Education Statistics
May 15, 2001
Unless otherwise indicated, statistics reflect years 1995-2000 and are taken from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, at nces.ed.gov.
ENROLLMENT
Number of elementary and secondary schools - 115,921:
88,519 - public, 27,402 - private.
Number of students in elementary and secondary schools - approximately 52 million:
46 million - public, 5.9 million - private, 1.7 million - home 1
CLASSROOM ATTRIBUTES
Class sizes have decreased since 1970 from 24 and 20 elementary and secondary students per teacher, respectively, to 18 and 14 elementary and secondary students per public school teacher, respectively in 1999. 52 percent of schools are operating below capacity, 26 percent at capacity, and 22 percent are overcrowded.
98 percent of schools have internet access.
63 percent of school staff participate in instruction.
Education expenditures climbed to an estimated all time high of $647 billion for the 1999-2000 school year. 60 percent of this total was spent on elementary and secondary schools, while post-secondary accounted for the remaining 40 percent. Over all, Americans spent an estimated 7.0 percent of the gross domestic product in 1999-2000 on education.
In the 1998-99 school year, the average salary of a public elementary and secondary school teacher was $42,459 (in current dollars).
ACHIEVEMENT
The 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that 68 percent of fourth grade students in the United States are reading below the proficient level. 63 percent of African-Americans, 58 percent of Hispanic Americans, 60 percent of children living in poverty, and 47 percent of children in urban schools are reading below a basic level.
Over the past decade, the achievement gap has widened. The achievement gap between white and African-American 13-year-olds in reading has widened from 18 points in 1988 to 29 points in 1999. The disparity in 17-year-old scores has widened from 20 points in 1988 to 31 points in 1999.2
The gap between white and African-American SAT scores increased over the past 10 years by eight points on the math section and three points on the verbal section.3
The drop-out rate in 1999 was 11.2 percent.
All public post-secondary 2-year institutions, 81 percent of public 4-year institutions, and 63 percent of private 4-year institutions offer remedial courses in reading, writing, or mathematics.
American 12th graders came in 19th out of 21 countries in mathematics on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), besting only Cyprus and South Africa. The U.S. came in last in advanced mathematics. In physics, 12th graders did equally as poorly.
Nearly 7,000 Title I schools (19 percent of Title I schools) and about 1,000 school districts (15 percent of Title I districts) are officially designated as in need of "improvement" because they are failing to make adequate yearly progress.4
59.4 percent of 8th grade (age 13) students watch television 3-4 hours or more a day. Of these students, 12 percent report watching 6 or more hours a day.
EDUCATION SPENDING
Within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, there are over 60 programs funded at over $18 billion. Additionally, there are more than 760 "education" and "education-related" programs across 39 agencies with a price tag of $120 billion a year. The Department of Education administers 45 percent of federal education funding, roughly half of which is allocated to elementary and secondary education.5
Per pupil expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools rose from $3,883 to $7,086 in constant dollars since 1970.
Studies of many K-12 federal education programs either do not exist or, to the extent that they do exist, suggest a lack of effectiveness. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), "federally funded programs have historically placed a low priority on results and accountability." For example, the first longitudinal study of Title I, the largest ESEA program, found little improvement in achievement despite decades of spending.6 A follow-up study on achievement from 1984 to 1997 found little change despite an additional $78 billion in spending.7
SCHOOL CHOICE
53 percent of the general population and 60 percent of African-Americans support vouchers.8
A Hunter College survey of New York City residents, taken in August 2000, found that vouchers were favored by 87 percent of Hispanics, 83 percent of African-Americans, and 86 percent of Asians.9
A 1996 Cato Institute study found that the average private school tuition nationwide was $3,116 with 67 percent of all private elementary and secondary schools charging $2,500 or less. The average expenditure per public school student was $6,857.10
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