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Digest of Education Statistics
2001 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 43. Enrollment of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in preprimary programs, by level and control of program and by attendance status: October 1965 to October 2000
[In thousands]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
              |  Total  |    Enrollment by level and control                |    Enrollment by
              | popula- |___________________________________________________|      attendance
 Year and age |  tion,  |          |          |Nursery school| Kindergarten |_______________________
              | 3 to 5  |Total     |Percent   |______________|______________|Full-     |Part- |Percent
              |years old|          |enrolled  |Public|Private|Public|Private| day      | day  |full-day
______________|_________|__________|__________|______|_______|______|_______|__________|______|______
      1       |    2    |  3       |  4       |  5   |   6   |  7   |   8   |  9       |  10  | 11
______________|_________|__________|__________|______|_______|______|_______|__________|______|_____
Total, 3 to 5 |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
  years old   |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1965 .........|  12,549 |3,407 (87)|27.1 (0.7)|  127 |   393 |2,291 |   596 |  --- --- |  --- | ---
1970 .........|  10,949 |4,104 (71)|37.5 (0.7)|  332 |   762 |2,498 |   511 |  698 (36)|3,405 |17.0
1975 .........|  10,185 |4,955 (71)|48.7 (0.7)|  570 | 1,174 |2,682 |   528 |1,295 (47)|3,659 |26.1
1980 .........|   9,284 |4,878 (69)|52.5 (0.7)|  628 | 1,353 |2,438 |   459 |1,551 (51)|3,327 |31.8
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1984 .........|  10,612 |5,480 (77)|51.6 (0.7)|  742 | 1,593 |2,668 |   476 |1,929 (60)|3,550 |35.2
1985 .........|  10,733 |5,865 (78)|54.6 (0.7)|  846 | 1,631 |2,847 |   541 |2,144 (62)|3,722 |36.6
1986 .........|  10,866 |5,971 (78)|55.0 (0.7)|  829 | 1,715 |2,859 |   567 |2,241 (63)|3,730 |37.5
1987 .........|  10,872 |5,931 (78)|54.6 (0.7)|  819 | 1,736 |2,842 |   534 |2,090 (62)|3,841 |35.2
1988 .........|  10,993 |5,978 (87)|54.4 (0.8)|  851 | 1,770 |2,875 |   481 |2,044 (68)|3,935 |34.2
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1989 .........|  11,039 |6,026 (87)|54.6 (0.8)|  930 | 1,894 |2,704 |   497 |2,238 (70)|3,789 |37.1
1990 .........|  11,207 |6,659 (82)|59.4 (0.7)|1,199 | 2,180 |2,772 |   509 |2,577 (71)|4,082 |38.7
1991 .........|  11,370 |6,334 (84)|55.7 (0.7)|  996 | 1,828 |2,967 |   543 |2,408 (69)|3,926 |38.0
1992 .........|  11,545 |6,402 (85)|55.5 (0.7)|1,073 | 1,783 |2,995 |   550 |2,410 (69)|3,992 |37.6
1993 .........|  11,954 |6,581 (86)|55.1 (0.7)|1,205 | 1,779 |3,020 |   577 |2,642 (72)|3,939 |40.1
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1994\1\ ......|  12,328 |7,514 (86)|61.0 (0.7)|1,848 | 2,314 |2,819 |   534 |3,468 (80)|4,046 |46.2
1995\1\ ......|  12,518 |7,739 (87)|61.8 (0.7)|1,950 | 2,381 |2,800 |   608 |3,689 (81)|4,051 |47.7
1996\1\ ......|  12,378 |7,580 (90)|61.2 (0.7)|1,830 | 2,317 |2,853 |   580 |3,562 (83)|4,019 |47.0
1997\1\ ......|  12,121 |7,860 (87)|64.9 (0.7)|2,207 | 2,231 |2,847 |   575 |3,922 (85)|3,939 |49.9
1998\1\ ......|  12,078 |7,788 (87)|64.5 (0.7)|2,213 | 2,299 |2,674 |   602 |3,959 (85)|3,829 |50.8
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1999\1\ ......|  11,920 |7,844 (86)|65.8 (0.7)|2,209 | 2,298 |2,777 |   560 |4,154 (86)|3,690 |53.0
2000\1\ ......|  11,858 |7,592 (86)|64.0 (0.7)|2,146 | 2,180 |2,701 |   565 |4,008 (85)|3,584 |52.8
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
 3 years old  |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1965 .........|   4,149 |  203 (24)| 4.9 (0.6)|   41 |   153 |    5 |     4 |  --- --- |  --- | ---
