Connecticut Schools

    Connecticut boasts—and well-deservedly—its state’s highest student per class ratio is 22. Last year, Connecticut spent $2 billion on its approximately 500,000 students, or over $11,000 per student.

Connecticut also boasts their rank of fourth in the nation with 77% of its public school students taking the SAT tests. Over 160 students scored a perfect 800 in reading, 122 achieved a perfect score in Math, and 84 students scored perfect in the SAT’s new test, writing. Eight students scored a perfect 2400 on the 2005-06 SATs. While the state’s average score hasn’t changed much in the last 10 years, the scores have continued to stay above the national average.

The 2005-06 school year marked the first time the Connecticut Mastery Test was given to grades 3 – 8. As a result, approximately half of the state’s elementary and middle schools did not meet the No Child Left Behind requirements, leaving 40% of students in Title I schools (schools that receive funding specifically for low-income students). Despite this, Connecticut is ranked 2 out of 50 in Morgan Quinto’s “Smartest State” rankings, mostly because of its low teacher to student ratio—which improves rankings much more than the amount of money spent on each student. The state’s average student-teacher ratio is less than 14 students per teacher.

For more information on changes to schools to meet requirements, or any other information, visit Connecticut’s DOE website: http://www.state.ct.us/sde.