By ERIC LINDEN

With good reason, the focus of the annual state school report cards is
mostly on student test scores and other indications of academic
achievement. But the documents contain so much more information that
often gets overlooked. Take the 2000 report card for Oak Park and River
Forest High School, which all residents received in the mail last week.

The 2000 report card, based on data in the 1999-2000 school year,
reports not just on the academic achievement of students--which is well
above the scores of students at comparable schools in Illinois. Also on
record is information on spending, the educational setting, teacher
characteristics and more. Public school districts are required by state
law to provide the annual report to parents and other residents.

Local residents also might like to know how key areas have changed in the
last four years, so we've selected some data from the state report cards
issued in 2000, 1999, 1998 and 1997. Aside from generally high academic
performance, generally good test scores, generally high graduation rates
and generally low absentee rates, the following four years of data might
give a fair indication of how life has stayed the same and also changed
during a full four-year term at OPRF, 201 N. Scoville Ave. in Oak Park.

For instance, class size has dropped since 1997, not much but a decrease
is a decrease.
For the 1999-2000 school year, there were an average of 22 students in
classes at OPRF, and the same number 1998-1999, 23.7 in 1997-1998, 22.8
in 1996-1997. Here's some other non-academic numbers, followed by a
comments on them.

And once again, keep in mind that the years listed are when the report
cards came out, but the data are from the previous school year. Again,
the 2000 report card, for instance, includes figures for the 1999-2000
school year.

Total enrollment
2000: 2,727
1999: 2,721
1998: 2,698
1997: 2,715
As of last year, there were nearly 2 million high school students in the
state, and OPRF's enrollment has been quite steady.

Average class size
2000: 22
1999: 22
1998: 23.7
1997: 22.8
The statewide average class was 18.4 for the year reported.

Student background (percent)
       White   Black   Hispanic Asian Native American
2000: 61.4;    30.7;     4.5;        3.3;      0.1
1999: 60.6     31.9      3.9         3.5       0.1
1998: 61.4     30.5      4.2         4.6       0.1
1997: 60.9     30.3      4.1         4.1       0.1
The data clearly dispute any notion--held by some in the community--that
OPRF High has an increasingly black and minority student body.
Statewide, high schools have about 35 percent black and Hispanic average
enrollment, right about at OPRF's level.

Contact with parents
2000: 100 percent
1999: 100 percent
1998: 100 percent
1997: 100 percent
"Contact" includes perent-teacher conferences, parental visits to
school, school visits to home, telephone conversations and written
correspondence. The report cards maintain that all OPRF parents have
such "contact." The statewide average was 97.2 last year.

Full-time teachers
2000: 162
1999: 159
1998: 153
1997: 151
More teachers, about the same number of students, class size down a
fraction.

Teacher gender
        Female       Male
2000: 52.8          47.2
1999: 52.2          47.8
1998: 54.7          45.3
1997: 52.7          47.3
Statewide, more than three-quarters of the high school teachers are
female.

Teacher ethnic background
        White     Black     Hispanic     Asian     Native American
2000: 85.2;     10.5;         3.7;             0.6;             0.0
1999: 86.7       9.4           3.1              0.8              0.0
1998: 88.3       7.9            3.1             0.8               .1
1997: 88.9       7.1            2.7             1.3              0.0
The teachers' ethnic background still doesn't come close to reflecting
the student body's, but some progress has been made in hiring more
minority teachers.

Teachers average experience
2000: 15.2 years
1999: 16.7 years
1998: 17.1 years
1997: 16.6 years

Teacher degrees
           Bachelor's          Master's and above
2000:      20.8;                      29.2:
1999:      19.0                       81.0
1998:      14.9                       85.1
1997:      13.5                       86.5
These last two categories change as older teachers retire and are
replaced by younger ones.

Pupil-teacher ratio
2000: 19.7-1
1999: 20.1-1
1998: 20.9-1
1997: 21.5-1

Teacher salary, average
2000: $63,610
1999: $63,215
1998: $63,243
1997: $61,102
The level of pay should increase following a new teachers contract in
the last year.

Pupil-adminstrator ratio
2000: 124.6-1
1999: 134-1
1998: 132-1
1997: 137.8-1

Administrator salary, average
2000: $98,893
1999: $97,278
1998: $91,220
1997: $88,075
More administrators, and they are more expensive.

Instructional spending per pupil
2000: $7,997
1999: $7,516
1998: $7,261
1997: NA

Operating expenditure per pupil
2000 $12,821
1999: $13,025
1998: $11,834
1997: $11,446
Statewide, the last two numbers are $4,291 per pupil for instruction and
$7,146 per pupil for operating expenditures.

Expenditures by function
         Instruction     Administration   Support Services     Other
2000: $19,777,145    $1,477,319         $11,530,721        $3,716,709
1999: $18,541,018    $1,367,309         $11,091,417         $9,553,796
1998: $17,724,929    $1,371,248         $10,824,044         $3,013,293
1997: NA

Total expenditures
2000: $36,501,894
1999: $40,544,538
1998: $32,933,514
1997: $30,879,029