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Digest of Education Statistics
2008 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 2. Enrollment in educational institutions, by level and control of institution: Selected years, fall 1980 through fall 2008

[In thousands]
Level and control
of institution
Fall 1980 Fall 1985 Fall 1990 Fall 1995 Fall
1998
Fall 1999 Fall 2000 Fall 2001 Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 20061  Projected fall 2007 Projected fall 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
All levels 58,305 57,226 60,683 65,020 67,033   67,667 68,685   69,920 71,015   71,551 72,154   72,674 73,153 73,958   74,079
Public 50,335 48,901 52,061 55,933 57,676   58,167 58,956   59,905 60,935   61,399 61,776   62,135 62,479 63,135   63,387
Private 7,971 8,325 8,622 9,087 9,357   9,500 9,729   10,014 10,080   10,152 10,379   10,539 10,674 10,823   10,692
Elementary and secondary schools2  46,208 44,979 46,864 50,759 52,526   52,875 53,373   53,992 54,403   54,639 54,882   55,187 55,394 55,710   55,879
Public 40,877 39,422 41,217 44,840 46,539   46,857 47,204   47,672 48,183   48,540 48,795   49,113 49,299 49,644   49,825
Private 5,331 5,557 5,648 5,918 5,988 3  6,018 6,169 3  6,320 6,220 3  6,099 6,087 3  6,073 6,095 6,066   6,054
                                         
Prekindergarten to grade 8 31,639 31,229 34,392 37,096 38,121   38,277 38,594   38,961 39,031   38,990 38,934   38,929 38,932 39,271   39,585
Public 27,647 27,034 29,878 32,341 33,346   33,488 33,688   33,938 34,116   34,202 34,179   34,205 34,221 34,589   34,903
Private 3,992 4,195 4,514 4,756 4,776 3  4,789 4,906 3  5,023 4,915 3  4,788 4,756 3  4,723 4,711 4,681   4,681
                                         
Grades 9 to 12 14,570 13,750 12,472 13,662 14,405   14,598 14,779   15,031 15,373   15,649 15,948   16,258 16,462 16,439   16,294
Public 13,231 12,388 11,338 12,500 13,193   13,369 13,515   13,734 14,067   14,338 14,617   14,908 15,078 15,055   14,922
Private 1,339 1,362 1,134 1,163 1,212 3  1,229 1,264 3  1,296 1,306 3  1,311 1,331 3  1,350 1,384 1,385   1,372
Postsecondary degree-granting institutions 12,097 12,247 13,819 14,262 14,507   14,791 15,312   15,928 16,612   16,911 17,272   17,487 17,759 18,248 4  18,200
Public 9,457 9,479 10,845 11,092 11,138   11,309 11,753   12,233 12,752   12,859 12,980   13,022 13,180 13,491 4  13,562
Undergraduate 8,442 8,477 9,710 9,904 9,950   10,110 10,539   10,986 11,433   11,523 11,651   11,698 11,847 12,138 4  12,201
First-professional 114 112 112 115 121   123 124   128 132   134 136   138 140 143 4  144
Graduate 901 890 1,023 1,074 1,067   1,077 1,089   1,119 1,187   1,201 1,194   1,186 1,193 1,211 4  1,216
Private 2,640 2,768 2,974 3,169 3,369   3,482 3,560   3,695 3,860   4,053 4,292   4,466 4,579 4,757 4  4,638
Undergraduate 2,033 2,120 2,250 2,328 2,487   2,571 2,616   2,730 2,824   2,957 3,130   3,266 3,337 3,466 4  3,369
First-professional 163 162 162 183 182   180 183   181 187   195 199   199 204 208 4  210
Graduate 443 486 563 659 701   730 761   784 849   901 963   1,001 1,038 1,083 4  1,059
1 Private elementary and secondary education data are projected.
2 Includes enrollments in local public school systems and in most private schools (religiously affiliated and nonsectarian). Excludes homeschooled children who were not also enrolled in public and private schools. Based on the National Household Education Survey, the homeschooled children numbered approximately 1.5 million in 2007. Private elementary enrollment includes preprimary students in schools offering kindergarten or higher grades.
3 Estimated.
4 Data are actual.
NOTE: Degree-granting enrollment projections are based on the middle alternative projec­tions published by the National Center for Education Statistics. Data through 1995 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate's or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the ear­lier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. (See Guide to Sources for details.) Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from pre­viously published figures. Private school enrollment data for fall 1999 are based on improved methodology for apportioning the grade-unclassified students.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1980; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education," 1985–86 through 2006–07; Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (PFI-NHES:2007); Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1995–96 through 2005–06; Projections of Education Statistics to 2017; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Fall Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education" surveys, 1980 and 1985; and 1990 through 2007 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:90–99), and Spring 2001 through Spring 2008. (This table was prepared October 2008.)

2008 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest