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Table 4.  Number of public elementary and secondary students, full-time-equivalent (FTE) teachers, and schools in all districts and the 100 largest school districts in the United States and jurisdictions: School years 1997–98 and 2007–08
 
Percent change (1997–98 to 2007–08)
District characteristic 1997–98   2007–08  
All districts 100 largest districts 100 largest districts as a percent of national total   All districts 100 largest districts 100 largest districts as a percent of national total   All districts 100 largest districts
Students  46,901,348 10,818,622 23.1   49,931,069 11,200,573 22.4   6.5 3.5
FTE teachers1  2,794,504 568,545 20.3   3,227,426 688,418 21.3   15.5 21.1
Schools2  91,340 15,152 16.6   100,930 16,907 16.8   10.5 11.6
1 Full-time equivalent (FTE) is the amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position. It is computed by dividing the amount of time employed by the amount of time normally required for a full-time position. FTE is not a head count; for example, two half-time employees represent one FTE.
2 Totals for number of schools may differ from published estimates since for 1997–98 they exclude closed schools, and for 2007–08, they exclude closed, inactive, and future schools. Because inactive and future schools were not distinguished in 1997–98, and therefore cannot be excluded, the school totals for 1997–98 and 2007–08 are not directly comparable.
NOTE: Data include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, four outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Bureau of Indian Education, and Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic). In 1997–98, data for the Bureau of Indian Education, and Department of Defense dependents schools (domestic) were not collected, and therefore are not included. The Bureau of Indian Education and Department of Defense dependents schools (domestic) accounted for 0.1 percent of students, 0.1 percent of teachers, and 0.03 percent of schools among all districts in 2007–08.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1997–98, Version 1a, and 2007–08, Version 1a, "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 1997–98, Version 1a, and 2007–08, Version 1a, and "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1997–98, Version 1b, and 2007–08, Version 1a.