Section 1. Elementary and Secondary Enrollment: Introduction

Total public and private elementary and secondary school enrollment reached a record 55 million in fall 2003, representing an 18 percent increase since fall 1990. Between 2003 and 2015, a further increase of 6 percent is expected, with increases projected in both public and private schools. Increases are expected in the South and West, and decreases are expected in the Northeast and Midwest.

Factors affecting the projections

The projected changes in enrollment reflect factors such as internal migration, legal and illegal immigration, the relatively high level of births in the 1990s, and resultant changes in the population (reference figure 1), rather than changes in attendance rates.