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Digest of Education Statistics
2003 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 64. Public and private elementary and secondary teachers, enrollment, and pupil to teacher ratios: Selected years, fall 1955 to fall 2002

____________________________________________________________________________________
         |Elementary and secondary |Elementary and secondary|Elementary and secondary
         |teachers, in thousands   |enrollment, in thousands|pupil/teacher ratio
         |_________________________|________________________|_______________________
   Year  | Total |Public |Private  |Total |Public|Private   |Total|Public |Private
_________|_______|_______|_________|______|______|__________|_____|_______|_________
    1    |   2   |   3   |     4   |  5   |  6   |     7    |  8  |   9   |     10
_________|_______|_______|_________|______|______|__________|_____|_______|_________
1955 ....|  1,286|  1,141|\1\   145|35,280|30,680|\1\  4,600| 27.4|   26.9|\1\  31.7
1960 ....|  1,600|  1,408|\1\   192|42,181|36,281|\1\  5,900| 26.4|   25.8|\1\  30.7
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|\1\   230|51,271|46,071|\1\  5,200| 22.4|   22.3|\1\  22.6
1972 ....|  2,337|  2,106|\1\   231|50,726|45,726|\1\  5,000| 21.7|   21.7|\1\  21.6
1973 ....|  2,372|  2,136|\1\   236|50,446|45,446|\1\  5,000| 21.3|   21.3|\1\  21.2
1974 ....|  2,410|  2,165|\1\   245|50,073|45,073|\1\  5,000| 20.8|   20.8|\1\  20.4
1975 ....|  2,453|  2,198|\1\   255|49,819|44,819|\1\  5,000| 20.3|   20.4|\1\  19.6
         |       |       |         |      |      |          |     |       |
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|\1\   276|46,651|41,651|\1\  5,000| 19.0|   19.1|\1\  18.1
1980 ....|  2,485|  2,184|      301|46,208|40,877|     5,331| 18.6|   18.7|     17.7
         |       |       |         |      |      |          |     |       |
1981 ....|  2,440|  2,127|\1\   313|45,544|40,044|\1\  5,500| 18.7|   18.8|\1\  17.6
1982 ....|  2,458|  2,133|\1\   325|45,165|39,566|\1\  5,600| 18.4|   18.6|\1\  17.2
1983 ....|  2,476|  2,139|      337|44,967|39,252|     5,715| 18.2|   18.4|     17.0
1984 ....|  2,508|  2,168|\1\   340|44,908|39,208|\1\  5,700| 17.9|   18.1|\1\  16.8
1985 ....|  2,549|  2,206|      343|44,979|39,422|     5,557| 17.6|   17.9|     16.2
         |       |       |         |      |      |          |     |       |
1986 ....|  2,592|  2,244|\1\   348|45,205|39,753|\1\  5,452| 17.4|   17.7|\1\  15.7
1987 ....|  2,631|  2,279|      352|45,487|40,008|     5,479| 17.3|   17.6|     15.6
1988 ....|  2,668|  2,323|\1\   345|45,430|40,189|\1\  5,242| 17.0|   17.3|\1\  15.2
1989 ....|  2,734|  2,357|      377|45,741|40,543|     5,198| 16.7|   17.2|     13.8
1990 ....|  2,753|  2,398|\1\   355|46,451|41,217|\1\  5,234| 16.9|   17.2|\1\  14.7
         |       |       |         |      |      |          |     |       |
1991 ....|  2,787|  2,432|      355|47,322|42,047|     5,275| 17.0|   17.3|     14.9
1992 ....|  2,822|  2,459|\1\   363|48,145|42,823|\1\  5,322| 17.1|   17.4|\1\  14.7
1993 ....|  2,870|  2,504|      366|48,813|43,465|     5,348| 17.0|   17.4|     14.6
1994 ....|  2,926|  2,552|\1\   374|49,609|44,111|\1\  5,498| 17.0|   17.3|\1\  14.7
1995 ....|  2,978|  2,598|      380|50,502|44,840|     5,662| 17.0|   17.3|     14.9
         |       |       |         |      |      |          |     |       |
1996 ....|  3,054|  2,667|\1\   387|51,375|45,611|\1\  5,764| 16.8|   17.1|\1\  14.9
1997 ....|  3,134|  2,746|      388|51,968|46,127|     5,841| 16.6|   16.8|     15.1
1998 ....|  3,221|  2,830|\1\   391|52,475|46,539|\1\  5,937| 16.3|   16.4|\1\  15.2
1999 ....|  3,306|  2,911|      395|52,876|46,857|     6,018| 16.0|   16.1|     15.2
2000 ....|  3,332|  2,941|\1\   390|53,366|47,204|\1\  6,162| 16.0|   16.0|\1\  15.8
2001 ....|  3,388|  2,998|      390|53,890|47,688|\1\  6,202| 15.9|   15.9|\1\  15.9
2002\2\ .|  3,369|  2,983|      385|54,158|47,918|     6,241| 16.1|   16.1|     16.2
_________|_______|_______|_________|______|______|__________|_____|_______|_________

\1\Estimated.
\2\Projected.

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: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary Day Schools, 1955-56 through 1984-85; The NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1985-86 through 2001-02 surveys; and Projections of Education Statistics to 2013. (This table was prepared October 2003.)


2003 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest