Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Schools

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Chapter 2
Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Schools

SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS

Preprimary, elementary, and secondary school enrollments reflect the number of births over a specific period. Because of the baby boom (1946–64), school enrollment grew rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s and then declined steadily during the 1970s and 1980s. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 1985 public elementary and secondary school enrollment increased for the first time since 1971. Enrollment has grown slowly but steadily since the mid-1980s, reaching an estimated 47.9 million in public schools and 6.2 million in private schools in fall 2002. Slow but steady growth is projected to continue until 2010, when it most likely will decline slightly in 2011, rising again in 2013. (See Figure 2.1.)

Preprimary Growth

In contrast to the declining elementary and secondary school enrollment during the 1970s and early 1980s, preprimary enrollment showed substantial growth. According to the U.S. Department of Education, between 1970 and 1980 preprimary enrollment rose from 4.1 million to 4.9 million preschool-age children. While the overall population of three- to five-year-olds grew 29% between 1980 and 1993, enrollment in preprimary programs rose 35%, to 6.6 million. In 1994 new data collection methods indicated that 61% of the nation's 12.3 million three- to five-year-olds were enrolled in preprimary programs. These increases reflect the greater availability of and interest in preschool education. In 1965 only 27.1% of the 12.5 million children in this age group were enrolled in nursery school or kindergarten. By October 2001, 63.9% of the 11.9 million preschool-age children in the United States were enrolled in preprimary programs. Note that because of the change in data collection methods, figures prior to 1994 may not be comparable to later years. (See Table 2.1.)

As the proportion of working mothers has grown, the proportion of young children in full-day preprimary programs has also increased. In 2001 more than half (51.8%) of children in preprimary programs attended school all day, compared to 31.8% in 1980 and 17% in 1970. (See Table 2.1.)

Geographic Shifts

There have been significant changes in regional school enrollment. According to the U.S. Department of Education, between 1970 and 1980, school enrollment in forty-one states and the District of Columbia dropped, with most of the decline occurring at the elementary level. Between fall 1996 and fall 2001, thirteen states increased enrollment by 5% or more, while sixteen other states reported increases of less than 5%. Decreases in school enrollment were reported in twenty-one states and the District of Columbia. (See Figure 2.2.)

During the 2001–02 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education, 32,695 of the 91,759 public elementary and secondary schools in the United States were located in urban fringe areas (that is, outside the central city but within the metropolitan area). That figure represented 36% of all American public schools. Rural areas of the country contained another 27% (24,565). Public schools within large (10,746) and midsized cities (10,813) combined to account for 23.5% of the total. (See Table 2.2.)

School Size

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2001–02 the average enrollment at public schools was 520 students per school—477 in elementary schools and 718 in secondary schools. Most (70.4%) public school students attended schools with enrollments of 500 students or more. More than a fifth (20.3%) were enrolled at schools with between 300 and 499 students, and 9.3% of public school students attended schools with enrollments of less than 300 students. (See Table 2.3.)

Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Public school enrollment has become more racially and ethnically diverse, reflecting the nation's changing demographics. According to the U.S. Department of Education, between 1991 and 2001 the proportion of non-Hispanic white students declined from 67.4% to 60.3%, while the proportion of non-Hispanic African-American students increased slightly, from 16.4% to 17.2%. The proportion of Hispanic students rose from 11.8% to 17.1%; Asian or Pacific Islander students increased from 3.4% to 4.2%; and the percentage of Native American/Alaska Native students rose from 1% to 1.2%. (See Table 2.4.)

THE SCHOOL-AGE POPULATION

According to the U.S. Census Bureau in Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004–2005, the U.S. population included 61.4 million elementary- and secondary-age children (ages five to nineteen) in 2003. About 21% of the total U.S. population were school-age children.

Poor School-Age Children

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2003, 12.5% of Americans were living in poverty. Among children under age eighteen the proportion living in poverty was 17.6% in 2003. (See Table 2.5.) Poverty remains a persistent problem for the nation and its schools. Children who are poor are more likely to be undernourished, subject to frequent illnesses, and generally much less ready for learning.

Poverty rates vary widely by race and ethnicity, as well as by the type of household in which a child lives. In 2003 the proportion of whites (of all age groups) living in poverty was 10.5%, compared to 24.4% of African-Americans and 22.5% of Hispanics. Families living in households headed by a female with no spouse present were more likely to be poor (28%) than families that were headed by a married couple (5.4%). (See Table 2.5.)

FINANCING THE SCHOOLS

Sources of Funding

Public schools obtain funds from three sources: local, state, and federal governments. Typically, local governments rely on property taxes to finance education, while state governments use revenues from sales taxes and, in some instances, income taxes, lotteries, excise taxes (such as gasoline taxes), motor vehicle fees, and other taxes that are sometimes referred to as "sin" taxes (alcohol and tobacco). Local and state governments have traditionally been the primary sources of revenue for elementary and secondary schools, with the federal government contributing a relatively small proportion. (See Figure 2.3.)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, education funding was primarily the responsibility of the local entities. For example, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in Digest of Education Statistics Tables and Figures 2003, during the 1919–20 school year, a full 83.2% of school revenues were derived from local sources, while 16.5% came from the state and 0.3% were contributed by the federal government. Throughout most of the twentieth century, a dramatic shift in funding methods raised the federal government portion of school revenues to 9.8% during the school years 1978–79 and 1979–80. At the same time, local and state contributions became nearly equal in proportion. In 1978–79, for instance, the states provided 45.6% of public education funding, while local sources provided 44.6%. After 1980 the federal proportion dropped, hitting about 6% in 1990, with state and local sources continuing to divide the remainder. By the 2000–01 school year, federal government funding had increased slightly to 7.3%. State governments in 2000–01 provided 49.7% of education revenues, and local governments about 43%. Figure 2.3 compares revenue sources for public elementary and secondary schools since 1970.

The dependence on state and local revenues has significant meaning for school funding. State revenues, which rely on sales and income taxes, are tied to business

TABLE 2.1
Enrollment of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in preprimary programs, selected years, October 1965–October 2001
[In thousands]
Year and age	Total population, 3 to 5 years old	Enrollment by level and control						Enrollment by attendance
		Total	Percent enrolled	Nursery school		Kindergarten		Full-day	Part-day	Percent full-day
		Total	Percent enrolled	Public	Private	Public	Private	Full-day	Part-day	Percent full-day
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Total, 3 to 5 years old
1965	12,549	3,407	27.1	127	393	2,291	596	—	—	—
1970	10,949	4,104	37.5	332	762	2,498	511	698	3,405	17.0
1975	10,185	4,955	48.7	570	1,174	2,682	528	1,295	3,659	26.1
1980	9,284	4,878	52.5	628	1,353	2,438	459	1,551	3,327	31.8
1985	10,733	5,865	54.6	846	1,631	2,847	541	2,144	3,722	36.6
1987	10,872	5,931	54.6	819	1,736	2,842	534	2,090	3,841	35.2
1988	10,993	5,978	54.4	851	1,770	2,875	481	2,044	3,935	34.2
1989	11,039	6,026	54.6	930	1,894	2,704	497	2,238	3,789	37.1
1990	11,207	6,659	59.4	1,199	2,180	2,772	509	2,577	4,082	38.7
1991	11,370	6,334	55.7	996	1,828	2,967	543	2,408	3,926	38.0
1992	11,545	6,402	55.5	1,073	1,783	2,995	550	2,410	3,992	37.6
1993	11,954	6,581	55.1	1,205	1,779	3,020	577	2,642	3,939	40.1
1994^a	12,328	7,514	61.0	1,848	2,314	2,819	534	3,468	4,046	46.2
1995^a	12,518	7,739	61.8	1,950	2,381	2,800	608	3,689	4,051	47.7
1996^a	12,378	7,580	61.2	1,830	2,317	2,853	580	3,562	4,019	47.0
1997^a	12,121	7,860	64.9	2,207	2,231	2,847	575	3,922	3,939	49.9
1998^a	12,078	7,788	64.5	2,213	2,299	2,674	602	3,959	3,829	50.8
1999^a	11,920	7,844	65.8	2,209	2,298	2,777	560	4,154	3,690	53.0
2000^a	11,858	7,592	64.0	2,146	2,180	2,701	565	4,008	3,584	52.8
2001^a	11,899	7,602	63.9	2,164	2,201	2,724	512	3,940	3,662	51.8
3 years old
1965	4,149	203	4.9	41	153	5	4	—	—	—
1970	3,516	454	12.9	110	322	12	10	142	312	31.3
1975	3,177	683	21.5	179	474	11	18	259	423	37.9
1980	3,143	857	27.3	221	604	16	17	321	536	37.5
1985	3,594	1,035	28.8	278	679	52	26	350	685	33.8
1987	3,569	1,022	28.6	264	703	24	31	378	644	37.0
1988	3,719	1,027	27.6	298	678	24	26	369	658	35.9
1989	3,713	1,005	27.1	277	707	3	18	390	615	38.8
1990	3,692	1,205	32.6	347	840	11	7	447	758	37.1
1991	3,811	1,074	28.2	313	702	38	22	388	687	36.1
1992	3,905	1,081	27.7	336	685	26	34	371	711	34.3
1993	4,053	1,097	27.1	369	687	20	20	426	670	38.9
1994^a	4,081	1,385	33.9	469	887	19	9	670	715	48.4
1995^a	4,148	1,489	35.9	511	947	15	17	754	736	50.6
1996^a	4,045	1,506	37.2	511	947	22	26	657	848	43.7
1997^a	3,947	1,528	38.7	643	843	25	18	754	774	49.4
1998^a	3,989	1,498	37.6	587	869	27	14	735	763	49.1
1999^a	3,862	1,505	39.0	621	859	13	12	773	732	51.3
2000^a	3,929	1,541	39.2	644	854	27	16	761	779	49.4
2001^a	3,985	1,538	38.6	599	901	14	23	715	823	46.5
4 years old
1965	4,238	683	16.1	68	213	284	118	—	—	—
1970	3,620	1,007	27.8	176	395	318	117	230	776	22.8
1975	3,499	1,418	40.5	332	644	313	129	411	1,008	29.0
1980	3,072	1,423	46.3	363	701	239	120	467	956	32.8
1985	3,598	1,766	49.1	496	859	276	135	643	1,123	36.4
1987	3,597	1,717	47.7	431	881	280	125	548	1,169	31.9
1988	3,598	1,768	49.1	481	922	261	104	519	1,249	29.4
1989	3,692	1,882	51.0	524	1,055	202	100	592	1,290	31.4
1990	3,723	2,087	56.1	695	1,144	157	91	716	1,371	34.3
1991	3,763	1,994	53.0	584	982	287	140	667	1,326	33.5
1992	3,807	1,982	52.1	602	971	282	126	632	1,350	31.9
1993	4,044	2,178	53.9	719	957	349	154	765	1,413	35.1
1994^a	4,202	2,532	60.3	1,020	1,232	198	82	1,095	1,438	43.2
1995^a	4,145	2,553	61.6	1,054	1,208	207	84	1,104	1,449	43.3
1996^a	4,148	2,454	59.2	1,029	1,168	180	77	1,034	1,420	42.1
1997^a	4,033	2,665	66.1	1,197	1,169	207	92	1,161	1,505	43.5
1998^a	4,002	2,666	66.6	1,183	1,219	210	53	1,179	1,487	44.2
1999^a	4,021	2,769	68.9	1,212	1,227	207	122	1,355	1,414	48.9
2000^a	3,940	2,556	64.9	1,144	1,121	227	65	1,182	1,374	46.2
2001^a	3,927	2,608	66.4	1,202	1,121	236	49	1,255	1,354	48.1

TABLE 2.1
Enrollment of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in preprimary programs, selected years, October 1965–October 2001 [continued]
[In thousands]
Year and age	Total population, 3 to 5 years old	Enrollment by level and control						Enrollment by attendance
		Total	Percent enrolled	Nursery school		Kindergarten		Full-day	Part-day	Percent full-day
		Total	Percent enrolled	Public	Private	Public	Private	Full-day	Part-day	Percent full-day
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
—Not available.
^aData collected using new procedures. May not be comparable with figures prior to 1994.
^bEnrollment data include only those students in preprimary programs.
Note: Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. Although cells with fewer than 75,000 children are subject to wide sampling variation, they are included in the table to permit various types of aggregations. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 43. Enrollment of 3-, 4-, and 5-Year-Old Children in Preprimary Programs, by Level and Control of Program and by Attendance Status: Selected Years, October 1965 to October 2001 (in Thousands)," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, June 2003, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt043.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
5 years old^b
1965	4,162	2,521	60.6	18	27	2,002	474	—	—	—
1970	3,814	2,643	69.3	45	45	2,168	384	326	2,317	12.3
1975	3,509	2,854	81.3	59	57	2,358	381	625	2,228	21.9
1980	3,069	2,598	84.7	44	48	2,183	322	763	1,835	29.4
1985	3,542	3,065	86.5	73	94	2,519	379	1,151	1,914	37.6
1987	3,706	3,192	86.1	124	152	2,538	378	1,163	2,028	36.4
1988	3,676	3,184	86.6	72	170	2,590	351	1,155	2,028	36.3
1989	3,633	3,139	86.4	129	132	2,499	378	1,255	1,883	40.0
1990	3,792	3,367	88.8	157	196	2,604	411	1,414	1,953	42.0
1991	3,796	3,267	86.0	100	143	2,642	382	1,354	1,913	41.4
1992	3,832	3,339	87.1	135	127	2,688	390	1,408	1,931	42.2
1993	3,857	3,306	85.7	116	136	2,651	403	1,451	1,856	43.9
1994^a	4,044	3,597	88.9	359	194	2,601	442	1,704	1,893	47.4
1995^a	4,224	3,697	87.5	385	226	2,578	507	1,830	1,867	49.5
1996^a	4,185	3,621	86.5	290	202	2,652	477	1,870	1,750	51.7
1997^a	4,141	3,667	88.5	368	219	2,616	465	2,007	1,660	54.7
1998^a	4,087	3,624	88.7	442	211	2,437	535	2,044	1,579	56.4
1999^a	4,037	3,571	88.4	376	212	2,557	426	2,027	1,544	56.8
2000^a	3,989	3,495	87.6	359	206	2,447	484	2,065	1,431	59.1
2001^a	3,987	3,456	86.7	363	179	2,474	440	1,970	1,485	57.0

cycles. Local school funding is usually linked to property taxes. When a recession occurs or businesses close or move away, causing property values to decline, school funding is directly affected. Also, per capita income and property values are typically lower in rural areas, and local taxes may not be enough to fund the district's schools. In these cases, states must find ways to fill the gap.

To try to resolve these problems, many states now use complex formulas for distributing state education funds to equalize the per-pupil expenditure statewide—that is, they give proportionately more state funds per student to poor districts than to wealthy districts.

Another issue is the adequacy of the education the state offers children. According to Overview and Inventory of State Education Reforms: 1990 to 2000 (David Hurst, Alexandra Tan, Anne Meek, and Jason Sellers, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, July 2003), disparities in spending between wealthy and impoverished school districts led to legal challenges during the 1970s and 1980s. Some state courts have found that state education finance systems failed to deliver an acceptable level of educational services. States have started to focus on determining educational adequacy rather than requiring equity.

Education experts are developing standards—what it takes in terms of teachers, curriculum, and expenditures—to achieve an adequate education. The definition of adequacy differs from state to state. Each state is examining what a core education means and how much it costs.

In Financing Education So That No Child Is Left Behind: Determining the Costs of Improving Student Performance, by Andrew Reschovsky and Jennifer Imazeki (in William J. Fowler, Jr., ed., Developments in School Finance: 2003, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, August 2004), the authors state that, prior to the recent court cases, the focus of most school funding reform efforts has been on resources rather than on the link between educational finance and student performance. The study found that the amount of money required for student performance standards varies across school districts due to factors beyond the school districts' control. Some districts have to pay higher salaries in order to attract teachers; others have large numbers of economically disadvantaged students, or students from families where English is not the first language, and these schools need extra resources.

Revenues

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2000–01 school year revenues for public elementary and secondary schools totaled $401 billion. State (49.7%) and local authorities (40.8%) provided most of the revenues, with less than 7.3% coming from the federal government and 2.3% from private sources. The proportions of federal, state, and local funding varied by state. In Hawaii the state provided 89.8% of revenue, while in Nevada the state provided only 28.6%. The federal government supplied 15.8% of the school revenue for Alaska and 3.9% for New Jersey. Local and intermediate sources accounted for 88.1% of school revenue in the District of Columbia, and less than 0.5% in Hawaii. (See Table 2.6.)

Expenditures

According to the U.S. Department of Education in A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind, federal, state, and local government spending for public elementary and secondary education amounted to $591.3 billion during the 2003–04 school year. (See Figure 2.4.)

The NCES estimates that per-pupil spending in 2002–03, the last year for which figures have been released, averaged $8,041. Figure 2.5 offers a graphic depiction of the dramatic rise in public schools' expenditures

TABLE 2.2
Characteristics of public elementary and secondary enrollment and finances, by type of locale, 2000–01 and 2001–02
Characteristic	Total^a	Large city^b	Midsize city^c	Urban fringe of a large city^d	Urban fringe of midsize city^e	Large town^f	Small town^g	Rural outside an MSA^h	Rural within an MSAⁱ
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Schools, enrollment, and teachers, 2001–02
Enrollment, in thousands	47,061	7,336	6,006	15,405	5,002	608	4,539	4,345	3,817
Schools	91,759	10,746	10,813	23,669	9,026	1,298	11,284	16,397	8,168
Average school size^j	515	683	556	651	555	469	403	265	468
Pupil/teacher ratio^k	16.2	17.0	16.0	17.0	16.4	15.9	15.4	14.2	16
Enrollment (percent distribution)	100.0	15.6	12.8	32.7	10.6	1.3	9.6	9.2	8.1
Schools (percent distribution)	100.0	11.7	11.8	25.8	9.8	1.4	12.3	17.9	8.9
Revenues and expenditures, 2000–01
Total revenue, in millions of dollars	$406,508	$66,320	$51,964	$136,530	$39,127	$4,580	$35,271	$35,623	$32,347
Federal	28,417	6,408	4,390	6,409	2,372	382	2,904	3,115	1,397
Impact aid	873	47	90	178	57	5	109	339	29
Bilingual education	64	12	11	17	2	1	5	10	2
Indian education	56	5	5	5	2	2	11	24	2
Children with disabilites	4,285	672	583	1,248	381	52	329	268	232
Eisenhower science awards	154	28	25	40	15	2	14	12	7
Drug free schools	247	46	44	70	21	4	22	16	13
Chapter 2 (block grants)	757	133	127	190	69	11	90	79	46
Vocational education	534	112	80	106	52	8	56	45	23
Title I	6,232	1,682	1,065	1,152	562	88	693	674	281
Other and unclassified	15,216	3,670	2,360	3,403	1,210	211	1,576	1,648	761
State	200,153	32,328	28,069	60,026	19,755	2,518	19,641	20,274	16,148
State school lunch programs	377	60	52	117	41	4	39	36	28
Local	177,938	27,583	19,505	70,094	17,000	1,679	12,726	12,234	14,803
Property tax^l	108,061	14,579	11,242	46,153	10,150	1,072	8,217	7,287	8,618
Parent government contribution^l	29,727	7,996	3,557	10,281	2,897	141	1,007	1,393	2,422
Lunch sales	5,761	517	640	2,084	684	74	578	563	615
Transportation	66	2	6	38	5	1	4	3	4
Other	34,322	4,489	4,058	11,539	3,265	392	2,920	2,987	3,144
Total revenue (percent distribution)	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Federal	7.0	9.7	8.4	4.7	6.1	8.3	8.2	8.7	4.3
State	49.2	48.7	54.0	44.0	50.5	55.0	55.7	56.9	49.9
Local	43.8	41.6	37.5	51.3	43.4	36.7	36.1	34.3	45.8
Total expenditures, in millions of dollars	$564,187	$93,780	$69,804	$192,173	$53,851	$6,190	$47,444	$47,984	$45,736
Current expenditures for schools	415,162	69,938	52,020	139,778	39,585	4,630	35,527	35,688	33,197
Instruction	343,859	57,735	44,257	114,304	32,655	3,962	30,287	30,158	26,748
Operation and maintenance	206,904	35,922	26,545	68,401	19,869	2,381	18,339	17,969	16,054
Food service	32,802	5,770	4,223	11,010	3,085	389	2,854	2,826	2,485
Other	13,414	2,299	1,763	3,768	1,422	178	1,425	1,492	1,052
Other current expenditures	90,738	13,744	11,726	31,123	8,280	1,015	7,669	7,871	7,158
Interest on school debt	9,536	1,545	987	3,481	999	89	729	637	1,048
Capital outlay	48,751	8,553	5,070	17,790	4,987	457	3,519	3,788	4,332

TABLE 2.2
Characteristics of public elementary and secondary enrollment and finances, by type of locale, 2000–01 and 2001–02 [continued]
Characteristic	Total^a	Large city^b	Midsize city^c	Urban fringe of a large city^d	Urban fringe of midsize city^e	Large town^f	Small town^g	Rural outside an MSA^h	Rural within an MSAⁱ
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
^aThe total column includes data for 126 LEAs (local education agencies) with unknown locale codes.
^bCentral city of a consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA) or metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with the city having a population greater than or equal to 250,000.
^cCentral city of a CMSA or an MSA with the city having a population of less than 250,000.
^dAny incorporated place, census designated place, or non-place territory within a CMSA or an MSA of a large city and defined as urban by the Census Bureau.
^eAny incorporated place, census designated place, or non-place territory within a CMSA or an MSA of a mid-size city and defined as urban by the Census Bureau.
^fPlace not within an MSA but with population of 25,000 or more.
^gPlace not within an MSA with a population of at least 2,500, but less than 25,000.
^hPlace with a population of less than 2,500 outside a CMSA or an MSA, and designated as rural by the Census Bureau.
ⁱPlace with a population of less than 2,500 within a CMSA or an MSA and designated as rural by the Census Bureau.
^jAverage for schools reporting enrollment.
^kRatio for schools reporting both full-time-equivalent teachers and fall enrollment data.
^lProperty tax and parent government contributions are determined on the basis of independence or dependence of the local school system and are mutually exclusive.
Note: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 88. Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Schools, Pupil to Teacher Ratios, and Finances, by Type of Locale: 2000–01 and 2001–02," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt088.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
Current expenditures (percent distribution)	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Instruction	60.2	62.2	60.0	59.8	60.8	60.1	60.6	59.6	60.0
Operation and maintenance	9.5	10.0	9.5	9.6	9.4	9.8	9.4	9.4	9.3
Food service	3.9	4.0	4.0	3.3	4.4	4.5	4.7	4.9	3.9
Other	26.4	23.8	26.5	27.2	25.4	25.6	25.3	26.1	26.8
Current expenditure per student (in dollars)	7,372	7,902	7,409	7,572	6,612	6,499	6,638	6,895	7,118
Instruction expenditure per student (in dollars)	4,436	4,916	4,444	4,531	4,023	3,906	4,019	4,108	4,272

TABLE 2.3
Public elementary and secondary schools and enrollment, by type and size of school, 2001–02
Enrollment size of school	Number of schools, by type						Enrollment, by type of school^a
	Total^b	Elementary^c	Secondary^d		Combined elementary/secondary^e	Other^b	Total^b	Elementary^c	Secondary^d		Combined elementary/secondary^e	Other^b
	Total^b	Elementary^c	All schools	Regular schools^f	Combined elementary/secondary^e	Other^b	Total^b	Elementary^c	All schools	Regular schools^f	Combined elementary/secondary^e	Other^b
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
^aThese enrollment data should be regarded as approximations only. Totals differ from those reported in other tables because this table represents data reported by schools rather than by states or school districts. Percentage distribution and average enrollment calculations exclude data for schools not reporting enrollment.
^bIncludes special education, alternative, and other schools not classified by grade span.
^cIncludes schools beginning with grade 6 or below and with no grade higher than 8.
^dIncludes schools with no grade lower than 7.
^eIncludes schools beginning with grade 6 or below and ending with grade 9 or above.
^fExcludes special education schools, vocational schools, and alternative schools.
^gData are for schools reporting their enrollment size.
Note: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 93. Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Enrollment, by Type and Size of School: 2001–02," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt093.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
Total	94,112	65,228	22,180	18,382	5,288	1,416	47,518,623	30,945,876	15,215,033	14,737,809	1,275,287	82,427
Percent^g	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Under 100	10.76	6.21	15.63	8.34	45.31	58.53	0.94	0.64	1.00	0.59	6.36	18.57
100 to 199	9.77	8.73	11.18	10.20	16.27	21.07	2.81	2.77	2.28	1.86	8.82	21.59
200 to 299	11.52	12.85	8.14	8.34	8.66	9.03	5.59	6.83	2.83	2.59	7.93	15.91
300 to 399	13.32	15.67	7.73	8.32	7.22	4.52	8.96	11.50	3.75	3.60	9.38	11.22
400 to 499	13.14	15.89	6.73	7.39	5.36	3.85	11.34	14.95	4.20	4.11	8.93	12.11
500 to 599	10.94	13.11	6.04	6.66	4.34	0.84	11.51	15.03	4.63	4.54	8.80	3.30
600 to 699	8.13	9.43	5.48	6.19	3.09	0.50	10.11	12.78	4.95	4.97	7.40	2.36
700 to 799	5.76	6.38	4.80	5.45	2.25	0.50	8.27	9.98	5.01	5.06	6.18	2.80
800 to 999	6.92	6.90	8.08	9.19	2.97	0.33	11.82	12.79	10.07	10.20	9.73	2.10
1,000 to 1,499	6.07	4.18	12.67	14.40	2.99	0.50	13.95	10.23	21.64	21.89	13.22	4.49
1,500 to 1,999	2.15	0.53	7.40	8.52	0.95	0.00	7.08	1.87	17.78	18.20	6.08	0.00
2,000 to 2,999	1.27	0.12	5.01	5.77	0.36	0.33	5.74	0.57	16.49	16.90	3.09	5.55
3,000 or more	0.27	0.01	1.09	1.25	0.23	0.00	1.87	0.07	5.37	5.49	4.07	0.00
Average enrollment^g	520	477	718	807	270	138	520	477	718	807	270	138

TABLE 2.4
Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity, Fall 1991 and Fall 2001
State of jurisdiction	Percentage distribution, Fall 1991						Percentage distribution, Fall 2001
State of jurisdiction	Total	White∗	Black∗	Hispanic	Asian or Pacific Islander	American Indian/Alaska Native	Total	White∗	Black∗	Hispanic	Asian or Pacific Islander	American Indian/Alaska Native
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
United States	100.0	67.4	16.4	11.8	3.4	1.0	100.0	60.3	17.2	17.1	4.2	1.2
Alabama	100.0	62.8	35.5	0.3	0.5	0.9	100.0	60.5	36.5	1.5	0.8	0.7
Alaska	100.0	66.9	4.4	2.2	3.9	22.6	100.0	60.4	4.7	3.6	5.9	25.5
Arizona	100.0	62.4	4.2	25.0	1.5	6.9	100.0	51.3	4.7	35.3	2.1	6.6
Arkansas	100.0	74.5	24.0	0.6	0.6	0.3	100.0	71.1	23.3	4.2	0.9	0.5
California	100.0	44.5	8.6	35.3	10.8	0.8	100.0	35.0	8.4	44.5	11.2	0.9
Colorado	100.0	74.9	5.2	16.6	2.3	1.0	100.0	66.8	5.7	23.3	3.0	1.2
Connecticut	100.0	74.3	12.8	10.4	2.2	0.2	100.0	69.2	13.8	13.7	3.0	0.3
Delaware	100.0	67.3	27.8	3.1	1.6	0.2	100.0	59.6	31.1	6.6	2.4	0.3
District of Columbia	100.0	4.0	89.5	5.3	1.1	#	100.0	4.6	84.4	9.4	1.6	#
Florida	100.0	61.2	24.2	12.9	1.6	0.2	100.0	52.5	24.9	20.4	1.9	0.3
Georgia	100.0	60.7	37.9	0.6	0.8	#	100.0	53.8	38.2	5.5	2.4	0.2
Hawaii	100.0	23.9	2.6	5.2	67.9	0.3	100.0	20.3	2.4	4.5	72.3	0.4
Idaho	100.0	92.6	0.3	4.9	0.8	1.3	100.0	85.4	0.8	11.2	1.3	1.3
Illinois	100.0	65.4	21.4	10.3	2.8	0.1	100.0	59.0	21.2	16.2	3.5	0.2
Indiana	100.0	86.4	10.9	1.9	0.7	0.1	100.0	83.0	11.8	3.9	1.0	0.2
Iowa	100.0	94.0	2.9	1.4	1.4	0.4	100.0	89.6	4.1	4.0	1.7	0.5
Kansas	100.0	84.6	8.1	4.7	1.7	0.9	100.0	77.8	8.9	9.8	2.2	1.3
Kentucky	100.0	89.8	9.4	0.2	0.5	#	100.0	87.7	10.3	1.1	0.7	0.2
Louisiana	100.0	52.7	44.7	1.0	1.2	0.4	100.0	48.7	47.8	1.6	1.3	0.7
Maine	100.0	98.3	0.5	0.2	0.8	0.2	100.0	96.2	1.4	0.6	1.1	0.7
Maryland	100.0	60.4	33.2	2.5	3.6	0.3	100.0	52.4	37.2	5.4	4.6	0.4
Massachusetts	100.0	80.5	7.8	8.1	3.5	0.2	100.0	75.7	8.6	10.8	4.5	0.3
Michigan	100.0	78.2	17.2	2.4	1.3	1.0	100.0	73.4	20.0	3.6	2.0	1.0
Minnesota	100.0	89.9	3.6	1.4	3.2	1.8	100.0	82.0	7.0	3.8	5.2	2.0
Mississippi	100.0	48.3	50.7	0.1	0.5	0.4	100.0	47.3	51.0	0.9	0.7	0.2
Missouri	100.0	82.5	15.7	0.8	0.9	0.2	100.0	79.0	17.5	2.0	1.2	0.3
Montana	100.0	88.4	0.4	1.3	0.7	9.2	100.0	85.9	0.6	1.9	1.0	10.6
Nebraska	100.0	89.4	5.5	2.9	1.1	1.1	100.0	81.8	6.9	8.2	1.6	1.6
Nevada	100.0	73.2	9.0	12.1	3.7	2.0	100.0	54.5	10.3	27.4	6.1	1.7
New Hampshire	100.0	97.0	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.2	100.0	95.0	1.2	2.1	1.5	0.2
New Jersey	100.0	64.4	18.6	12.2	4.7	0.1	100.0	59.4	17.9	16.0	6.6	0.2
New Mexico	100.0	41.2	2.3	45.3	0.9	10.4	100.0	34.3	2.4	51.0	1.1	11.3
New York	100.0	59.4	20.1	15.8	4.4	0.3	100.0	54.8	19.9	18.6	6.2	0.4
North Carolina	100.0	66.4	30.2	0.9	1.0	1.6	100.0	60.0	31.3	5.2	1.9	1.5
North Dakota	100.0	91.2	0.7	0.6	0.7	6.8	100.0	88.7	1.1	1.3	0.8	8.1
Ohio	100.0	83.6	14.1	1.3	0.9	0.1	100.0	80.1	16.7	1.9	1.2	0.1
Oklahoma	100.0	73.5	10.0	3.0	1.1	12.4	100.0	63.7	10.8	6.5	1.5	17.5
Oregon	100.0	88.1	2.4	4.9	2.9	1.8	100.0	79.1	3.0	11.5	4.2	2.2
Pennsylvania	100.0	82.2	13.2	2.9	1.7	0.1	100.0	77.7	15.3	4.8	2.1	0.1
Rhode Island	100.0	82.7	6.5	7.2	3.1	0.4	100.0	73.4	8.1	14.8	3.2	0.6
South Carolina	100.0	57.7	41.1	0.5	0.6	0.1	100.0	54.7	41.7	2.4	1.0	0.2
South Dakota	100.0	90.6	0.5	0.6	0.7	7.6	100.0	86.2	1.3	1.4	1.0	10.2
Tennessee	100.0	76.6	22.2	0.3	0.7	0.1	100.0	71.8	24.8	2.1	1.2	0.2
Texas	100.0	49.0	14.3	34.4	2.1	0.2	100.0	40.9	14.4	41.7	2.8	0.3
Utah	100.0	91.9	0.7	4.0	1.9	1.4	100.0	84.7	1.0	9.9	2.8	1.5
Vermont	100.0	97.9	0.6	0.3	0.7	0.6	100.0	95.8	1.2	1.0	1.5	0.5
Virginia	100.0	72.6	23.7	1.0	2.6	0.1	100.0	62.8	27.1	5.5	4.3	0.3
Washington	100.0	81.4	4.2	6.1	5.8	2.5	100.0	73.5	5.4	10.9	7.5	2.6
West Virginia	100.0	95.5	3.9	0.2	0.4	0.1	100.0	94.5	4.4	0.4	0.6	0.1
Wisconsin	100.0	85.2	8.8	2.7	2.1	1.3	100.0	80.1	10.2	5.0	3.4	1.4
Wyoming	100.0	89.6	0.9	6.0	0.7	2.8	100.0	87.3	1.4	7.2	0.9	3.2

since 1960. Adjusted for inflation, expenditures per student have risen more than 60% since 1980, according to the NCES.

International Comparisons of Expenditures per Student

One method of measuring a country's commitment to education is to examine what portion of its gross domestic product (GDP, the total value of goods and services produced in the nation) goes to educating its people. In 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Education, public expenditures for education in the United States totaled 5% of GDP—3.5% for primary and secondary education, and another 1.1% for higher education. (See Figure 2.6 and Table 2.7.) Of the selected countries listed in Table 2.7, Denmark spent the highest proportion (8.4%) of GDP on education, and Russia spent the lowest proportion (3%) in 2000. For primary and secondary education, Sweden and New Zealand tied for the highest proportion of GDP (4.9%), and Russia spent the lowest proportion (1.7%). The percentage of GDP that the United States spent on public education in 2000 increased by 0.3% from 1985, when it was 4.7%. The largest increase during this time (from data available) was in Denmark, from 6.2% to 8.4% of GDP.

TABLE 2.4
Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity, Fall 1991 and Fall 2001 [continued]
State of jurisdiction	Percentage distribution, Fall 1991						Percentage distribution, Fall 2001
State of jurisdiction	Total	White∗	Black∗	Hispanic	Asian or Pacific Islander	American Indian/Alaska Native	Total	White∗	Black∗	Hispanic	Asian or Pacific Islander	American Indian/Alaska Native
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
—Not available.
#Rounds to zero.
∗Excludes persons of Hispanic origin.
Note: Percentage distribution based upon students for whom race/ethnicity was reported, which may be less than the total number of students in the state. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Adapted from Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 42. Percentage Distribution of Enrollment in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by Race/Ethnicity and State or Jurisdiction: Fall 1991 and Fall 2001," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt042.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
Bureau of Indian Affairs	—	—	—	—	—	—	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
Department of Defense dependents schools
Overseas schools	—	—	—	—	—	—	100.0	61.6	19.1	9.3	9.1	1.0
Domestic schools	—	—	—	—	—	—	100.0	51.6	25.8	18.5	3.5	0.6
Outlying areas
American Samoa	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0
Guam	100.0	10.3	1.6	0.3	87.8	0.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	0.2	97.9	0.1
Northern Marianas	100.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	99.9	0.0	100.0	0.4	0.1	0.0	99.5	0.0
Puerto Rico	—	—	—	—	—	—	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Virgin Islands	100.0	0.9	86.8	11.8	0.5	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Another way to examine international expenditures for education is by comparing how much money countries spend per student in relation to GDP per capita. In general, those countries with the highest GDP per capita spent the most on education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the United States had GDP per capita of $34,602 in 2000 and spent $7,397 per elementary and secondary student. Mexico had GDP per capita of $9,117 and spent $1,415 in that year, while Switzerland had GDP per capita of $29,617 and spent $8,187 per elementary and secondary student. (See Table 2.8.) Total education expenditures, including post-secondary, as a percentage of GDP were highest in the United States (6.6%), Korea (6.6%), and Canada (6.2%).

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

According to the U.S. Department of Education, about 5.3 million students attended private elementary and secondary schools throughout the country in 2001–02. (See Table 2.9.)

Characteristics

The U.S. Department of Education notes that most enrollment (nearly four million) in private schools in 2001–02 existed at the elementary level, while 1.3 million students were enrolled in private high schools. (See Table 2.9.)

In 2001–02 more students in the South were enrolled in private schools than in any other region of the country. More than 1.6 million students in the South, about 1.4 million students in the Midwest, another 1.3 million in the Northeast, and one million students in the West were enrolled in private schools. (See Table 2.9.)

Most private school students attend Catholic schools. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2001–02 nearly half (47%) of students who attended private schools were enrolled in a Catholic school, while 36% attended schools that were affiliated with another religion, and 17% attended a nonsectarian private school (schools that do not have a religious orientation or purpose). (See Figure 2.7.)

TEACHERS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS

In fall 2002 there were nearly three million teachers in public elementary and secondary schools and 385,000 in private schools. The average ratio of students to teachers was 16.1 pupils to every teacher. Public schools had almost the same pupil/teacher ratios (16.1) as private schools (16.2). These ratios were considerably lower than they had been during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. (See Table 2.10.)

TABLE 2.5
People and families in poverty, by selected characteristics, 2002 and 2003
[Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year.]
Characteristic	2002 below poverty		2003 below poverty		Change in poverty (2003 less 2002)^a
Characteristic	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
People
Total	34,570	12.1	35,861	12.5	1,291	0.3
Family status
In families	24,534	10.4	25,684	10.8	1,150	0.4
Householder	7,229	9.6	7,607	10.0	378	0.4
Related children under 18	11,646	16.3	12,340	17.2	694	0.9
Related children under 6	4,296	18.5	4,654	19.8	358	1.4
In unrelated subfamilies	417	33.7	464	38.6	46	4.9
Reference person	167	31.7	191	37.6	25	5.8
Children under 18	241	35.4	271	41.7	31	6.3
Unrelated individual	9,618	20.4	9,713	20.4	95	—
Male	4,023	17.7	4,154	18.0	131	0.3
Female	5,595	22.9	5,559	22.6	−36	−0.2
Race^b and Hispanic origin
White alone or in combination	24,074	10.3	24,950	10.6	876	0.3
White alone^c	23,466	10.2	24,272	10.5	806	0.3
White alone, not Hispanic	15,567	8.0	15,902	8.2	335	0.2
Black alone or in combination	8,884	23.9	9,108	24.3	224	0.4
Black alone^d	8,602	24.1	8,781	24.4	180	0.3
Asian alone or in combination	1,243	10.0	1,527	11.8	284	1.9
Asian alone^e	1,161	10.1	1,401	11.8	240	1.8
Hispanic origin (of any race)	8,555	21.8	9,051	22.5	497	0.6
Age
Under 18 years	12,133	16.7	12,866	17.6	733	0.9
18 to 64 years	18,861	10.6	19,443	10.8	582	0.2
65 years and older	3,576	10.4	3,552	10.2	−24	−0.2
Nativity
Native	29,012	11.5	29,965	11.8	952	0.3
Foreign born	5,558	16.6	5,897	17.2	339	0.6
Naturalized citizen	1,285	10.0	1,309	10.0	24	—
Not a citizen	4,273	20.7	4,588	21.7	315	1.0
Region
Northeast	5,871	10.9	6,052	11.3	182	0.4
Midwest	6,616	10.3	6,932	10.7	316	0.5
South	14,019	13.8	14,548	14.1	529	0.3
West	8,064	12.4	8,329	12.6	265	0.2
Residence
Inside metropolitan areas	27,096	11.6	28,367	12.1	1,271	0.4
Inside central cities	13,784	16.7	14,551	17.5	767	0.8
Outside central cities	13,311	8.9	13,816	9.1	504	0.2
Outside metropolitan areas	7,474	14.2	7,495	14.2	20	—
Work experience
All workers (16 years and older)	8,954	5.9	8,820	5.8	−134	−0.1
Worked full-time year-round	2,635	2.6	2,636	2.6	1	—
Not full-time year-round	6,318	12.4	6,183	12.2	−135	−0.3
Did not work at least one week	14,647	21.0	15,446	21.5	799	0.4

SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

The type of supportive programs and services available to schools and school districts is one indicator of the access students have to educational opportunities. Although individual schools can apply directly for these programs and services, the school district (especially in public schools) usually decides whether the programs and services will be provided in its schools.

Schools offer a variety of student services, such as free or reduced-price lunches financed by public funds, services for disabled students, remedial programs, programs for gifted and talented students, programs under Chapter I (federal funds designated for special educational programs for disadvantaged children) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-10), drug and alcohol prevention programs,

TABLE 2.5
People and families in poverty, by selected characteristics, 2002 and 2003 [continued]
[Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year.]
Characteristic	2002 below poverty		2003 below poverty		Change in poverty (2003 less 2002)^a
Characteristic	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
—Represents zero or round to zero.
^aDetails may not sum to total because of rounding.
^bData for American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders are not shown separately.
^cWhite alone refers to people who reported white and did not report any other race category. The use of this single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. About 2.6 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2000.
^dBlack alone refers to people who reported black and did not report any other race category.
^eAsian alone refers to people who reported Asian and did not report any other race category.
Source: Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Robert J. Mills, "Table 3. People and Families in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2002 and 2003," in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003, Current Population Reports P60-226, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, August 2004, http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p60-226.pdf (accessed July 26, 2005)
Families
Total	7,229	9.6	7,607	10.0	378	0.4
Type of family
Married-couple	3,052	5.3	3,115	5.4	63	0.1
Female householder, no husband present	3,613	26.5	3,856	28.0	243	1.4
Male householder, no wife present	564	12.1	636	13.5	73	1.4

English as a second language (ESL) programs, and bilingual programs.

Of the $8,041 schools spent per student in 2002–03, most of this expenditure was for instruction (61%); 39% was for support services and noninstructional costs. Among the fifty states and the District of Columbia, New Jersey had the highest per-student expenditure ($12,568) and Utah the lowest ($4,838). (See Table 2.11.)

Prekindergarten and Kindergarten

Most public and private schools provide prekindergarten and kindergarten programs. According to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), twenty-six states (54%) required half-day kindergarten programs in 2002, fourteen (29%) required full-day programs, and eight (17%) had no statewide policy. (See Figure 2.8.) Kindergarten attendance is now nearly universal in the United States, and the majority of primary school children have had at least one organized group experience (day care center or nursery school) prior to starting first grade.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2000–01 there were 822,000 children in prekindergarten. Nearly one-quarter (23%) were age three or younger, 68.3% were age four, and 8.7% were five years of age or older. Almost half (48.6%) were white, 22.6% were African-American, and 24% were Hispanic. Less than half (46.8%) of the children in prekindergarten programs in the Northeast and slightly more than half (50.7%) in the Central region of the country were low income, meaning they were eligible for a free or reduced lunch. The percentage of low-income prekindergarten students in the Southeast was 70.7% and in the West was 69.8%. (See Table 2.12.)

