Michigan Benchmark, the only K12 financial and operational data analytics company in the world focused exclusively on Michigan K12 schools, announced the immediate availability of a free data visualization service offering designed for any interested individuals. No fee is required.
"Michigan Benchmark provides advanced statistical modeling, visualization, written analysis, and benchmarking services for our school district paid subscribers but providing access to baseline—yet valuable—data to interested individuals advances our mission to enhance transparency for all Michigan public schools," shared Brendan Walsh, founder of Michigan Benchmark.
The battery of data immediately available to free subscribers includes:
Teacher Retention by District: This visualization reports on the percentage of a school district's teaching staff that remain on the staff from the 2020 school year into 2021. As the state releases more data annually additional years will be added to the report. Teacher Retention data has become topical as teaching staff Mobility, a measure of the scale of teachers leaving one district to teach at another, has become of greater interest. Michigan Benchmark will be publishing a series of reports on the heightening competition for K12 teaching staff in Michigan.
General Fund Equity as a Percentage of Annual Revenue: This is a measure of a district's financial liquidity and capacity to manage often quickly shifting market conditions. In recent years as the Michigan economy has flourished, yielding healthy tax revenues, many Michigan school districts have enjoyed bourgeoning rainy day savings... but not all! Users can now see how districts perform in this regard. With data going back to 2012 users can see how their district's fund equity has changed over time.
Pupil to Teacher Ratio: While not the same as class size, a measure of a district's ratio of students to teachers interests parents and communities immensely. Michigan Benchmark users can cross reference their districts of interest, again reaching back to the 2012 school year.
Average Teacher Salary: Also related to the heightened competition for professional teaching staff, subscribers to this free service offering can quickly compare their district to other districts while also examining the change in compensation over a ten year span of time. This data is made available in both tabular format as well as in a graphical map view.
Student Enrollment: Enrollment serves as a key metric in the health and operation of a Michigan public school district. District enrollment, and particularly its movement up or down, has tremendous ramifications for Michigan public schools. Free subscribers can explore their district's trends over the last ten years and how it compares to other districts.
Total Revenue Per Pupil: Despite considerable state effort to equalize per pupil funding large disparities remain. Indeed the State of Michigan's Foundation Allowance has largely been equalized but a variety of other revenue sources that vary by county and other factors continue to create disparities across the state.
Annual Operating Profit or Loss: Community members are understandably interested in the efficiency of a district's financial operations. While fund equity remains a common short-hand method of assessing a district's financial health, annual operating results provide a more recent time based measure. Free subscribers can see the annual results for every Michigan school district dating back to 2012.
Average Teacher Salary by State: In an increasingly open and fluid employee labor market, Michigan Benchmark's free service subscribers can explore how Michigan teacher salaries stack up against all fifty states.
When asked why Michigan Benchmark provides these services for free, Walsh offered:
"Not to diminish the value of the data Michigan Benchmark has made available in today's announcement—indeed it is compelling, insightful, and easily navigable—but our premium (for fee) services are far advanced over what we are offering here for free. Our subscribers enjoy the benefit of advanced data analysis and visualization services that far exceed what we have announced today."
Michigan Benchmark will be adding data feeds to its free data visualization services while continuing to publish research and other topics of interests for those with a similar interest in Michigan K12 education.