Key Takeaways:

• The number of Title I public schools grew from 68,614 in school year 2015-16 to 70,440 in school year 2018-19.

• As per the calculations detailed below, there were approximately 41,000 Title I elementary schools in the United States as of the 2018-19 academic year.
• There could be up to 942,500 Title I teachers teaching elementary schools in the U.S. Although the number could be lower.

Introduction:

• This report provides estimates for the required statistics on Title I elementary schools. It provides triangulated figures for the number of elementary schools that are considered Title I schools and the overall number of teachers that teach in Title I elementary schools in the U.S. It also details the methodology used.

Findings

• The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides statistics and information regarding the Title I program. However, the NCES provides cumulative data for both elementary and secondary schools, with no breakdown by school type. Also, there was no data on the number of Title I private schools, although they are also eligible for the program.

Number of Schools

• According to NCES data, the number of Title I public schools grew from 68,614 in school year 2015-16 to 70,440 in school year 2018-19. Schoolwide Title I schools (those with at least 40% low-income students) accounted for 56,204 Title I public schools in the latter period, with targeted Title I schools making up the rest. California had the highest number of Title I public schools in 2018-19 with about 7,548 schools.
• In the U.S. elementary school comprises the first six years of education, usually kindergarten to grade five. According to the U.S. Department of Education, elementary school students accounted for about 58% of the students served by the Title I program in 2015-16. With no further statistics available, the research team assumed that this would represent the percentage of elementary schools among public Title I schools.
• Using the 2015-16 percentage (58%) and the 2018-19 statistics (70,440) to calculate a more recent estimate, the number of Title I elementary public schools in the U.S. in 2018-19 would be approximately = 58% X 70,440 = 40,855.2 = 40,855.
• A 2019 Title I study by the NCES reported that 180,028 private school students benefited from the Title I program in the 2014-15 academic year, which accounted for about 0.72% of the 24.97 million recipients that year. Assuming that this would represent the percentage of private elementary schools compared to public elementary schools that that received Title I funding, the number of Title I private schools would be calculated as follows:
• If 40,855 = 99.28% (100% - 0.72%), 100% = 100% X 40,855/99.28% = 41,151.289. Therefore, private schools accounted for = 41,151 - 40,855 = 296, which is a negligible number.

Number of Teachers

• Statistics on the number of teachers that teach in Title I elementary schools in the U.S. could not be found in the public domain. Regardless, the research team managed to triangulate an estimate based on the available data points.
• According to a survey published on Statista, the pupil/teacher ratio in U.S. public elementary schools was estimated at about 16 in 2018, which means that there was one teacher for every 16 students. This is on par with 2018-19 NCES statistics that put the ratio for all public schools at 16.
• As highlighted above, elementary school students accounted for about 58% of the students served by the Title I program. Being that there are about 26 million Title I students in the U.S., then the number of elementary Title I students would be = 58% X 26 million = 15.08 million.
• Assuming that Title I schools maintained the same pupil/teacher ratios, then the number of Title I teachers would be = 15.08 million/16 (since one teacher for every 16 students) = 942,500. However, kindly note that the actual figure is likely to be much lower because of the teacher shortage and higher turnover rate in Title I schools.

Research Strategy