TABLE 2.6
Revenues for public elementary and secondary schools, by source, 2000–01
State or jurisdiction	Total, in thousands	Federal			State		Local and intermediate		Private^c
State or jurisdiction	Total, in thousands	Amount, in thousands	Per student	Percent of total	Amount, in thousands	Percent of total	Amount, in thousands	Percent of total	Amount, in thousands	Percent of total
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
United States	$400,919,024	$29,086,413	$616	7.3	$199,146,586	49.7	$163,479,177	40.8	$9,206,847	2.3
Alabama	4,812,302	453,817	613	9.4	2,881,224	59.9	1,227,512	25.5	249,749	5.2
Alaska	1,370,271	215,921	1,619	15.8	782,348	57.1	333,592	24.3	38,410	2.8
Arizona	5,797,151	616,976	703	10.6	2,525,390	43.6	2,506,856	43.2	147,929	2.6
Arkansas	2,812,169	260,705	579	9.3	1,676,138	59.6	820,201	29.2	55,125	2.0
California	51,007,510	4,159,513	677	8.2	31,392,549	61.5	14,929,920	29.3	525,528	1.0
Colorado	5,349,899	299,576	413	5.6	2,222,083	41.5	2,576,924	48.2	251,315	4.7
Connecticut	6,460,491	276,427	492	4.3	2,553,180	39.5	3,527,302	54.6	103,583	1.6
Delaware	1,112,519	87,904	767	7.9	732,599	65.9	277,769	25.0	14,247	1.3
District of Columbia	1,042,711	115,527	1,676	11.1	^a	^a	918,793	88.1	8,391	0.8
Florida	17,866,868	1,599,259	657	9.0	8,695,213	48.7	6,917,556	38.7	654,841	3.7
Georgia	12,191,113	783,487	542	6.4	5,963,337	48.9	5,249,268	43.1	195,020	1.6
Hawaii	1,682,330	140,951	765	8.4	1,511,317	89.8	9,105	0.5	20,957	1.2
Idaho	1,593,966	128,646	525	8.1	977,438	61.3	461,605	29.0	26,278	1.6
Illinois	18,217,079	1,421,519	694	7.8	6,124,183	33.6	10,301,826	56.6	369,551	2.0
Indiana	9,033,180	464,489	470	5.1	4,833,954	53.5	3,477,771	38.5	256,967	2.8
Iowa	3,954,178	248,689	502	6.3	1,943,708	49.2	1,556,878	39.4	204,902	5.2
Kansas	3,597,726	231,473	492	6.4	2,198,216	61.1	1,074,216	29.9	93,820	2.6
Kentucky	4,509,893	448,073	673	9.9	2,702,932	59.9	1,258,841	27.9	100,047	2.2
Louisiana	5,060,133	580,356	781	11.5	2,497,875	49.4	1,921,174	38.0	60,729	1.2
Maine	1,934,178	153,100	739	7.9	863,295	44.6	880,399	45.5	37,384	1.9
Maryland	7,846,891	477,463	560	6.1	2,928,715	37.3	4,178,103	53.2	262,611	3.3
Massachusetts	10,148,498	511,198	524	5.0	4,420,622	43.6	5,052,863	49.8	163,816	1.6
Michigan	16,358,532	1,116,374	649	6.8	10,603,606	64.8	4,276,902	26.1	361,649	2.2
Minnesota	7,873,549	370,648	434	4.7	4,765,802	60.5	2,497,149	31.7	239,951	3.0
Mississippi	2,903,534	400,804	805	13.8	1,607,126	55.4	804,183	27.7	91,421	3.1
Missouri	7,102,501	491,233	538	6.9	2,661,904	37.5	3,680,122	51.8	269,242	3.8
Montana	1,140,168	131,299	848	11.5	542,692	47.6	418,700	36.7	47,477	4.2
Nebraska	2,307,804	168,036	587	7.3	805,419	34.9	1,210,412	52.4	123,937	5.4
Nevada	2,393,494	122,360	359	5.1	683,605	28.6	1,497,331	62.6	90,198	3.8
New Hampshire	1,714,147	77,365	371	4.5	884,875	51.6	712,119	41.5	39,788	2.3
New Jersey	15,967,075	628,834	479	3.9	6,669,858	41.8	8,351,731	52.3	316,652	2.0
New Mexico	2,426,705	338,213	1,056	13.9	1,725,551	71.1	316,268	13.0	46,674	1.9
New York	34,266,171	1,961,653	681	5.7	15,818,051	46.2	16,187,387	47.2	299,080	0.9
North Carolina	9,262,181	670,380	518	7.2	6,144,449	66.3	2,216,699	23.9	230,653	2.5
North Dakota	767,798	102,697	940	13.4	299,089	39.0	324,794	42.3	41,216	5.4
Ohio	16,649,361	1,007,370	549	6.1	7,187,325	43.2	7,840,209	47.1	614,457	3.7
Oklahoma	4,034,825	410,681	659	10.2	2,386,216	59.1	1,035,597	25.7	202,332	5.0
Oregon	4,564,408	336,992	617	7.4	2,566,099	56.2	1,528,766	33.5	132,551	2.9
Pennsylvania	17,053,891	1,107,854	611	6.5	6,443,673	37.8	9,176,463	53.8	325,901	1.9
Rhode Island	1,545,675	90,634	576	5.9	652,723	42.2	781,753	50.6	20,566	1.3
South Carolina	5,459,399	446,838	660	8.2	2,941,097	53.9	1,873,403	34.3	198,061	3.6
South Dakota	885,229	107,532	836	12.1	312,880	35.3	438,651	49.6	26,167	3.0
Tennessee	5,711,950	524,351	577	9.2	2,532,336	44.3	2,493,439	43.7	161,824	2.8
Texas	30,469,570	2,656,951	654	8.7	12,855,241	42.2	14,246,504	46.8	710,874	2.3
Utah	2,745,656	204,939	426	7.5	1,608,249	58.6	867,784	31.6	64,683	2.4
Vermont	1,035,679	60,523	593	5.8	732,563	70.7	226,175	21.8	16,418	1.6
Virginia	9,313,330	520,773	455	5.6	3,939,548	42.3	4,649,755	49.9	203,253	2.2
Washington	8,058,875	625,231	622	7.8	5,072,388	62.9	2,101,004	26.1	260,253	3.2
West Virginia	2,375,788	243,131	849	10.2	1,450,453	61.1	654,155	27.5	28,049	1.2
Wisconsin	8,327,255	418,472	476	5.0	4,424,429	53.1	3,295,254	39.6	189,099	2.3
Wyoming	803,414	69,176	769	8.6	403,020	50.2	317,995	39.6	13,223	1.6

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Days in Attendance

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) reported that in 2002 thirty-four states required 180 or more days of school per year, and eight states required between 175 and 179 days. (See Figure 2.9.) The remaining states required a set number of hours rather than days, or had variations based on student grade level. The number of required hours per day ranged from three to seven, with thirty states requiring five or more hours per day.

The CCSSO reported in Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education (2005) that the number of states requiring at least 180 days of school had increased to thirty-five by 2004, with six states mandating between 175 and 179 days of school per year. Kansas, with 186 days, had the longest school year in 2004, followed by Illinois and Michigan, both with 185. Of states that required a fixed number of days in 2004, Colorado, Idaho, and South Dakota had the least (170).

TABLE 2.6
Revenues for public elementary and secondary schools, by source, 2000–01 [continued]
State or jurisdiction	Total, in thousands	Federal			State		Local and intermediate		Private^c
State or jurisdiction	Total, in thousands	Amount, in thousands	Per student	Percent of total	Amount, in thousands	Percent of total	Amount, in thousands	Percent of total	Amount, in thousands	Percent of total
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
—Not available.
^aNot applicable.
^bRounds to zero.
^cIncludes revenues from gifts, and tuition and fees from patrons.
Note: Excludes revenues for state education agencies. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 157. Revenues for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by Source and State or Jurisdiction: 2000–01," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt157.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
Outlying areas
American Samoa	58,262	45,822	2,918	78.6	10,551	18.1	1,801	3.1	89	0.2
Guam	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Northern Marianas	55,164	17,619	1,761	31.9	37,230	67.5	255	0.5	60	0.1
Puerto Rico	2,331,691	671,870	1,097	28.8	1,658,907	71.1	98	^b	815	^b
Virgin Islands	165,801	28,256	1,452	17.0	0	0.0	137,400	82.9	146	0.1

Compulsory Attendance

Most industrialized Western nations require children to attend school for about ten years. According to the CCSSO, in 2004 nearly all U.S. states required students to attend school starting between ages five and eight and continuing through ages sixteen to eighteen. In 2004, eight states required students to be enrolled by age six; twenty-two states required students to enter school before age seven; and nineteen states required students to begin school by age eight.

The CCSSO reported in Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education: 2004 that thirty-one states required students to remain enrolled until age sixteen, and seven established seventeen as the minimum age for leaving school. The District of Columbia and eleven states mandated students to remain enrolled until age eighteen. New Mexico law required students to gain the "age of majority" or meet other requirements.

GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 1899–1900 only 6.4% of seventeen-year-olds had graduated from high school. By 1929–30 this proportion had risen to 29%, and by 1949–50 it had grown to 59%. The proportion peaked at 77.1% in 1968–69 and then dropped to 71.4% in 1979–80. The proportion fluctuated between 71% and 74% throughout much of the 1980s and the early 1990s, and dropped to between 69% and 70% until 1998–99. At the end of the 2002–03 school year, three million students graduated from high school. (See Table 2.13.) High school graduates are not the same as high school completers—students who finish their high school education through alternative programs, such as the General Educational Development (GED) program.

General Educational Development (GED) Diplomas

The General Educational Development (GED) diploma is an alternative way for young people who have left school to get equivalency credit for high school graduation. According to the U.S. Department of Education, about one million people took the GED test in 2001. The number of those getting GED diplomas rose sharply from 340,000 in 1975 to 489,000 in 1981. The number gaining a GED diploma generally dropped during the 1980s, falling to 357,000 in 1989, but by 2001 it had again increased to 648,000. (See Table 2.14.) The American Council on Education (ACE) reported on its Web site (http://www.acenet.edu/) that 412,044 adults passed GED tests in 2003. According to ACE, one in seven high school diplomas in the United States is issued on the basis of GED testing.

CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Career and technical education, also known as vocational education, includes such study areas as office administration, automotive technology, carpentry and construction, medical technology, agricultural production, culinary arts, transportation, electronics, and computer graphics. For much of the twentieth century, most high schools had a two-track educational system—an academic curriculum that centered on traditional subjects and prepared students for college, and a vocational curriculum that focused on career skills and prepared students to enter the workforce. However, today's high-skill job market requires all high school graduates to have both academic knowledge and workplace skills and training. Professional careers now demand technical skills and the ability to work in teams; technical careers require the ability to diagnose and analyze problems.

The integration of academic and vocational education, emphasizing a curriculum that makes connections between knowledge development and its application in the workplace, is mandated in the United States under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-392). Speaking during a Perkins Act reauthorization hearing in May 2004, Representative Mike Castle (R-Delaware) noted that "66% of all public secondary schools have one or more vocational and technical education programs, with approximately 96% of high school students taking at least one vocational and technical course during their secondary studies." Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the Perkins Act in 2005.

