged 1,914,547 2,394,001 25.0% Source: Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System.
Student Performance:#14 Percentage of 4th-graders scoring at or above proficient in math in school year 2005 (40 percent)
#20 Percentage of 8th-graders scoring at or above proficient in math in school year 2005 (31 percent)
#35 Number of schools identified as needing improvement based on adequate yearly progress, school year 2004 (199)
#35 Percentage of 8th-graders scoring at or above proficient in reading in school year 2005 (26 percent)
#35 Percentage of 4th-graders scoring at or above proficient in reading in school year 2005 (29 percent)
#36 High school graduation rates in school year 2002 (68 percent)
#46 Average math SAT scores in school year 2005 (502)
#49 Average verbal SAT scores in school year 2005 (493)
Staffing:#2 Number of teachers in public K-12 schools, school year 2005 (294,547)
Staffing School Year 1999 School Year 2005 Percent Change Teachers 259,739 294,258 13.3% Professional Support 36,399 46,785 28.5% Campus Administrators 12,863 16,219 26.1% Central Administrators 4,305 5,704 32.5% Educational Aides 51,844 59,539 14.8% Auxilliary Staff 139,960 161,253 15.2% Total Staff 505,111 583,758 15.6% Source: Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System. #26 Student to teacher ratio in public elementary and secondary schools, 2005 school year (14.9:1) (The student to teacher ratio in Texas has not significantly improved since 2000.)
#33 Average salaries of public school teachers, school year 2005 ($41,009)
School Year Texas Ranking* Texas Average Salary U.S. Average Salary Difference 1999 33 $35,041 $40,582 ($5,541) 2000 28 $37,576 $41,754 ($4,187) 2001 26 $38,361 $43,400 ($5,039) 2002 32 $39,232 $44,683 ($5,451) 2003 32 $39,974 $45,776 ($5,802) 2004 32 $40,476 $46,735 ($6,259) 2005 33 $41,009 $47,808 ($6,799) *Includes the District of Columbia.
Source: National Education Association.
Funding:#13 Per capita state and local government expenditures for elementary and secondary education in the 2002 school year ($1,476)
#13 Per capita state and local government property tax revenue in the 2002 school year ($1,129)
#13 Percentage of revenue for public K-12 schools from local government, school year 2004 (50.5 percent)
#15 Per pupil public school local funding, school year 2003 ($4,278)
#19 Per pupil public school federal funding, school year 2003 ($800)
#40 Current expenditures for public K-12 schools per student in Fall enrollment, in fiscal year 2005 ($7,142) (According to the National Education Association, Texas was the only state in the nation to cut per pupil spending in fiscal year 2005.)
#40 Percentage of revenue for public K-12 schools from state government, school year 2004 (38.6 percent)
#46 Per-pupil public school state funding, school year 2003 ($3,255)
Fiscal Year Texas Ranking* Texas Avg. Exp. Per Pupil U.S. Avg. Exp. Per Pupil Difference 1999 25 $5,970 $6,251 ($281) 2000 29 $6,325 $6,824 ($499) 2001 32 $6,581 $7,296 ($715) 2002 32 $6,850 $7,548 ($698) 2003 34 $7,210 $8,065 ($855) 2004 36 $7,214 $8,308 ($1,094) 2005 40 $7,142 $8,618 ($1,476) *Includes the District of Columbia.
Source: National Education Association.
Texas is:
#26 Per capita state and local government expenditures for higher education in fiscal year 2002 ($575)
- Conservatively adjusted for inflation costs of 4% through fiscal year 2007, from fiscal years 2002 to 2007, the Texas state budget was cut in terms of real dollar, per-student funding for universities by 19.92%; for community colleges the per-student cut was 35.29%.
- The number of students attending Texas colleges and universities increased by 23.6% from Fall 1999 to Fall 2005 with the highest growth in community and technical colleges.
Institutions No. Fall Headcount 1999 Fall Headcount Preliminary 2005 Percent Change Public
Universities 35 407,074 486,217 19.4% Community Colleges 50 426,519 553,088 29.7% Health-Related Institutions 9 12,410 16,233 30.8% Technical College System 4 8,804 11,418 29.7% State Colleges* 3 * * n/a Total Public Institutions 101 854,807 1,066,956 24.8% Independent
Universities 39 104,179 116,706 12.0% Junior Colleges 2 609 698 14.6% Health-Related Institutions/Chiropractic 3 1,186 2,785 134.8% Total Independent Institutions 44 105,974 120,189 13.4% Total in Texas 145 960,781 1,187,145 23.6% *Student headcount included with Community Colleges.
Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.#35 Percentage of population 25 years or older with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2004 (24.5%)
- Texas has three of the largest degree-granting institutions in the nation.
Texas institutions among the 20 largest degree-granting colleges and university campuses in the nation: Fall 2001 Institution Rank Total Enrollment The University of Texas at Austin 2 50,616 Texas A&M University 7 44,618 Houston Community College System 15 38,175 Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2004), Digest of Education Statistics, 2003 (NCES 2005-025), Table 219.
- Only six (2 public and 4 private) of Texas’ 145 higher education institutions are ranked among the nation’s top 100. Only one private institution, Rice University, ranked among the nation’s top 50.
Texas universities among the 2006 top 100 nationally ranked institutions Rank Institution 17 Rice University 52 University of Texas at Austin 60 Texas A&M University – College Station 71 Southern Methodist University 78 Baylor University 97 Texas Christian University Source: U S News and World Report: America’s Best Colleges 2006.
- California has nine nationally recognized research institutions; New York has seven; Pennsylvania has four; while Texas, the second most populous state in the nation, has only three.
Research institutions defined as members of the invitation-only Association of American Universities (AAU) Number of Universities State 9 California 7 New York 4 Pennsylvania 3 Massachusetts 3 Illinois 3 Texas (University of Texas-Austin, Texas A&M University, Rice University) Source: Association of American Universities.
Cost of Higher Education:
- From fiscal years 1999 to 2006, average tuition and fees at public universities have increased 95.5%. Average tuition and fees at community colleges have increased 71.5%.
Texas Resident Tuition and Fees, 30 Semester Credit Hours Fiscal Year Universities Community Colleges 1999 $2,489 $865 2000 $2,700 $919 2001 $2,654 $841 2002 $3,016 $980 2003 $3,441 $1,120 2004 $3,782 $1,245 2005 $4,332 $1,453 2006 $4,867 $1,483 Percent Change 1999 to 2006 95.54% 71.45% Percent Change 2002 to 2006 61.4% 51.3% Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
- From fiscal year 2002, just prior to tuition deregulation, to the current fiscal year (2006), average tuition and fees at public universities increased 61.4%. Average tuition and fees at community colleges increased 51.3%.
Sources for Texas Where We Stand
