Overall, public school enrollment increased between 1987 and 1997. In kindergarten through grade eight, enrollment rose from 27.9 million in fall 1987 to an estimated 33.2 million in fall 1997. In the upper grades (9-12), the net result of changes in enrollment over the same period was an overall increase in secondary students.
Table 1.--Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools: Fall 1987[1] Preliminary data.
to fall 1997
[In thousands] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kindergarten through Grades 9 Year Total grade 8 through 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987 40,008 27,933 12,076 1988 40,189 28,501 11,687 1989 40,543 29,152 11,390 1990 41,217 29,878 11,338 1991 42,047 30,506 11,541 1992 42,823 31,088 11,735 1993 43,465 31,504 11,961 1994 44,111 31,898 12,213 1995 \1\ 44,840 32,341 12,500 1996 \1\ 45,700 32,826 12,874 1997 \2\ 46,353 33,216 13,138 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private school enrollment has changed little over the past decade, with about 11 percent of all elementary and secondary students attending private schools. Total private school enrollment at the elementary and secondary levels was estimated at 5.9 million in fall 1997.
Table 2.--Enrollment in private elementary and secondary schools: Fall 1987[1] Preliminary data.
to fall 1997
[In thousands] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kindergarten through Grades 9 Year Total grade 8 through 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987 5,479 4,232 1,247 1988 5,241 4,036 1,206 1989 5,355 4,162 1,193 1990 5,232 4,095 1,137 1991 5,199 4,074 1,125 1992 5,375 4,212 1,163 1993 5,471 4,280 1,191 1994 5,596 4,360 1,236 1995 \1\ 5,688 4,427 1,260 1996 \2\ 5,784 4,490 1,293 1997 \3\ 5,863 4,544 1,320 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) forecasts record levels of enrollment by the late 1990s. It is anticipated that by 1997, elementary and secondary school enrollments will surpass the previous high and will continue to climb into the next century. Elementary school enrollment is expected to reach 38.1 million and secondary school enrollment will reach 14.3 million in 1998. Between fall 1997 and fall 2002, elementary school enrollment is projected to grow by 3 percent, while secondary school enrollment is expected to rise by 5 percent.
Figure 2.--Enrollment in elementary and secondary schools, by level and control: Fall 1970 to fall 2007
Table 3.--Projected enrollment in public and private elementary andNote: Because of rounding, details may not add to totals.
secondary schools: Fall 1997 to fall 2007
[In thousands] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kindergarten through Grades 9 Year Total grade 8 through 12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 52,217 37,759 14,457 1998 52,725 38,096 14,629 1999 53,132 38,309 14,823 2000 53,465 38,490 14,976 2001 53,735 38,644 15,091 2002 53,962 38,740 15,222 2003 54,117 38,701 15,417 2004 54,250 38,493 15,757 2005 54,349 38,264 16,085 2006 54,388 38,068 16,320 2007 54,324 37,960 16,363 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prekindergarten and kindergarten enrollments of 3- to 5-year-olds increased 27 percent between 1986 and 1996. The proportion of 5-year-olds enrolled in kindergarten programs has changed little since 1985.
Table 4.--Enrollment of 3- to 5-year-olds in prekindergarten andNote: Because of rounding, details may not add to totals.
kindergarten programs: Fall 1986, 1991, and 1996
[In thousands] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level and control Fall Fall Fall of school 1986 1991 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 5,971 6,334 7,580 Percent enrolled 55.0 55.7 61.2 Control Public 3,689 3,963 4,683 Private 2,282 2,371 2,897 Level Prekindergarten 2,545 2,824 4,147 Kindergarten 3,426 3,510 3,433 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
School enrollment rates for 5- to 17-year-olds have remained relatively steady over the past 10 years--at about 97 percent. Nearly all elementary-age children are enrolled in school.
Table 5.--Percent of 5- to 17-year-olds enrolled in school: October 1965
to October 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 and 6 7 to 13 14 to 17 Year years years years --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1965 84.9 99.4 93.2 1970 89.5 99.2 94.1 1975 94.7 99.3 93.6 1980 95.7 99.3 93.4 1981 94.0 99.2 94.1 1982 95.0 99.2 94.4 1983 95.4 99.2 95.0 1984 94.5 99.2 94.7 1985 96.1 99.2 94.9 1986 95.3 99.2 94.9 1987 95.1 99.5 95.0 1988 96.0 99.7 95.1 1989 95.2 99.3 95.7 1990 96.5 99.6 95.8 1991 95.4 99.6 96.0 1992 95.5 99.4 96.7 1993 95.4 99.5 96.5 1994 96.7 99.4 96.6 1995 96.0 98.9 96.3 1996 94.0 97.7 95.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proportion of minority students in elementary and secondary schools increased between 1986 and 1996. The proportion of Hispanics in elementary and secondary schools increased at a greater rate than the proportion of blacks.