Developments in Vocational Education Programs

According to the U.S. Department of Education, successful career and technical education should encourage links between high schools and postsecondary institutions, include a challenging academic core, offer nonduplicative technical courses leading to a degree or certificate, and focus on career pathways that are in demand and lead to economic self-sufficiency. The Office of Vocational and Adult Education, a division of the Department of Education, has identified several areas crucial to the future of technical education, including:

Incorporating both school- and work-based learning
Increasing business partnerships within the community
Preparing students for continuing education
Establishing partnerships with postsecondary institutions, including colleges and universities; and
Taking advantage of higher technology and the Internet

TABLE 2.7
Public expenditures on education as a percentage of the GDP, by level and country, selected years, 1985–2000
Country	All institutions^a					Primary and secondary institutions					Higher education institutions
Country	1985	1990	1995	1999	2000	1985	1990	1995	1999	2000	1985	1990	1995	1999	2000
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
—Not available.
^aIncludes preprimary and other expenditures not classified by level.
^bData are for Flemish Belgium only.
^cData for 1985 are for the former West Germany.
^dData are for 2000.
Note: Direct public expenditure on educational services includes both amounts spent directly by governments to hire educational personnel and to procure other resources, and amounts provided by governments to public or private institutions, or households. Figures for 1985 also include transfers and payments to private entities, and thus are not strictly comparable with later figures. Some data revised from previously published figures.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 416. Total Public Direct Expenditures on Education as a Percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, by Level and Country: Selected Years, 1985 to 2000," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt416.asp (accesssed July 26, 2005)
Average for year	5.3	4.9	4.9	5.1	5.2	3.7	3.5	3.4	3.5	3.5	1.1	1.0	0.9	1.2	1.2
Average for countries reporting data for all years	5.4	5.2	5.3	5.6	5.4	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.7	3.6	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.4	1.4
Australia	5.4	4.3	4.5	5.0	5.1	3.5	3.2	3.2	3.8	3.9	1.7	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.2
Austria	5.6	5.2	5.3	6.3	5.8	3.7	3.6	3.8	4.1	3.8	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.7	1.4
Belgium^b	6.3	4.8	5.0	5.5	5.2	4.0	3.4	3.4	3.5	3.4	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.5	1.3
Canada	6.1	5.4	5.8	5.7	5.5	4.1	3.7	4.0	3.5	3.3	2.0	1.5	1.5	1.9	2.0
Czech Republic	—	—	4.8	4.4	4.4	—	—	3.4	3.0	3.0	—	—	0.7	0.8	0.8
Denmark	6.2	6.2	6.5	8.1	8.4	4.7	4.4	4.2	4.8	4.8	1.2	1.3	1.3	2.4	2.5
Finland	5.8	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.0	—	4.3	4.2	3.8	3.6	—	1.2	1.7	2.1	2.0
France	—	5.1	5.8	6.0	5.8	—	3.7	4.1	4.2	4.1	—	0.8	1.0	1.1	1.0
Germany^c	4.6	—	4.5	4.7	4.5	2.8	—	2.9	3.0	3.0	1.0	—	1.0	1.1	1.1
Greece	—	—	3.7	3.6	3.8	—	—	2.8	2.4	2.7	—	—	0.8	1.1	0.9
Hungary	—	5.0	4.9	4.7	4.9	—	3.5	3.3	2.9	3.1	—	0.8	0.8	0.9	1.0
Iceland	—	4.3	4.5	—	6.0	—	3.3	3.4	—	4.7	—	0.6	0.7	—	1.1
Ireland	5.6	4.7	4.7	4.3	4.4	4.0	3.3	3.3	3.1	3.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.2	1.3
Italy	4.7	5.8	4.5	4.5	4.6	3.2	4.1	3.2	3.2	3.2	0.6	1.0	0.7	0.8	0.8
Japan	—	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.6	—	2.9	2.8	2.7	2.7	—	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.5
Korea, Republic of	—	—	3.6	4.1	4.3	—	—	3.0	3.2	3.3	—	—	0.3	0.6	0.7
Luxembourg	—	—	4.3	—	—	—	—	4.2	—	—	—	—	0.1	—	—
Mexico	—	3.2	4.6	4.4	4.9	—	2.2	3.4	3.1	3.4	—	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.9
Netherlands	6.2	5.7	4.6	4.8	4.8	4.1	3.6	3.0	3.1	3.2	1.5	1.6	1.1	1.3	1.3
New Zealand	—	5.5	5.3	6.3	7.0	—	3.9	3.8	4.8	4.9	—	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.7
Norway	5.1	6.2	6.8	7.4	6.7	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.3	3.9	0.7	1.1	1.5	2.0	1.7
Poland	—	—	5.2	5.2	5.2	—	—	3.3	3.6	3.8	—	—	0.8	0.8	0.8
Portugal	—	—	5.4	5.7	5.7	—	—	4.1	4.2	4.2	—	—	1.0	1.0	1.0
Russian Federation	—	—	3.4	3.0^d	3.0	—	—	1.9	—	1.7	—	—	0.7	—	0.5
Spain	3.6	4.2	4.8	4.5	4.4	2.9	3.2	3.5	3.3	3.1	0.4	0.7	0.8	0.9	1.0
Sweden	—	5.3	6.6	7.7	7.4	—	4.4	4.4	5.1	4.9	—	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.2
Switzerland	4.9	5.0	5.5	5.5	5.4	4.0	3.7	4.1	4.0	3.9	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.2
Turkey	—	3.2	2.2	4.0	3.5	—	2.3	1.4	2.9	2.4	—	0.9	0.8	1.1	1.1
United Kingdom	4.9	4.3	4.6	4.7	4.8	3.1	3.5	3.8	3.3	3.4	1.0	0.7	0.7	1.1	1.0
United States	4.7	5.3	5.0	5.2	5.0	3.2	3.8	3.5	3.5	3.5	1.3	1.4	1.1	1.4	1.1

TABLE 2.8
Annual expenditures on public and private institutions per student and as a percentage of GDP for OECD countries, by level of education, 2000
Country	Expenditures on public and private institutions per student^a		Expenditures on public and private institutions as a percentage of GDP			GDP per capita (in equivalent U.S. dollars converted using PPPs)^b
Country	Elementary and secondary^c	Post-secondary^d	Elementary and secondary^c	Post-secondary^d	Total^e
—Not available.
^aPer student expenditures are calculated based on public and private full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollment figures for the 1999–2000 school year and on current expenditures and capital outlays from both public and private sources where data are available.
^bGDP adjusted to national financial year.
^cIncludes postsecondary nontertiary data (International Standard Classification of Education [ISCED] level 4) for Belgium, Finland, Japan, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
^dIncludes all tertiary level data. Also, includes postsecondary nontertiary data for Canada, Japan, and the United States.
^eTotal includes elementary/secondary, postsecondary, and postsecondary nontertiary expenditures.
^fData are for full- and part-time students.
Note: Educational expenditures are from public and private revenue sources. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) indices are used to convert other currencies to U.S. dollars. Within-country consumer price indices are used to adjust the PPP indices to account for inflation because the fiscal year has a different starting date in different countries. Includes all institutions, public and private, with the exception of Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, and Turkey, which include public institutions only.
Source: John Wirt, Susan Choy, Stephen Provasnik, Patrick Rooney, Anindita Sen, and Richard Tobin, "Table 36-1. Annual Expenditures on Public and Private Institutions Per Student and as a Percentage of GDP for OECD Countries, by Level of Education: 2000," in The Condition of Education, 2004, NCES 2004-077, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, June 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section6/table.asp?tableID=92 (accessed July 26, 2005)
OECD mean	$5,162	$9,509	3.6	1.3	4.9	$23,317
Australia	5,867	12,854	4.3	1.6	5.9	26,325
Austria^f	7,851	10,851	3.8	1.2	5.1	28,070
Belgium	5,732	10,771	3.6	1.3	4.9	26,392
Canada	5,947	14,983	3.6	2.6	6.2	28,130
Czech Republic	2,541	5,431	3.0	0.9	4.0	13,806
Denmark	7,467	11,981	4.2	1.6	5.7	28,755
Finland	5,292	8,244	3.5	1.7	5.2	25,357
France	6,214	8,373	4.2	1.1	5.4	25,090
Germany	5,779	10,898	3.4	1.0	4.6	26,139
Greece	3,696	3,402	2.8	0.9	3.8	15,885
Hungary	2,352	7,024	2.8	1.1	3.9	12,204
Iceland	6,293	7,994	—	0.9	5.8	28,143
Ireland	3,976	11,083	2.9	1.5	4.5	28,285
Italy	6,506	8,065	3.2	0.9	4.1	25,095
Japan	5,971	10,914	2.9	1.1	4.0	26,011
Korea	3,644	6,118	4.0	2.6	6.6	15,186
Luxembourg	—	—	—	—	—	48,239
Mexico	1,415	4,688	3.8	1.1	4.9	9,117
Netherlands	5,138	11,934	3.1	1.2	4.3	27,316
New Zealand	—	—	4.5	0.9	5.5	20,372
Norway^f	7,399	13,353	3.7	1.3	4.9	36,242
Poland	1,988	3,222	3.7	0.8	4.5	9,547
Portugal^f	—	4,766	4.1	1.1	5.2	16,780
Slovak Republic	1,732	4,949	2.8	0.8	3.6	11,278
Spain	4,636	6,666	3.3	1.2	4.5	20,195
Sweden	6,337	15,097	4.3	1.7	6.0	26,161
Switzerland	8,187	18,450	4.2	1.2	5.5	29,617
Turkey	—	4,121	2.4	1.0	3.4	6,211
United Kingdom	4,844	9,657	3.8	1.0	4.8	24,964
United States	7,397	20,358	3.9	2.7	6.6	34,602

TABLE 2.9
Private elementary and secondary school enrollment and as a percentage of total enrollment in public and private schools, by region and grade level, selected years, 1989–90 to 2001–02
[Totals in thousands]
School year and grade level	Total enrollment		Northeast		Midwest		South		West
School year and grade level	Total	Percent of total enrollment	Total	Percent of total Northeast enrollment	Total	Percent of total Midwest enrollment	Total	Percent of total South enrollment	Total	Percent of total West enrollment
∗Grades K-8 and 9-12 do not include ungraded students and therefore these two categories do not sum to grades K-12.
Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
Source: John Wirt, Susan Choy, Patrick Rooney, William Hussar, Stephen Provasnik, and Gillian Hampden-Thompson, "Table 2-2. Private Elementary and Secondary School Enrollment and as a Percentage of Total Enrollment in Public and Private Schools, by Region and Grade Level: Various School Years, 1989–90 through 2001–02," in The Condition of Education, 2005, NCES 2005-094, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, June 2005, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2005/section1/table.asp?tableID=225 (accessed July 26, 2005)
Grades K-12
1989–90	4,838	10.7	1,346	15.7	1,368	12.2	1,280	8.1	844	8.7
1991–92	4,890	10.4	1,324	15.2	1,353	11.8	1,304	8.0	909	8.7
1993–94	4,836	10.0	1,276	14.3	1,309	11.3	1,386	8.2	865	8.0
1995–96	5,032	10.1	1,289	14.0	1,349	11.4	1,445	8.2	949	8.4
1997–98	5,076	9.9	1,287	13.7	1,346	11.2	1,510	8.4	933	8.0
1999–2000	5,163	9.9	1,295	13.6	1,345	11.1	1,576	8.6	947	7.9
2001–02	5,342	10.1	1,337	13.9	1,355	11.2	1,641	8.7	1,008	8.1
Grades K-8∗
1989–90	3,588	11.0	947	15.7	1,052	13.1	949	8.2	639	9.0
1991–92	3,657	10.7	935	15.0	1,059	12.8	974	8.1	689	9.1
1993–94	3,641	10.4	907	14.2	1,021	12.2	1,048	8.4	664	8.4
1995–96	3,760	10.4	911	13.9	1,042	12.3	1,086	8.4	721	8.8
1997–98	3,781	10.3	911	13.6	1,036	12.1	1,126	8.6	708	8.4
1999–2000	3,849	10.3	917	13.6	1,035	12.1	1,177	8.8	720	8.3
2001–02	3,951	10.4	935	13.8	1,039	12.1	1,223	8.9	754	8.5
Grades 9-12∗
1989–90	1,126	9.0	362	14.6	288	9.2	291	6.8	185	7.1
1991–92	1,126	8.9	346	13.6	276	8.9	302	7.0	203	7.3
1993–94	1,102	8.4	328	13.1	273	8.5	315	7.1	186	6.4
1995–96	1,160	8.5	334	13.0	286	8.5	330	7.1	209	6.8
1997–98	1,181	8.3	330	12.5	292	8.5	353	7.2	206	6.3
1999–2000	1,225	8.4	338	12.6	297	8.6	375	7.5	214	6.3
2001–02	1,293	8.6	364	13.0	302	8.6	389	7.5	239	6.8

TABLE 2.10
Public and private elementary and secondary teachers, enrollment, and pupil to teacher ratios, selected years, Fall 1955–Fall 2002
Year	Elementary and secondary teachers, in thousands			Elementary and secondary enrollment, in thousands			Elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratio
Year	Total	Public	Private	Total	Public	Private	Total	Public	Private
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
^aEstimated.
^bProjected.
Note: Data for teachers are expressed in full-time equivalents. Data for private schools includes kindergarten and a relatively small number of nursery school teachers and students. Ratios for public schools reflect totals reported by states and differ from totals reported for schools by states or school districts. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 64. Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Teachers, Enrollment, and Pupil to Teacher Ratios: Selected Years, Fall 1955 to Fall 2002," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt064.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
1955	1,286	1,141	145^a	35,280	30,680	4,600^a	27.4	26.9	31.7^a
1960	1,600	1,408	192^a	42,181	36,281	5,900^a	26.4	25.8	30.7^a
1965	1,933	1,710	223	48,473	42,173	6,300	25.1	24.7	28.3
1970	2,292	2,059	233	51,257	45,894	5,363	22.4	22.3	23.0
1971	2,293	2,063	230^a	51,271	46,071	5,200^a	22.4	22.3	22.6^a
1972	2,337	2,106	231^a	50,726	45,726	5,000^a	21.7	21.7	21.6^a
1973	2,372	2,136	236^a	50,446	45,446	5,000^a	21.3	21.3	21.2^a
1974	2,410	2,165	245^a	50,073	45,073	5,000^a	20.8	20.8	20.4^a
1975	2,453	2,198	255^a	49,819	44,819	5,000^a	20.3	20.4	19.6^a
1976	2,457	2,189	268	49,478	44,311	5,167	20.1	20.2	19.3
1977	2,488	2,209	279	48,717	43,577	5,140	19.6	19.7	18.4
1978	2,479	2,207	272	47,635	42,550	5,085	19.2	19.3	18.7
1979	2,461	2,185	276^a	46,651	41,651	5,000^a	19.0	19.1	18.1^a
1980	2,485	2,184	301	46,208	40,877	5,331	18.6	18.7	17.7
1981	2,440	2,127	313^a	45,544	40,044	5,500^a	18.7	18.8	17.6^a
1982	2,458	2,133	325^a	45,165	39,566	5,600^a	18.4	18.6	17.2^a
1983	2,476	2,139	337	44,967	39,252	5,715	18.2	18.4	17.0
1984	2,508	2,168	340^a	44,908	39,208	5,700^a	17.9	18.1	16.8^a
1985	2,549	2,206	343	44,979	39,422	5,557	17.6	17.9	16.2
1986	2,592	2,244	348^a	45,205	39,753	5,452^a	17.4	17.7	15.7^a
1987	2,631	2,279	352	45,487	40,008	5,479	17.3	17.6	15.6
1988	2,668	2,323	345^a	45,430	40,189	5,242^a	17.0	17.3	15.2^a
1989	2,734	2,357	377	45,741	40,543	5,198	16.7	17.2	13.8
1990	2,753	2,398	355^a	46,451	41,217	5,234^a	16.9	17.2	14.7^a
1991	2,787	2,432	355	47,322	42,047	5,275	17.0	17.3	14.9
1992	2,822	2,459	363^a	48,145	42,823	5,322^a	17.1	17.4	14.7^a
1993	2,870	2,504	366	48,813	43,465	5,348	17.0	17.4	14.6
1994	2,926	2,552	374^a	49,609	44,111	5,498^a	17.0	17.3	14.7^a
1995	2,978	2,598	380	50,502	44,840	5,662	17.0	17.3	14.9
1996	3,054	2,667	387^a	51,375	45,611	5,764^a	16.8	17.1	14.9^a
1997	3,134	2,746	388	51,968	46,127	5,841	16.6	16.8	15.1
1998	3,221	2,830	391^a	52,476	46,539	5,937^a	16.3	16.4	15.2^a
1999	3,306	2,911	395	52,875	46,857	6,018	16.0	16.1	15.2
2000	3,332	2,941	390^a	53,366	47,204	6,162^a	16.0	16.0	15.8^a
2001	3,388	2,998	390	53,890	47,688	6,202^a	15.9	15.9	15.9^a
2002^b	3,369	2,983	385	54,158	47,918	6,241	16.1	16.1	16.2

TABLE 2.11
Current expenditures per pupil for public elementary and secondary schools, by function, state, and outlying areas, 2002–03
[In dollars]
State	Fall 2002 student membership	Current expenditures per pupil in membership
State	Fall 2002 student membership	Total	Instruction	Support services	Noninstruction
United States	48,201,032^a	8,041^a,b	4,932^a,b	2,780^a	329^a
Alabama	739,366^a	6,300^a	3,812^a	2,058^a	430^a
Alaska	134,364	9,870	5,740	3,798	332
Arizona	937,755	6,282	3,765	2,221	296
Arkansas	450,985	6,482	3,961	2,196	325
California	6,353,667^a	7,552^a	4,591^a	2,678^a	283^a
Colorado	751,862	7,384	4,230	2,900	254
Connecticut	570,023	11,057	7,052	3,612	394
Delaware	116,342	9,693	5,965	3,276	452
District of Columbia	76,166	11,847	6,216	5,331	300
Florida	2,539,929	6,439	3,786	2,338	315
Georgia	1,496,012	7,774	4,925	2,459	391
Hawaii	183,829	8,100	4,833	2,839	428
Idaho	248,604	6,081	3,721	2,098	262
Illinois	2,084,187	8,287	4,952	3,068	268
Indiana	1,003,875	8,057	4,932	2,797	329
Iowa	482,210	7,574	4,508	2,511	554
Kansas	470,957	7,454	4,413	2,697	345
Kentucky	660,782	6,661	4,066	2,233	362
Louisiana	730,464	6,922	4,203	2,291	428
Maine	204,337	9,344	6,269	2,774	300
Maryland	866,743	9,153	5,693	3,042	418
Massachusetts	982,989	10,460	6,656	3,486	318
Michigan	1,785,160	8,781	5,002	3,509	269
Minnesota	846,891	8,109	5,201	2,536	372
Mississippi	492,645	5,792	3,466	1,966	360
Missouri	924,445	7,349^b	4,481^b	2,551	317
Montana	149,995	7,496	4,606	2,583	307
Nebraska	285,402	8,074	5,151	2,360	563
Nevada	369,498	6,092	3,812	2,080	200
New Hampshire	207,671	8,579	5,569	2,746	264
New Jersey	1,367,438	12,568	7,424	4,757	387
New Mexico	320,234	7,125	3,953	2,842	329
New York	2,888,233	11,961	8,213	3,459	290
North Carolina	1,335,954	6,562	4,173	2,023	366
North Dakota	104,225	6,870	4,102	2,230	538
Ohio	1,838,285	8,632	4,956	3,390	286
Oklahoma	624,548	6,092	3,528	2,160	404
Oregon	554,071	7,491	4,438	2,798	255
Pennsylvania	1,816,747	8,997	5,557	3,088	352
Rhode Island	159205^a	10,349	6,685	3,396	267
South Carolina	694,389	7,040	4,199	2,464	376
South Dakota	130,048	6,547	3,836	2,361	349
Tennessee	927,608^a	6,118^a,b	3,933^a,b	1,885^a	300^a
Texas	4,259,823	7,136	4,307	2,469	360
Utah	489,262	4,838	3,103	1,461	273
Vermont	99,978	10,454	6,713	3,458	283
Virginia	1,177,229	7,822	4,809	2,705	308
Washington	1,014,798	7,252^b	4,317^b	2,582	353
West Virginia	282,455	8,319	5,115	2,742	463
Wisconsin	881,231	9,004	5,566	3,149	289
Wyoming	88,116	8,985	5,381	3,317	287

TABLE 2.11
Current expenditures per pupil for public elementary and secondary schools, by function, state, and outlying areas, 2002–03 [continued]
[In dollars]
State	Fall 2002 student membership	Current expenditures per pupil in membership
State	Fall 2002 student membership	Total	Instruction	Support services	Noninstruction
—Not available.
Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. National totals do not include outlying areas. Both the District of Columbia and Hawaii have only one school district each; therefore, neither is comparable to other states.
^aPrekindergarten students were imputed, affecting total student count and per pupil expenditure calculation. In Tennessee, prekindergarten students were imputed and tuition expenditures (included in instruction) were redistributed.
^bValue affected by redistribution of reported expenditure values to correct for missing data items.
Source: Jason Hill and Frank Johnson, "Table 5. Student Membership and Current Expenditures Per Pupil in Membership for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by Function, State, and Outlying Areas: School Year 2002–03," in Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2002–03, NCES 2005-353, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, April 2005, http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubs/npefs03/table_5.asp?popup=1 (accessed July 26, 2005)
Outlying areas
American Samoa	15,984	2,976	1,543	893	540
Guam	—	—	—	—	—
Northern Marianas	11,251	4,519	3,871	437	211
Puerto Rico	596,502	4,260	3,145	606	509
Virgin Islands	18,333	6,840	4,459	2,168	213

