Oklahoma Schools

OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
2500 N. LINCOLN RM B'-17
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73105
(405) 521-3301

Oklahoma was ranked at 39 out of 50 in the "Smartest State" rankings for the 2005-06 school year, up one spot from the previous year. Rankings are based on 21 factors, including student performance, overall positive outcomes, and personal attention by teachers. Oklahoma average a class size of 16 students per teacher, one of the higher in the nation.

However, this does not seem to be effecting test scores. In the latest round of SAT and ACT testing (in 2006), Oklahoma students' average scores were well above the national average. Oklahoma's scores were 195 points above the national average, ranking eleventh in the nation. Oklahoma's ACT scores rose as well. Interestingly enough, review of the statistical data showed that the average score on the ACT was related to family income-students from higher-income families scored higher than the national average where students from low-income families, on average, scored lower than the national average.

Sixty-one percent of Oklahoma students attend "Title I" schools-schools that receive federal funding to help low-income students and schools that need to improve test scores. During the 2007 fiscal year, Oklahoma will receive a total of $1.5 billion in federal funding as part of the NO Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I schools will receive more than $140 million specifically earmarked for those low-income students. Including federal funding, Oklahoma spends over $6100 per student each year.

For more information on how a particular school is doing, or how Oklahoma is spending its federal funding, visit the Oklahoma Department of Education website at http://sde.state.ok.us.