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State of California Education Profile
 FISCAL YEAR: 2008-09
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California Department of Education (CDE)
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 319-0791
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This page includes:
Related links: This site reports data for California's K-12 public school system only.
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 California’s public education system is immense: more than six million students in about 9,900 schools, which are governed by almost 1,000 elected school boards and regulated by a complex Education Code. The schools are funded through a finance system largely controlled by the Legislature and governor.
These Ed-Data Profiles provide a comprehensive picture of the state of California--plus each school, district and county, with statewide totals and links to additional data or explanations. The Profiles are organized in three sections: General, Students and Staffing. Click on the tabs to move between them.
Schools by Type
State of California, 2008-09
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Number of Schools |
Enrollment |
Full-Time Equivalent Teachers1 |
Pupil-Teacher Ratio2 |
| Elementary |
5,764 |
3,027,561 |
149,862.8 |
20.2 |
| Middle |
1,261 |
1,076,399 |
47,170.7 |
22.8 |
| Junior High |
35 |
22,880 |
1,057.9 |
21.6 |
| High School |
1,236 |
1,823,599 |
78,155.8 |
23.3 |
| K-12 |
143 |
80,661 |
3,935.4 |
20.5 |
| Alternative |
247 |
64,110 |
2,605.5 |
24.6 |
| Special Education |
132 |
25,836 |
3,504.0 |
7.4 |
| Continuation |
525 |
70,937 |
3,934.7 |
18.0 |
| Community Day |
375 |
11,214 |
999.3 |
11.2 |
| Opportunity |
32 |
3,529 |
234.7 |
15.0 |
| Juvenile Court |
64 |
12,347 |
885.4 |
13.9 |
| County Community |
74 |
18,805 |
939.9 |
20.0 |
| Calif. Youth Authority |
7 |
1,423 |
210.2 |
6.8 |
| State Special Schools |
3 |
895 |
197.4 |
4.5 |
| Nonpublic, Nonsectarian3 |
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11,815 |
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| Total |
9,898 |
6,252,011 |
293,693.7 |
21.3 |
| 1 | FTE teacher counts include those assigned to a particular type of school; district and county office of education teachers not associated with a school are excluded. | | 2 | The Pupil-Teacher Ratio is enrollment divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. Because some teachers are not assigned to a classroom, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio is usually smaller than the average class size. | | 3 | Nonpublic, nonsectarian schools serve as an alternative Special Education service available to districts, Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs), county offices of education, and parents. "Nonsectarian" means a nonpublic school or agency that is not owned, operated, controlled by, or formally affiliated with a religious group.
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| Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, assign08 7/27/09, pubschls 8/3/09, sfib0708 7/7/09)
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 |  | Schools vary in their grade-level configuration. Most elementary schools encompass K-5, middle schools 6-8, junior high 7-9, and high schools 9-12.
This table includes charter schools in the appropriate category. |
Charter Schools
State of California, 2008-09
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| Number of Schools |
746 |
| Enrollment |
285,617 |
| Full-Time Equivalent Teachers |
13,801.7 |
| Pupil-Teacher Ratio1 |
20.7 |
| 1 | The Pupil-Teacher Ratio is enrollment divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. Because some teachers are not assigned to a classroom, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio is usually smaller than the average class size. |
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| Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, assign08 7/27/09, pubschls 8/3/09, sifb0809 7/7/09)
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| | Since the enabling legislation was passed in 1992, the number of approved charter schools has increased annually. The 2008-09 count of operating charter schools is 746 (which includes 4 Statewide Benefit Charters and 8 State Board of Education Charters). Some charter schools are new, while others are conversions from existing public schools. Charter schools are part of the state's public education system and are funded by public dollars. For additional charter information, click here. |
Districts by Type
State of California, 2008-09
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Number of Districts |
Enrollment |
Full-Time Equivalent Teachers |
Pupil-Teacher Ratio1 |
| Elementary |
550 |
1,205,907 |
58,545.3 |
20.6 |
| High |
84 |
614,807 |
26,481.7 |
23.2 |
| Unified |
333 |
4,347,073 |
207,509.7 |
20.9 |
| County Office of Education |
58 |
77,783 |
5,807.6 |
13.4 |
| Calif. Youth Authority |
5 |
1,423 |
210.2 |
6.8 |
| State Special Schools |
3 |
895 |
197.4 |
4.5 |
| SBE Charter2 |
8 |
3,107 |
157.0 |
19.8 |
| Statewide Benefit Charter3 |
2 |
1,016 |
51.0 |
19.9 |
| Total |
1,043 |
6,252,011 |
298,959.9 |
20.9 |
| 1 | The Pupil-Teacher Ratio is enrollment divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. Because some teachers are not assigned to a classroom, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio is usually smaller than the average class size. | | 2 | State Board of Education Charters are classified as a "school district" beginning in 2004-05. However, they do not report accountability or financial data at the district level.
