www.lesswrong.com/posts/FCMfToFnRXhsfpfQB/book-review-why-are-the-prices-so-damn...
2 corrections found
the number of administrators is tiny compared to the number of teachers, and it’s barely budged
NCES data show K–12 administrative staffing did not 'barely budge.' School district administrative staff roughly doubled from 78,784 in 1980 to 155,273 in 2015.
Full reasoning
The statement is misleading because the administrative count did change substantially over time.
NCES's historical staffing table for public elementary and secondary school systems shows:
- School district administrative staff: 78,784 in Fall 1980
- School district administrative staff: 155,273 in Fall 2015
That is an increase of about 97%, which is not accurately described as having "barely budged." Even using the narrower subcategory of district officials and administrators, the count rose from 58,230 in 1980 to 67,778 in 2015, while instructional coordinators rose from 20,554 to 87,495. So although administrators remained much fewer than teachers, the claim that their number scarcely changed is contradicted by NCES historical data.
1 source
- NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 213.10: Staff employed in public elementary and secondary school systems, by type of assignment: Selected school years, 1949-50 through fall 2022
Fall 1980 ... School district administrative staff 78,784 ... Fall 2015 ... School district administrative staff 155,273.
average test scores are flat
This overstates the evidence. NCES/NAEP data show several major national reading and math scores improved over the long term, rather than staying flat overall.
Full reasoning
The claim is too broad and is contradicted by national assessment data.
Official NAEP summaries from NCES report that national average scores in both reading and mathematics were higher over the long term than in the initial assessment years for major grade levels. For example, NCES's summary of the 2019 NAEP states that, over the long term, national average scores in both subjects were higher for both grades 4 and 8 than in the first assessment years.
NCES's long-term trend reporting also states that both 9- and 13-year-olds scored higher in reading and mathematics in 2012 than students their age in the early 1970s.
Some particular series and age groups have been stagnant or declined, so a narrower claim might have been defensible. But the unqualified statement that "average test scores are flat" is not accurate as a description of overall national test-score trends.
2 sources
- 2019 NAEP Mathematics and Reading Assessments: Highlighted Results at Grades 4 and 8 for the Nation, States, and Districts
Over the long term, however, the national average scores in both subjects were higher for both grades compared to the initial assessment years (1990 for mathematics and 1992 for reading).
- The Nation's Report Card: Trends in Academic Progress 2012
Both 9- and 13-year-olds scored higher in reading and mathematics in 2012 than students their age in the early 1970s.