Class Size and SAT Scores By State

It makes sense that a lower ratio of students to teachers would result in more “one on one” time with teachers, and therefore result in a better education and smarter students.  This is frequently used as an argument for increased educational spending and hiring additional teachers, but is it true?  FlowingData compares state’s average ratio of Students to Teachers against average SAT scores and finds the truth a bit muddled.

From the picture above, it does look like there is a difference. States that score highest (highlighted in green) on the SAT on average tend to have lower student-teacher ratios. High-ratio states, however, have scores that hover around the national average.

But there are also many states with ratios below the national average (small-ish classes) that score below the national average.

via Class Size and SAT Scores By State | FlowingData.

This story written by Randall Hand

Randall Hand is a visualization scientist working for a federal research lab, aiding researchers to discover the insights buried within their terabyte datasets generated on some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. He also runs VizWorld.com .