| | 3 | Statewide Benefit Charters are classified as a "school district" beginning in 2007-08. However, they do not report accountability or financial data at the district level. |
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| Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, assign08 7/27/09, pubschls 8/3/09, sifb0809 7/7/09)
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| | With a few exceptions, the typical district grade configurations in California are elementary (K-8), high (9-12), and unified (K-12). Districts sometimes merge or consolidate; the number of districts can change annually. |
Enrollment by Grade
State of California, 2008-09
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Enrollment |
| Kindergarten |
461,043 |
| Grade 1 |
468,848 |
| Grade 2 |
465,495 |
| Grade 3 |
469,824 |
| Grade 4 |
463,904 |
| Grade 5 |
467,278 |
| Grade 6 |
469,183 |
| Grade 7 |
479,359 |
| Grade 8 |
486,390 |
| Grade 9 |
539,167 |
| Grade 10 |
509,157 |
| Grade 11 |
489,207 |
| Grade 12 |
476,156 |
| Ungraded |
7,000 |
| Total |
6,252,011 |
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| Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, sifb0809 7/7/09)
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| | Enrollment is measured by counting the number of students enrolled in school on a particular day in October. |
Average Class Size
State of California, 2008-09
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Number of Classes1 |
Average Class Size |
| Schoolwide |
793,175 |
25.4 |
| Kindergarten |
22,271 |
20.4 |
| Grade 1 |
23,239 |
19.4 |
| Grade 2 |
23,181 |
19.3 |
| Grade 3 |
22,808 |
20.1 |
| Grade 4 |
15,479 |
28.3 |
| Grade 5 |
15,037 |
28.5 |
| Grade 6 |
8,185 |
29.0 |
| Grade 7 |
679 |
26.6 |
| Grade 8 |
602 |
25.7 |
| K-3 Combinations |
4,257 |
18.7 |
| 3-4 Combinations |
688 |
22.4 |
| 4-8 Combinations |
3,156 |
25.6 |
| Independent Study |
16,413 |
13.8 |
| Other Self-Contained |
1,854 |
17.9 |
| English |
138,000 |
25.4 |
| Math |
109,329 |
26.7 |
| Social Science |
88,416 |
28.9 |
| Science |
84,252 |
28.9 |
| 1 | "Filtered" counts exclude classes with zero enrollment or enrollment over 50 and other minor items.
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| Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, assign08 7/27/09, asgncode 9/2/08, paif08 7/27/09)
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| | Average class size is the number of students enrolled in classes divided by the number of classes. The data in this table is calculated using the California Department of Education's "filtered" definition of average class size. |
Technology by School Type
State of California, 2008-09
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Students Per Computer |
| Elementary |
4.3 |
| Middle |
3.9 |
| High |
4.2 |
| Continuation |
2.4 |
| Alternative |
4.3 |
| Community Day |
2.1 |
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| Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office (CBEDS, vw_csopus 9/23/09, vw_otheropus 10/8/09, pubschls 8/3/09)
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| | In addition to computers available for use by students, those used by staff for instructional activities are also included when counting computers at the various schools. This count is then divided by student enrollment to arrive at a students-per-computer figure. |
Number of Private Schools
State of California, 2008-09
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| Church Affiliated |
1,649 |
| Religious/Other |
1,720 |
| Total |
3,369 |
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| Source: California Department of Education, Private School Affidavits.
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| | Private school enrollment has fluctuated over the past ten years but it stays at or below 10% of California's total student population. Approximately two-thirds of the students are in church-affiliated or religious schools. About a third of the private schools are very small, between 6 and 35 students. |
Number of Students In Private Schools
State of California, 2008-09
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| Kindergarten |
48,701 |
| Elementary |
332,819 |
| High School |
154,873 |
| Total |
536,393 |
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| Source: California Department of Education, Private School Affidavits.
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