The school environment is described by a number of features, including the characteristics of teachers and staff, student/teacher ratios, the racial/ethnic distribution of students, parental involvement, and the climate for learning. Variations in current expenditures and differences in how expenditures are spent are also important features to consider. Monitoring these and other factors provides a more complete picture of the conditions in schools that can influence education. Society also influences and supports education through means including learning activities that take place outside school, as well as through financial support.

• In 2006-07, greater percentages of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students attended high-poverty schools—defined as public schools where more than 75 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch—than did White or Asian/Pacific Islander students. A similar pattern was found among racial/ethnic groups within different school locales: in each locale (cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural areas), higher percentages of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students attended high-poverty schools than did their White and Asian/ Pacific Islander peers (indicator 25).
• In 2006-07, public schools in which 75 percent or more of the students are Black, Hispanic, Asian/ Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaska Native enrolled 24 percent of all public elementary and secondary school students. However, over half of all Hispanic and Black students attended such schools, compared with 33 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander students, 29 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native students, and 3 percent of White students. A greater percentage of students in cities attended such schools than in suburban areas, towns, or rural areas (indicator 26).
• During the 2005-06 school year, 78 percent of public schools experienced one or more violent incidents, 17 percent of schools experienced at least one serious violent incident, 46 percent experienced one or more thefts, and 68 percent experienced one or more other incidents. There was variation in the number of incidents of violent and serious violent crimes among schools. For example, 46 percent of schools experienced 20 or more violent incidents, compared with 8 percent that experienced 6-9 violent incidents, and 22 percent that experienced no such incidents (indicator 27).
• In 2006, about 7 percent of all public school students, or 1 out of every 14 students, were suspended from school at least once during the year, and about 0.2 percent, or 1 out of every 476 students, were expelled from school. Student suspension and expulsion rates varied by race/ ethnicity: in 2006, greater percentages of Black students were suspended and expelled from school than of their White, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native peers. For example, about 15 percent of Black students were suspended, compared with 8 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native students, 7 percent of Hispanic students, 5 percent of White students, and 3 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander students (indicator 28).
• The 2007 TIMSS asked mathematics and science teachers of 4th- and 8th-graders to report on their participation in several areas of professional development in the 2 years before the assessment. In 2007, the percentage of 4th-graders whose mathematics teachers reported participating in professional development in their subject content area ranged from 22 percent in Italy to 60 percent in the United States and 66 percent in the Russian Federation. The percentage of 8th-graders with such teachers ranged from 16 percent in Italy to 81 percent in the United States and 84 percent in the Russian Federation. In the United States, 42 percent of 4th-grade science teachers and 82 percent of 8th-grade science teachers reported participating in professional development in content (indicator 29).
• In 2007, some 89 percent of students had parents who reported attending a general school or PTO/PTA meeting. Other activities included attending parent-teacher conferences (78 percent), participating in school fundraising (65 percent), and volunteering/serving on a school committee (46 percent). Participation in school-related activities was greater for parents of kindergarten (K) students through 8th-graders than for parents of 9th- through 12-graders. Additionally, parental participation in school-related activities was higher for students from nonpoor families than poor families. For example, 58 percent of K through 8th-grade students in nonpoor families had parents who reported volunteering or serving on a school committee, compared with 32 percent of students in poor families (indicator 30).
• The ratio of students to teachers, which is sometimes used as a proxy measure for class size, declined between 1990 and 2006, from 17.6 to 15.9 students per teacher for all regular public schools. In every year during this period, the student/ teacher ratios tended to be higher in public schools with larger enrollments than in public schools with smaller enrollments. For example, in 2006, regular secondary schools with enrollments of 1,500 or more enrolled 6.5 more students per teacher, on average, than regular secondary schools with enrollments under 300 students (indicator 31).
• The percentage of children whose parents enrolled them in a public school other than their assigned public school increased from 11 to 16 percent between 1993 and 2007. Some choice among public schools was available to 46 percent of students in 2007, according to their parents' reports. Among students whose parents reported having public school choice, approximately 25 percent attended a chosen public school, while 67 percent attended their assigned school. The other 9 percent attended a private school (indicator 32).
• From 1989-90 to 2005-06, total elementary and secondary school revenue increased by 59 percent in 2007-08 constant dollars, from $348 to $554 billion. Federal revenue increased 139 percent, compared with increases of 57 percent for state revenue and 51 percent for local revenue. During this period, the percentage of total revenue for public elementary and secondary education from local sources declined (from 47 to 44 percent), while the percentage of total revenue flowing to public schools from federal sources increased (from 6 to 9 percent), and the percentage from state sources stayed the same (47 percent) (indicator 33).
• From 1989-90 to 2005-06, total expenditures per student in public elementary and secondary schools rose by 31 percent in 2007-08 constant dollars, from $8,627 to $11,293, with most of the increase occurring after 1997-98. The various components of expenditures increased at different rates during this time period. Spending on interest on school debt increased the fastest, at a rate of 100 percent, followed by capital outlay (70 percent) and current expenditures (26 percent) (indicator 34).
• Across U.S. districts, the total variation in instruction expenditures per student decreased between school years 1989-90 and 1997-98, but increased each year from 1997-98 through 2005- 06. In 2005-06, it was greater than it was in the early 1990s. Variations in instruction expenditures due to both between- and within-state differences increased from 1997-98 through 2005-06 (indicator 35).
• Between 1995-96 and 2005-06, current expenditures per student in public elementary and secondary schools increased by 25 percent in 2007-08 constant dollars, from $7,619 to $9,553. Current expenditures per student, which include instructional, administrative, and operation and maintenance expenditures, were highest in high-poverty districts ($10,458) and low-poverty districts ($10,447) and were lowest in middle-poverty districts ($8,630). Expenditures increased the most for high-poverty and middle high-poverty districts (30 percent) and the least for middle-poverty districts (21 percent) (indicator 36).

• In 2005, U.S. expenditures per student at the postsecondary level were $24,370—more than twice as high as the average of $11,512 for the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) who reported data. At the combined elementary and secondary level, the United States spent $9,769 per student, which was 38 percent higher than the OECD average of $7,065 (indicator 37).