The number of private school students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 increased from 1989–90 through 2001–02 and then declined in 2003–04, while the percentage enrolled in private schools remained near 10 percent.

Between 1989–90 and 2001–02, private school enrollment in kindergarten through grade 12 increased from 4.8 million to 5.3 million students. By 2003–04, enrollment had declined to 5.1 million students (see table 4-1).

The distribution of students across different types of private schools also changed between 1989–90 and 2003–04. Although Roman Catholic schools continue to have the largest share of total private school enrollment, the percentage decreased from 55 to 46 percent because of the decline in the percentage of students enrolled in parochial schools (i.e., run by a parish, not by a diocese or independently). On the other hand, the percentage of students enrolled in Conservative Christian schools increased from 11 to 15 percent. In addition, there was an increase in the percentage of students enrolled in nonsectarian private schools, from 13 to 18 percent. This change in distribution from Roman Catholic to other religious and nonsectarian private schools occurred at both the elementary and secondary levels.

Overall, while the number of students enrolled in private schools was higher in 2003–04 than in 1989–90, the percentage of all students attending private schools remained around 10 percent (see table 4-2). Private school students as a percentage of all students differed by region of the country. In 2003–04, private school enrollment accounted for 13 percent of the total Northeast enrollment, higher than the percentage for the Midwest (11 percent), the South (9 percent), and the West (8 percent).

The student composition of private schools differed from that of public schools and varied, among private schools, by community type. In 2003–04, a greater proportion of students enrolled in private schools than in public schools were White (76 vs. 58 percent), and a smaller proportion were Black (9 vs. 16 percent) and Hispanic (9 vs. 19 percent) (see table 4-3 and indicator 5). In addition, the distribution of students in private schools differed by community type. Within central cities, 31 percent of private school students enrolled were minority students, compared with 20 percent within urban fringe/large towns and 11 percent within rural communities.