Wyoming

Profile of Education Data in the State of Wyoming

Joey Lancia

 

Student Facts and Figures

• 2021-22 Public school enrollment: 91,992
  • Charter school enrollment: 569
  • 0.6% of public school students
    • 5 schools
  • (Public School Review 2022, Wyoming Department of Education 2021c)
• 2021-22 Private school enrollment: 2,597
  • (Private School Review 2022)
• School choice (vouchers)
  • Wyoming does not have vouchers (or tax credit) for parents to send children to private schools
    • (Ballotpedia 2016)
• 2021-22 Student demographics
  • Male: 51.63%, Female: 48.37%
  • Alaska native/American Indian: 3.17%; Asian: 0.68%; Black: 0.91%; Hispanic: 14.36%; Pacific Islander: 0.16%; Two or more races: 3.57%; White: 77.16%
  • English Language Learners (ELL): 2.9%
  • Under poverty rate: 10%
    • (Wyoming Department of Education 2021a)

      

• 2020-21 Graduation rates by demographics 
  • All students: 82.5%
  • Male: 79.4%, Female: 85.9%
  • American Indian: 52.9%, Asian: 93.0%, Black: 80.0%, Hispanic 78.3%, Pacific Islander: 75.0%, Two or More Races: 76.6%, White: 84.5%
  • ELL: 64.0%
    • (Wyoming Department of Education 2021b)

Costs of Education

•  2022 Public education budget: $1.76 billion
  • Ranked 5th for funding
  • Ranked 11th for spending
  • (Education Data Initiative 2022)
• 2022 Average per pupil expenditure: $16,698
  • National average: $12,445
    • (Education Data Initiative 2022)

      

• High per pupil expenditure: $37,108
  • Sheridan County School District #3
  • 89 students
  • Average household income in district: $53,750
    • (McCann 2021, U.S. News, n.d.a)
• Low per pupil expenditure: $14,290
  • Sweetwater County School District #1
  • 5,479 students
  • Average household income in district: $75,678
    • (McCann 2021, U.S. News, n.d.b)

Accountability and Evaluation

• Accountability measures
  • The Wyoming Accountability in Education Act (WAEA) was adopted in 2013
  • WAEA aims to improve the overall quality of education in Wyoming
  • Quality of schools is measured by student performance in various subjects
  • Subject matter assessed by accountability measures
    • English proficiency (for ELL students)
    • Reading (grades 3-8)
    • Mathematics (grades 3-8)
    • Sciences (grades 4, 8)
    • Writing and language (grades 3, 5, 7)
    • Standardized college readiness test (grade 11)
      • Assesses english, reading, mathematics, science
  • (Justia 2013)

• Consequences for failing to meet standards
  • For students
    • Students who do not meet graduation requirements based on grades or competency exams will not graduate
      • (Wyoming Department of Education 2018)
  • For districts
    • Districts are subject to reviews and approval at least once every 5 years
    • Districts that do not meet assessment criteria are subject to accreditation status being lowered and more frequent reviews
      • (Wyoming Department of Education 2018)
  • For teachers
    • Teachers are eligible for dismissal if they prove to be ineffective
    • If the Professional Teaching Standards Board finds a teacher to not meet certification standards then they have their first 5 year renewal period to address them 
      • (National Council on Teacher Quality 2016, Professional Teaching Standards Board 1997)
• Testing or proficiency graduation requirements
  • Students must demonstrate a proficient performance on state standards, parameters of which are set in Chapter 10 Education Rules.
  • The standards ensure a progression of learning from time of entering WY public schools and graduation
    • (Wyoming Department of Education 2018)
• Teacher evaluation methods and measures

  

  • Annual evaluations for all teachers
  • Evaluations factor into tenure decisions
  • Starting in 2019-20, evaluations would be based in part on student academic growth measures
  • Starting in 2019-20, teachers could be dismissed for ineffectiveness
    • (National Council on Teacher Quality 2016)

Academic Standards

• Common Core
  • Wyoming adopted Common Core standards for English/Language Arts in 2012
    • (Wyoming Department of Education 2022)
• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • Wyoming has not adopted NGSS standards but does have standards based on the framework.
  • As of 2014, some individual school districts had adopted NGSS standards
  • Teachers in Goshen County have used curriculum based on NGSS standards since 2011
    • (Rich 2014)

Teacher Compensation and Support

• 2016-17 Wyoming average teacher salary: $58,650
  • National average: 58,950
  • (National Center for Education Statistics 2017)
• Teachers Unions
  • The Wyoming Education Association (WEA) has been pushing for better public education since 1892. currently 6300+ members 
    • (Wyoming Education Association, n.d.)
• Merit pay for teachers
  • Wyoming does not have policies that reward more effective teachers with higher pay
    • (National Council on Teacher Quality n.d.)

Data Analysis

Inequities in Wyoming Schools

As one of America’s least diverse states, racial inequities in Wyoming schools appear to be scarce. While all below the national average, most of Wyoming’s student demographics see graduation rates hovering around 80% (Wyoming Department of Education 2021b). However, Wyoming’s American Indian and Native Alaskan students, which make up 3.17% of public school enrollment, see a graduation rate of 52.9% (Wyoming Department of Education 2021a,b). Native American students face higher rates of discipline compared to other demographics in Wyoming schools, which can be a primary cause for their significantly lower graduation rate.

