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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 208.20. Public and private elementary and secondary teachers, enrollment, pupil/teacher ratios, and new teacher hires: Selected years, fall 1955 through fall 2027
Year Teachers (in thousands) Enrollment (in thousands) Pupil/teacher ratio Number of new teacher
hires (in thousands)1
Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private
1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   10 11 12 13
1955 1,286 1,141 145 2 35,280 30,680 4,600 2 27.4 26.9 31.7 2      
1960 1,600 1,408 192 2 42,181 36,281 5,900 2 26.4 25.8 30.7 2      
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        
1975 2,453 2,198 255 2 49,819 44,819 5,000 2 20.3 20.4 19.6 2      
                                     
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   47,637 42,551 5,086   19.2 19.3 18.7        
1979 2,461 2,185 276 2 46,651 41,651 5,000 2 19.0 19.1 18.1 2      
1980 2,485 2,184 301   46,208 40,877 5,331   18.6 18.7 17.7              
                                     
1981 2,440 2,127 313 2 45,544 40,044 5,500 2 18.7 18.8 17.6 2      
1982 2,458 2,133 325 2 45,166 39,566 5,600 2 18.4 18.6 17.2 2      
1983 2,476 2,139 337   44,967 39,252 5,715   18.2 18.4 17.0        
1984 2,508 2,168 340 2 44,908 39,208 5,700 2 17.9 18.1 16.8 2      
1985 2,549 2,206 343   44,979 39,422 5,557   17.6 17.9 16.2        
                                     
1986 2,592 2,244 348 2 45,205 39,753 5,452 2 17.4 17.7 15.7 2      
1987 2,631 2,279 352   45,488 40,008 5,479   17.3 17.6 15.6        
1988 2,668 2,323 345 2 45,430 40,189 5,242 2 17.0 17.3 15.2 2      
1989 2,713 2,357 356   46,141 40,543 5,599   17.0 17.2 15.7        
1990 2,759 2,398 361 2 46,864 41,217 5,648 2 17.0 17.2 15.6 2      
                                     
1991 2,797 2,432 365   47,728 42,047 5,681   17.1 17.3 15.6        
1992 2,823 2,459 364 2 48,694 42,823 5,870 2 17.2 17.4 16.1 2      
1993 2,868 2,504 364   49,532 43,465 6,067   17.3 17.4 16.7        
1994 2,922 2,552 370 2 50,106 44,111 5,994 2 17.1 17.3 16.2 2      
1995 2,974 2,598 376   50,759 44,840 5,918   17.1 17.3 15.7        
                                     
1996 3,051 2,667 384 2 51,544 45,611 5,933 2 16.9 17.1 15.5 2      
1997 3,138 2,746 391   52,071 46,127 5,944   16.6 16.8 15.2        
1998 3,230 2,830 400 2 52,526 46,539 5,988 2 16.3 16.4 15.0 2      
1999 3,319 2,911 408   52,875 46,857 6,018   15.9 16.1 14.7   305   222   83  
2000 3,366 2,941 424 2 53,373 47,204 6,169 2 15.9 16.0 14.5 2      
                                     
2001 3,440 3,000 441   53,992 47,672 6,320   15.7 15.9 14.3        
2002 3,476 3,034 442 2 54,403 48,183 6,220 2 15.7 15.9 14.1 2      
2003 3,490 3,049 441   54,639 48,540 6,099   15.7 15.9 13.8   311   236   74  
2004 3,536 3,091 445 2 54,882 48,795 6,087 2 15.5 15.8 13.7 2      
2005 3,593 3,143 450   55,187 49,113 6,073   15.4 15.6 13.5        
                                     
2006 3,622 3,166 456 2 55,307 49,316 5,991 2 15.3 15.6 13.2 2      
2007 3,656 3,200 456   55,201 49,291 5,910   15.1 15.4 13.0   327   246   80  
2008 3,670 3,222 448 2 54,973 49,266 5,707 2 15.0 15.3 12.8 2      
2009 3,647 3,210 437   54,849 49,361 5,488   15.0 15.4 12.5        
2010 3,512 3,099 413 2 54,867 49,484 5,382 2 15.6 16.0 13.0 2      
                                     
2011 3,508 3,103 405   54,790 49,522 5,268   15.6 16.0 13.0   241   173   68  
2012 3,517 3,109 408 2 55,104 49,771 5,333 2 15.7 16.0 13.1 2      
2013 3,555 3,114 441   55,440 50,045 5,396   15.6 16.1 12.2        
2014 3,594 3,132 461 2 55,888 50,313 5,575 2 15.6 16.1 12.1 2      
2015 3,633 3,151 482   56,189 50,438 5,751   15.5 16.0 11.9   325   218   107  
                                     
20163 3,605 3,126 479   56,408 50,580 5,829   15.6 16.2 12.2   302   214   88  
20173 3,636 3,154 483   56,527 50,649 5,878   15.5 16.1 12.2   359   264   94  
20183 3,644 3,161 483   56,618 50,701 5,917   15.5 16.0 12.3   336   245   91  
20193 3,675 3,188 487   56,753 50,803 5,951   15.4 15.9 12.2   361   266   95  
20203 3,704 3,213 491   56,961 50,971 5,989   15.4 15.9 12.2   361   266   95  
                                     
20213 3,737 3,242 495   57,175 51,146 6,029   15.3 15.8 12.2   368   272   96  
20223 3,768 3,268 500   57,371 51,317 6,054   15.2 15.7 12.1   369   272   97  
20233 3,798 3,294 504   57,572 51,488 6,084   15.2 15.6 12.1   371   273   98  
20243 3,829 3,320 509   57,733 51,619 6,114   15.1 15.5 12.0   372   273   99  
20253 3,859 3,346 513   57,844 51,712 6,132   15.0 15.5 12.0   376   276   100  
                                     
20263 3,891 3,373 518   57,987 51,833 6,154   14.9 15.4 11.9   379   278   101  
20273 3,919 3,397 522   58,239 52,059 6,180   14.9 15.3 11.8   379   278   101  
—Not available.
1 A teacher is considered to be a new hire for a public or private school if the teacher had not taught in that control of school in the previous year. A teacher who moves from a public to private or a private to public school is considered a new teacher hire, but a teacher who moves from one public school to another public school or one private school to another private school is not considered a new teacher hire.
2 Estimated.
3 Projected.
NOTE: Data for teachers are expressed in full-time equivalents (FTE). Counts of private school teachers and enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12 in schools offering kindergarten or higher grades. Counts of public school teachers and enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12. The pupil/teacher ratio includes teachers for students with disabilities and other special teachers, while these teachers are generally excluded from class size calculations. Ratios for public schools reflect totals reported by states and differ from totals reported for schools or school districts. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary Day Schools, 1955-56 through 1980-81; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1955 through 1980; 1983-84, 1985-86, and 1987-88 Private School Survey; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1981-82 through 2015-16; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989-90 through 2015-16; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Teacher Data File" and "Private School Teacher Data File," 1999-2000 through 2011-12; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), 2015-16; Elementary and Secondary Teacher Projection Model, 1973 through 2027; and New Teacher Hires Projection Model, 1988 through 2027. (This table was prepared April 2018.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest