Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 1993-94 / Characteristics of Schools

Highlights for Characteristics of Schools

• In 1993-94, the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) found that there were approximately 26,093 private elementary and secondary schools in the United States, serving an estimated 4,970,548 students (tables 1.1, 1.2).
• A major difference in structure between public and private schools is that there are virtually no separate private middle schools, while over half of public schools offering seventh grade are middle schools (table 1.4).
• Many more of the private schools are small. A quarter have fewer than 50 students, and only one-fifth have more than 300 students. In contrast, only 3 percent of public schools have fewer than 50 students, and more than two-thirds have more than 300 students (table 1.6).
• Ages of private schools vary greatlymore than two-thirds of currently operating Jewish schools, ACSI schools, Evangelical Lutheran schools, Montessori schools, and special education schools were established after 1954, whereas more than one in five currently operating Catholic schools, Friends schools, Lutheran schools, and NAIS member schools were established before before 1904 (table 1.3).
• Only 1 private school in 20 is a boarding school (table 1.11).
• Annual tuitions averaged about $2,200 for elementary schools and $5,500 for secondary schools, and $4,200 in schools that combined elementary and secondary levels (table 1.5).
• Roughly half of all private schools offer remedial reading and remedial mathematics instruction, but few offer special education (other than schools specializing in special education) (table 1.9).

List of Tables for Characteristics of Schools

• Table 1.1: Number of private schools and percentage serving each grade level, by affiliation: 1993-1994
• Table 1.2: Number of elementary and secondary students, by grade level and affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.3: Percentage of private schools in existence established in decades from 1904 to 1993, by affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.4: Percentage of schools with pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and ungraded classes, and allocation of grade 7 to elementary, middle, secondary, and combined schools, by affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.5: Percentage of private schools charging tuition, percentage allowing tuition reductions, and average tuition, by level and affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.6: Percentage of schools of different enrollment sizes, by affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.7: Students per teacher and per classroom, by affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.8: Average length of school year and day, by affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.9: Percentage of schools offering special services, and in schools offering these services, the percentage of students receiving services, by affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.10:Percentage of schools with libraries and full-time equivalent (FTE) librarians, by level and affiliation: 1993-94
• Table 1.11:Percentage of private schools with boarding students and percentage of students boarding at these schools, by affiliation: 1993-94

Nonsectarian Regular Schools  Table 1.1