1970 .........|   3,516 |  454 (28)|12.9 (0.8)|  110 |   322 |   12 |    10 |  142 (16)|  312 |31.3
1975 .........|   3,177 |  683 (33)|21.5 (1.0)|  179 |   474 |   11 |    18 |  259 (22)|  423 |37.9
1980 .........|   3,143 |  857 (36)|27.3 (1.1)|  221 |   604 |   16 |    17 |  321 (24)|  536 |37.5
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1984 .........|   3,609 |1,004 (41)|27.8 (1.1)|  295 |   658 |   30 |    22 |  401 (28)|  603 |39.9
1985 .........|   3,594 |1,035 (41)|28.8 (1.1)|  278 |   679 |   52 |    26 |  350 (27)|  685 |33.8
1986 .........|   3,607 |1,041 (41)|28.9 (1.1)|  257 |   737 |   26 |    21 |  399 (28)|  642 |38.3
1987 .........|   3,569 |1,022 (41)|28.6 (1.1)|  264 |   703 |   24 |    31 |  378 (28)|  644 |37.0
1988 .........|   3,719 |1,027 (45)|27.6 (1.2)|  298 |   678 |   24 |    26 |  369 (30)|  658 |35.9
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1989 .........|   3,713 |1,005 (45)|27.1 (1.2)|  277 |   707 |    3 |    18 |  390 (31)|  615 |38.8
1990 .........|   3,692 |1,205 (45)|32.6 (1.2)|  347 |   840 |   11 |     7 |  447 (31)|  758 |37.1
1991 .........|   3,811 |1,074 (44)|28.2 (1.2)|  313 |   702 |   38 |    22 |  388 (30)|  687 |36.1
1992 .........|   3,905 |1,081 (44)|27.7 (1.1)|  336 |   685 |   26 |    34 |  371 (29)|  711 |34.3
1993 .........|   4,053 |1,097 (45)|27.1 (1.1)|  369 |   687 |   20 |    20 |  426 (31)|  670 |38.9
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1994\1\ ......|   4,081 |1,385 (48)|33.9 (1.2)|  469 |   887 |   19 |     9 |  670 (38)|  715 |48.4
1995\1\ ......|   4,148 |1,489 (49)|35.9 (1.2)|  511 |   947 |   15 |    17 |  754 (40)|  736 |50.6
1996\1\ ......|   4,045 |1,506 (51)|37.2 (1.3)|  511 |   947 |   22 |    26 |  657 (39)|  848 |43.7
1997\1\ ......|   3,947 |1,528 (51)|38.7 (1.3)|  643 |   843 |   25 |    18 |  754 (41)|  774 |49.4
1998\1\.......|   3,989 |1,498 (51)|37.6 (1.3)|  587 |   869 |   27 |    14 |  735 (40)|  763 |49.1
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1999\1\.......|   3,862 |1,505 (50)|39.0 (1.3)|  621 |   859 |   13 |    12 |  773 (41)|  732 |51.3
2000\1\.......|   3,929 |1,541 (51)|39.2 (1.3)|  644 |   854 |   27 |    16 |  761 (41)|  779 |49.4
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
 4 years old  |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1965 .........|   4,238 |  683 (42)|16.1 (1.0)|   68 |   213 |  284 |   118 |  --- --- |  --- | ---
1970 .........|   3,620 |1,007 (38)|27.8 (1.1)|  176 |   395 |  318 |   117 |  230 (21)|  776 |22.8
1975 .........|   3,499 |1,418 (41)|40.5 (1.2)|  332 |   644 |  313 |   129 |  411 (27)|1,008 |29.0
1980 .........|   3,072 |1,423 (40)|46.3 (1.3)|  363 |   701 |  239 |   120 |  467 (28)|  956 |32.8
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1984 .........|   3,579 |1,603 (45)|44.8 (1.3)|  376 |   860 |  257 |   110 |  521 (32)|1,082 |32.5
1985 .........|   3,598 |1,766 (45)|49.1 (1.3)|  496 |   859 |  276 |   135 |  643 (35)|1,123 |36.4
1986 .........|   3,616 |1,772 (45)|49.0 (1.3)|  498 |   903 |  257 |   115 |  622 (34)|1,150 |35.1
1987 .........|   3,597 |1,717 (45)|47.7 (1.3)|  431 |   881 |  280 |   125 |  548 (32)|1,169 |31.9
1988 .........|   3,598 |1,768 (50)|49.1 (1.4)|  481 |   922 |  261 |   104 |  519 (35)|1,249 |29.4
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1989 .........|   3,692 |1,882 (51)|51.0 (1.4)|  524 | 1,055 |  202 |   100 |  592 (37)|1,290 |31.4
1990 .........|   3,723 |2,087 (48)|56.1 (1.3)|  695 | 1,144 |  157 |    91 |  716 (38)|1,371 |34.3
1991 .........|   3,763 |1,994 (48)|53.0 (1.3)|  584 |   982 |  287 |   140 |  667 (37)|1,326 |33.5
1992 .........|   3,807 |1,982 (49)|52.1 (1.3)|  602 |   971 |  282 |   126 |  632 (36)|1,350 |31.9
1993 .........|   4,044 |2,178 (50)|53.9 (1.2)|  719 |   957 |  349 |   154 |  765 (39)|1,413 |35.1