According to the Wyoming Community Foundation, Native American students in the state are disciplined at a higher rate than their peers of other races and ethnicities. This is especially true in cases where teachers use their own judgement rather than observing a student break a clear rule, meaning that implicit biases present in teachers is a significant contributor to this trend (Lam 2019). In the 2015-16 school year, Native Americans were overrepresented in disciplinary action by 5.5%, higher than Hispanic and Black students’ overrepresentations of 3.8% and 1.9% respectively. Conversely, White students were underrepresented by 12.5% (Lam 2019). The over-disciplining of Native American students can lead to disengagement in classrooms as well as students dropping out of school, contributing to the demographic’s low graduation rate (Lam 2019). Altogether, Native American students in Wyoming experience inequalities in the classroom more than other races and ethnicities, and the results of that are evident in graduation rates.

To combat this the Wyoming Community Foundation suggested for the state to reconsider their classroom discipline measures. The Wyoming Department of Education also offers alternatives to suspensions to schools for disciplinary action (Lam 2019). With alternative disciplinary measures all students would have better opportunities to stay engaged in classes, and they could potentially raise the graduation rates of each race and ethnicity. Especially for Native American students, alternative measures could significantly improve graduation rates and eliminate some of the inequalities that they face in the classroom.

 

Fossil Fuels and Education Funding

In the country’s least populous state, public school students experience economic equity like few other states. Wyoming’s per-student expenditure is ranked eleventh in the United States, behind mainly northeastern states (Education Data Initiative 2022). In Education Week’s Quality Counts 2020 report, Wyoming earned an A-minus average, rivaling only New Jersey with grades of A and A-minus in spending and equity, respectively (Palmer 2021). Wyoming’s long time fossil fuel industries have been crucial in Wyoming’s education attaining its high stature; however, as these resources are depleted schools in Wyoming, especially rural ones, risk losing future funding.

Coal, gas, and oil industries in Wyoming have contributed significant amounts of money into the school system, making the state attractive to teachers while also allowing for well-funded programs and education commodities. For example, special education programs are fully funded and transportation to and from school is free (Palmer 2021). Many states in the U.S. experience significant school funding disparities between communities, but Wyoming uses a “highly equitable formula” to allow students in Wyoming’s wealthiest and poorest communities to access the same opportunities (Palmer 2021). According to former State Superintendent Jillian Balow, oil in gas production in Wyoming contribute $890 million annually to public education which is over half of Wyoming’s 2022 $1.76 billion budget (Palmer 2021, Education Data Initiative 2022). In 2021, President Biden announced a temporary prohibition of new leases for oil and gas on federal lands; on which include 92 percent of natural gas and 51 percent of oil in Wyoming (Palmer 2021). The potential impact this could have on the state’s education funding is significant. Additionally, natural resources are being depleted from decades of industry, but consumption is also decreasing. Between March 2020 and March 2021, sixteen of the state’s twenty-one active oil rigs shut down (Palmer 2021). The decrease in fossil fuel profit potential is decreasing, and alongside it is future public school funding. The state’s solution to this is to implement a tax to cover the cost of education; however, Wyoming’s status as an almost tax-free haven that has no income tax (Martin 2020) and one of the most conservative states in the country makes it hard to find support for funding schools in this way.

The loss of significant fossil fuel funding can harshly impact Wyoming’s public schools. Not only will it make districts less appealing to teachers, but it will have impacts on students and their communities. Schools with better funding tend to see better student performance. Nicer schools and stronger districts also reflect onto the community. In poor and rural areas new school buildings are seen to boost pride in students, but also for communities as a whole (Palmer 2021). Less funding could also cause rural schools to close, sending students further away and harming the identities of small communities. As it stands, Wyoming’s unique ability for all students to access similar opportunities regardless of their communities strengthens its small school districts. The state’s districts with the highest and lowest per-pupil spending are good examples of this. The 89 student Sheridan County School District #3 boasts an impressive $37,108 per pupil with an average household income of $53,750, while the 5,479 student Sweetwater County School District #1 spends $14,290 per pupil and has an average household income of $75,678 (U.S. News, n.d.a, U.S. News, n.d.b). Wyoming’s existing funding model allows the smaller and poorer community to spend significantly more per student, likely allowing them to access the same opportunities as the larger and wealthier one. The lack of funding from the fossil fuel industry could prevent this from continuing. Wyoming faces a future where its status as one of the country’s most economically equitable states in education could change. The lack of funding from natural resource industries could significantly impact the quality of classroom instruction by making it a less desirable state to teach in which negatively impacting the proficiency of students. Statewide, less funding could cause accountability integrity to falter, and the effectiveness of Wyoming public schools could plummet.

 

Works Cited: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tk8GXwIBVBtwcqLffAjvT6SfDSMcIzoE_HLwM6BDNVU/edit?usp=sharing