TABLE 2.12
Number and percentage distribution of prekindergarten children in public elementary schools, by selected student and school characteristics, 2000–01
School characteristic	Number of children in pre-kindergarten	Age			Race/ethnicity^a					Student characteristic
School characteristic	Number of children in pre-kindergarten	3 or younger	4	5 or older	American Indian	Asian	Black	White	Hispanic	LEP^b	Low income^c	IEP^d
#Rounds to zero.
∗Interpret data with caution (estimates are unstable).
^aAmerican Indian includes Alaska Native, Asian includes Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian, black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Racial categories exclude Hispanic origin.
^bLEP refers to limited English proficient students, or "English language learners."
^cLow income is defined as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
^dIEP refers to students with Individualized Education Programs and includes children in special education and general education classes.
Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data on some of the variables in this table are missing for some cases.
Source: John Wirt, Susan Choy, Stephen Provasnik, Patrick Rooney, Anindita Sen, and Richard Tobin, "Table 2-2. Number and Percentage Distribution of Prekindergarten Children in Public Elementary Schools, by Age, Race/Ethnicity, and Selected Student and School Characteristics: 2000–01," in The Condition of Education, 2004, NCES 2004-077, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, June 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section1/table.asp?tableID=33 (accessed July 26, 2005)
Total	822,000	23.0	68.3	8.7	1.9	2.7	22.6	48.6	24.0	15.1	61.1	29.7
Enrollment
Less than 300	193,000	28.7	61.4	9.9	2.6	2.6	17.7	60.8	16.2	9.7	54.4	32.7
300-499	233,000	21.0	69.1	9.9	2.0	2.4	21.9	56.2	17.4	11.4	58.2	27.9
500-699	211,000	22.6	69.6	7.8	1.3	2.8	28.9	44.8	22.1	13.4	62.3	31.3
700 or more	184,000	20.0	73.1	7.0	1.6	3.1	21.7	30.6	43.0	27.4	70.1	27.1
Location
Central city	310,000	23.8	68.4	7.8	1.0	3.6	33.1	27.6	34.6	21.6	72.3	26.2
Urban fringe/large town	279,000	24.3	67.9	7.8	1.2	3.3	20.1	51.1	24.2	15.6	54.6	31.7
Rural/small town	233,000	20.3	68.8	10.8	3.9	0.8	11.7	73.7	9.9	5.7	53.2	32.1
Region
Northeast	137,000	24.9	70.0	5.1	0.8∗	4.7	22.4	52.6	19.5	8.7	46.8	28.1
Southeast	191,000	19.4	72.8	7.8	1.7	1.7	38.0	49.3	9.2	6.5	70.7	33.5
Central	230,000	27.0	59.6	13.3	0.9	2.0	20.5	63.4	13.0	8.5	50.7	31.1
West	264,000	21.1	71.8	7.1	3.4	3.0	13.4	33.3	46.8	30.3	69.8	26.6
Percent minority
Less than 10	181,000	24.8	63.2	11.9	1.7	0.9	1.9	92.6	2.9	0.9	34.5	37.0
10-24	109,000	30.2	60.5	9.2	1.6	2.9	9.8	77.8	7.8	4.1	47.3	39.0
25-49	150,000	19.4	72.8	7.8	2.4	4.0	18.8	56.5	17.9	13.1	54.0	29.4
50-75	106,000	24.9	65.7	9.4	3.1	5.8	29.9	34.9	26.3	12.3	70.3	29.2
75 or more	267,000	20.1	73.8	6.1	1.4	1.8	41.5	7.6	47.7	31.2	82.4	20.6
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
Less than 15	87,000	29.6	59.0	11.5	1.4	6.0	4.2	80.7	7.7	6.6	11.1	39.5
15-29	75,000	24.8	62.5	12.7	1.3	2.5	9.4	76.8	9.8	4.8	27.4	45.6
30-49	129,000	22.8	65.8	11.3	1.7	2.8	13.6	68.3	13.2	8.7	37.6	34.8
50-74	207,000	21.3	71.8	6.8	2.6	3.3	20.2	54.0	19.9	11.2	62.9	30.3
75 or more	318,000	21.5	71.7	6.8	1.7	1.6	36.3	21.7	38.7	24.9	86.7	19.6
Percent of students limited English proficient
Less than 1	409,000	23.4	66.2	10.3	2.4	1.3	25.2	62.1	8.9	#	55.3	33.9
1-10	141,000	25.3	65.4	9.3	1.6	3.0	26.8	55.9	12.1	4.2	53.1	30.0
More than 10	263,000	20.7	73.7	5.6	1.3	4.6	17.0	22.5	54.6	44.4	74.1	23.3

TABLE 2.13
High school graduates compared with population age 17, selected years, 1869–70 to 2002–03
[Numbers in thousands]
School year	Population 17 years old^a	High school graduates					Graduates as a ratio of 17-year-old population
		Total^b	Sex		Control		Graduates as a ratio of 17-year-old population
		Total^b	Male	Female	Public^c	Private^d
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1869–70	815	16	7	9	—	—	2.0
1879–80	946	24	11	13	—	—	2.5
1889–90	1,259	44	19	25	22	22	3.5
1899–1900	1,489	95	38	57	62	33	6.4
1909–10	1,786	156	64	93	111	45	8.8
1919–20	1,855	311	124	188	231	80	16.8
1929–30	2,296	667	300	367	592	75	29.0
1939–40	2,403	1,221	579	643	1,143	78	50.8
1947–48	2,261	1,190	563	627	1,073	117	52.6
1949–50	2,034	1,200	571	629	1,063	136	59.0
1951–52	2,086	1,197	569	627	1,056	141	57.4
1953–54	2,135	1,276	613	664	1,129	147	59.8
1955–56	2,242	1,415	680	735	1,252	163	63.1
1956–57	2,272	1,434	690	744	1,270	164	63.1
1957–58	2,325	1,506	725	781	1,332	174	64.8
1958–59	2,458	1,627	784	843	1,435	192	66.2
1959–60	2,672	1,858	895	963	1,627	231	69.5
1960–61	2,892	1,964	955	1,009	1,725	239	67.9
1961–62	2,768	1,918	938	980	1,678	240	69.3
1962–63	2,740	1,943	956	987	1,710	233	70.9
1963–64	2,978	2,283	1,120	1,163	2,008	275	76.7
1964–65	3,684	2,658	1,311	1,347	2,360	298	72.1
1965–66	3,489	2,665	1,323	1,342	2,367	298	76.4
1966–67	3,500	2,672	1,328	1,344	2,374	298	76.3
1967–68	3,532	2,695	1,338	1,357	2,395	300	76.3
1968–69	3,659	2,822	1,399	1,423	2,522	300	77.1
1969–70	3,757	2,889	1,430	1,459	2,589	300	76.9
1970–71	3,872	2,938	1,454	1,484	2,638	300	75.9
1971–72	3,973	3,002	1,487	1,515	2,700	302	75.6
1972–73	4,049	3,035	1,500	1,535	2,729	306	75.0
1973–74	4,132	3,073	1,512	1,561	2,763	310	74.4
1974–75	4,256	3,133	1,542	1,591	2,823	310	73.6
1975–76	4,272	3,148	1,552	1,596	2,837	311	73.7
1976–77	4,272	3,152	1,548	1,604	2,837	315	73.8
1977–78	4,286	3,127	1,531	1,596	2,825	302	73.0
1978–79	4,327	3,101	1,517	1,584	2,801	300	71.7
1979–80	4,262	3,043	1,491	1,552	2,748	295	71.4
1980–81	4,212	3,020	1,483	1,537	2,725	295	71.7
1981–82	4,134	2,995	1,471	1,524	2,705	290	72.4
1982–83	3,962	2,888	1,437	1,451	2,598	290	72.9
1983–84	3,784	2,767	—	—	2,495	272	73.1
1984–85	3,699	2,677	—	—	2,414	263	72.4
1985–86	3,670	2,643	—	—	2,383	260	72.0
1986–87	3,754	2,694	—	—	2,429	265	71.8
1987–88	3,849	2,773	—	—	2,500	273	72.0
1988–89	3,842	2,744	—	—	2,459	285	71.4
1989–90	3,505	2,589	—	—	2,320	269	73.9
1990–91	3,418	2,493	—	—	2,235	258	72.9
1991–92	3,399	2,478	—	—	2,226	252	72.9
1992–93	3,449	2,480	—	—	2,233	247	71.9
1993–94	3,443	2,464	—	—	2,221	243	71.6
1994–95	3,636	2,520	—	—	2,274	246	69.3
1995–96	3,640	2,518	—	—	2,273	245	69.2
1996–97	3,792	2,612	—	—	2,358	254	68.9
1997–98	4,008	2,704	—	—	2,439	265	67.5
1998–99	3,918	2,759	—	—	2,486	273	70.4

TABLE 2.13
High school graduates compared with population age 17, selected years, 1869–70 to 2002–03 [continued]
[Numbers in thousands]
School year	Population 17 years old^a	High school graduates					Graduates as a ratio of 17-year-old population
		Total^b	Sex		Control		Graduates as a ratio of 17-year-old population
		Total^b	Male	Female	Public^c	Private^d
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
—Not available.
^aFor years 1869–70 through 1989–90, 17-year-old population is an estimate of the October 17-year-old population based on July data. Data for 1990–91 and later years are October estimates prepared by the Census Bureau.
^bIncludes graduates of public and private schools.
^cData for 1929–30 and preceding years are from statistics of public high schools and exclude graduates from high schools that failed to report to the Office of Education.
^dFor most years, private school data have been estimated based on periodic private school surveys.
^ePublic high school graduates based on state estimates.
Note: Includes graduates of regular day school programs. Excludes graduates of other programs, when separately reported, and recipients of high school equivalency certificates. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 102. High School Graduates Compared with Population 17 Years of Age, by Sex of Graduates and Control of School: Selected Years, 1869–70 to 2002–03," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt102.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
1999–2000	4,057	2,831	—	—	2,554	277	69.8
2000–01	4,006	2,852	—	—	2,569	283	71.2
2001–02^e	4,052	2,917	—	—	2,630	287	72.0
2002–03^e	—	2,986	—	—	2,685	301	—

TABLE 2.14
GED test takers and credentials issued, by age, 1971–2001
Year	Number of test takers, in thousands^a	Number completing test battery, in thousands^b	Number of credentials issued, in thousands^c	Percentage distribution of credentials issued,^d by age
Year	Number of test takers, in thousands^a	Number completing test battery, in thousands^b	Number of credentials issued, in thousands^c	19 years old or less	20- to 24-year-olds	25- to 29-year-olds	30- to 34-year-olds	35 years old or over
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
—Not available.
^aNumber of people taking the GED tests (one or more subtests).
^bNumber of people completing the entire GED battery of five tests.
^cNumber of people receiving high school equivalency credentials based on the GED tests.
^dData for 1988 and prior years are for number of test takers and may not be comparable to later years.
^eIncludes outlying areas.
Note: Except where indicated, data are for United States only and exclude outlying areas. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman, "Table 105. General Educational Development (GED) Test Takers and Credentials Issued, by Age: 1971 to 2001," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2003, NCES 2005-025, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, December 2004, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt105.asp (accessed July 26, 2005)
1971^e	377	—	227	—	—	—	—	—
1972^e	419	—	245	—	—	—	—	—
1973^e	423	—	249	—	—	—	—	—
1974	—	—	294	35	27	13	9	17
1975	—	—	340	33	26	14	9	18
1976	—	—	333	31	28	14	10	17
1977	—	—	332	40	24	13	8	14
1978	—	—	381	31	27	13	10	18
1979	—	—	426	37	28	12	13	11
1980	—	—	479	37	27	13	8	15
1981	—	—	489	37	27	13	8	14
1982	—	—	486	37	28	13	8	15
1983	—	—	465	34	29	14	8	15
1984	—	—	427	32	28	15	9	16
1985	—	—	413	32	26	15	10	16
1986	—	—	428	32	26	15	10	17
1987	—	—	444	33	24	15	10	18
1988	—	—	410	35	22	14	10	18
1989	632	541	357	35	24	13	—	—
1990	714	615	410	36	25	13	10	15
1991	755	657	462	33	28	13	10	16
1992	739	639	457	33	28	13	9	17
1993	746	651	469	33	27	13	10	16
1994	774	668	491	36	25	13	9	15
1995	787	682	504	38	25	13	9	15
1996	824	716	488	39	25	13	9	14
1997	785	681	460	43	24	12	8	13
1998	776	673	481	44	24	11	7	13
1999	808	702	498	44	25	11	7	13
2000	811	699	487	45	25	11	7	13
2001	1,016	928	648	41	26	11	8	14