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1994\1\ ......|   4,202 |2,532 (51)|60.3 (1.2)|1,020 | 1,232 |  198 |    82 |1,095 (45)|1,438 |43.2
1995\1\ ......|   4,145 |2,553 (50)|61.6 (1.2)|1,054 | 1,208 |  207 |    84 |1,104 (45)|1,449 |43.3
1996\1\ ......|   4,148 |2,454 (52)|59.2 (1.3)|1,029 | 1,168 |  180 |    77 |1,034 (46)|1,420 |42.1
1997\1\ ......|   4,033 |2,665 (50)|66.1 (1.2)|1,197 | 1,169 |  207 |    92 |1,161 (47)|1,505 |43.5
1998\1\.......|   4,002 |2,666 (49)|66.6 (1.2)|1,183 | 1,219 |  210 |    53 |1,179 (48)|1,487 |44.2
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1999\1\.......|   4,021 |2,769 (48)|68.9 (1.2)|1,212 | 1,227 |  207 |   122 |1,355 (49)|1,414 |48.9
2000\1\.......|   3,940 |2,556 (49)|64.9 (1.3)|1,144 | 1,121 |  227 |    65 |1,182 (48)|1,374 |46.2
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
5 years old\2\|         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1965 .........|   4,162 |2,521 (55)|60.6 (1.3)|   18 |    27 |2,002 |   474 |  --- --- |  --- | ---
1970 .........|   3,814 |2,643 (40)|69.3 (1.1)|   45 |    45 |2,168 |   384 |  326 (24)|2,317 |12.3
1975 .........|   3,509 |2,854 (33)|81.3 (0.9)|   59 |    57 |2,358 |   381 |  625 (32)|2,228 |21.9
1980 .........|   3,069 |2,598 (29)|84.7 (0.9)|   44 |    48 |2,183 |   322 |  763 (34)|1,835 |29.4
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1984 .........|   3,423 |2,872 (32)|83.9 (0.9)|   72 |    76 |2,381 |   344 |1,007 (40)|1,865 |35.1
1985 .........|   3,542 |3,065 (31)|86.5 (0.9)|   73 |    94 |2,519 |   379 |1,151 (42)|1,914 |37.6
1986 .........|   3,643 |3,157 (31)|86.7 (0.8)|   75 |    75 |2,576 |   432 |1,220 (43)|1,937 |38.6
1987 .........|   3,706 |3,192 (32)|86.1 (0.9)|  124 |   152 |2,538 |   378 |1,163 (43)|2,028 |36.4
1988 .........|   3,676 |3,184 (34)|86.6 (0.9)|   72 |   170 |2,590 |   351 |1,155 (47)|2,028 |36.3
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1989 .........|   3,633 |3,139 (34)|86.4 (0.9)|  129 |   132 |2,499 |   378 |1,255 (48)|1,883 |40.0
1990 .........|   3,792 |3,367 (31)|88.8 (0.8)|  157 |   196 |2,604 |   411 |1,414 (47)|1,953 |42.0
1991 .........|   3,796 |3,267 (34)|86.0 (0.9)|  100 |   143 |2,642 |   382 |1,354 (47)|1,913 |41.4
1992 .........|   3,832 |3,339 (33)|87.1 (0.9)|  135 |   127 |2,688 |   390 |1,408 (47)|1,931 |42.2
1993 .........|   3,857 |3,306 (34)|85.7 (0.9)|  116 |   136 |2,651 |   403 |1,451 (48)|1,856 |43.9
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1994\1\ ......|   4,044 |3,597 (32)|88.9 (0.8)|  359 |   194 |2,601 |   442 |1,704 (50)|1,893 |47.4
1995\1\ ......|   4,224 |3,697 (34)|87.5 (0.8)|  385 |   226 |2,578 |   507 |1,830 (51)|1,867 |49.5
1996\1\ ......|   4,185 |3,621 (36)|86.5 (0.9)|  290 |   202 |2,652 |   477 |1,870 (53)|1,750 |51.7
1997\1\ ......|   4,141 |3,667 (34)|88.5 (0.8)|  368 |   219 |2,616 |   465 |2,007 (53)|1,660 |54.7
1998\1\ ......|   4,087 |3,624 (33)|88.7 (0.8)|  442 |   211 |2,437 |   535 |2,044 (53)|1,579 |56.4
              |         |          |          |      |       |      |       |          |      |
1999\1\ ......|   4,037 |3,571 (34)|88.4 (0.8)|  376 |   212 |2,557 |   426 |2,027 (52)|1,544 |56.8
2000\1\ ......|   3,989 |3,495 (34)|87.6 (0.9)|  359 |   206 |2,447 |   484 |2,065 (52)|1,431 |59.1
______________|_________|__________|__________|______|_______|______|_______|__________|______|_____

---Not available.
\1\Data collected using new procedures. May not be comparable with figures prior to 1994.
\2\Enrollment 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. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Preprimary Enrollment, various years; and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, unpublished data. (This table was prepared July 2001.)


2001 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest