Our map of the week provides some insight on one factor that influences the high cost of education in Vermont and our relatively high educational test scores. This map illustrates the Student-Teacher Ratio for 2009. Interestingly it is not just the rural Supervisory Unions that have low student-teacher ratios. The Hartford District has the third lowest student-teacher ratio with 8.9 students for every full time teacher with Montpelier District coming in at 9.9 students per teacher. Bennington and Brattleboro areas also have relatively low ratios. Supervisory Unions in Chittenden County have some of the highest ratios along with Lamoille South Supervisory Union. Nationally the figure is 15.5 students per teacher. The high – low range among the states for the most recent comparative year is Utah at 22.4 and Vermont at 11.3 students per teacher.
Download a PDF of the Teacher Student Ratios 2009 map
The following are web sites that have useful comparative statistics. For Vermont , these two sites are very useful: http://www.education.vermont.gov/new/html/maindata.html and http://www.uvm.edu/crs/?Page=resources/index.html&SM=resources/resourcessubmenu.html. For National state-by-state comparisons visit: http://www.statemaster.com/cat/edu-education
Map prepared by David Healy, Stone Environmental Inc., Montpelier VT 05602, 802.229.1870, dhealy@stone-env.com.