Table 6.--Racial/ethnic distribution of students in elementary and secondary
schools: Fall 1986, 1991, and 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Race/ethnicity Fall Fall Fall of student 1986 1991 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 White, non-Hispanic 70.4 67.4 64.8 Minority 29.7 32.6 35.1 Black, non-Hispanic 16.1 16.4 16.8 Hispanic 9.9 11.8 13.5 Other, non-Hispanic 3.7 4.4 4.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, increasing proportions of children were served in federal programs for the disabled. Much of the rise during this period may be attributed to the increasing proportion of children identified as learning disabled. In 1976-77, 8 percent of children were served in programs for the disabled compared with 12 percent in 1995-96. However, since 1983-84, the increases have been relatively small.
Figure 3.--Percent of public elementary and secondary students enrolled in federal programs for the disabled: 1976-77 to 1995-96
College enrollment fell slightly below 14.3 million in fall 1994 and was expected to rise slightly by fall 1996. Of the 1997 students, about 9 million attend 4-year schools and nearly 6 million attend 2-year schools. Between 1987 and 1997, part-time enrollment increased at a greater rate than full-time enrollment, 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
Figure 4.--Fall enrollment in institutions of higher education: 1987, 1992, and 1997
Table 7.--Enrollment in higher education: Fall 1987, 1992, and 1997* Estimated.
[In thousands] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type and control of school, and Fall Fall Fall attendance status 1987 1992 1997* --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 12,767 14,487 14,085 4-year 7,990 8,765 8,582 2-year 4,776 5,722 5,503 Full-time 7,231 8,162 7,911 Part-time 5,536 6,325 6,174 Public 9,973 11,385 11,028 4-year 5,432 5,900 5,757 2-year 4,541 5,485 5,270 Full-time 5,267 6,011 5,812 Part-time 4,706 5,374 5,216 Private 2,793 3,103 3,057 4-year 2,558 2,865 2,825 2-year 235 238 233 Full-time 1,964 2,151 2,099 Part-time 829 952 958 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proportion of 18- and 19-year-olds attending high school or college rose from 55 percent in 1986 to 62 percent in 1996. Enrollment rates for those in their early 20s also increased. The enrollment rate of 20- and 21-year-olds rose from 33 percent in 1986 to 44 percent in 1996.
Table 8.--Percent of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school: October 1980
to October 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18- and 20- and 22- to Year 19-year-olds 21-year-olds 24-year-olds --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1980 46.4 31.0 16.3 1981 49.0 31.6 16.5 1982 47.8 34.0 16.8 1983 50.4 32.5 16.6 1984 50.1 33.9 17.3 1985 51.6 35.3 16.9 1986 54.6 33.0 17.9 1987 55.6 38.7 17.5 1988 55.6 39.1 18.2 1989 56.0 38.5 19.9 1990 57.2 39.7 21.0 1991 59.6 42.0 22.2 1992 61.4 44.0 23.7 1993 61.6 42.7 23.6 1994 60.2 44.9 24.0 1995 59.4 44.9 23.2 1996 61.5 44.4 24.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite decreases in the traditional college-age population, total college enrollment has continued to grow since 1980. Much of this growth can be attributed to the increase in the proportion of recent high school graduates and the number of women over 24 attending college.
Table 9.--Fall enrollment in institutions of higher education, by sex,Note: Because of rounding, details may not add to totals.
and age: 1980, 1990, and 1995
[In thousands] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sex and age 1980 1990 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Men and women, total 12,097 13,819 14,262 19 years and younger 3,148 2,967 3,100 20 and 21 years old 2,423 2,619 2,655 22 to 24 years old 1,989 2,166 2,308 25 years and older 4,536 6,067 6,197 Men, total 5,874 6,284 6,343 19 years and younger 1,474 1,433 1,418 20 and 21 years old 1,259 1,304 1,227 22 to 24 years old 1,064 1,107 1,145 25 years and older 2,077 2,441 2,551 Women, total 6,223 7,535 7,919 19 years and younger 1,674 1,534 1,683 20 and 21 years old 1,165 1,315 1,428 22 to 24 years old 925 1,059 1,163 25 years and older 2,459 3,627 3,646 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The number of older students in college has been growing more than the number of younger students. Between 1980 and 1990, the enrollment of students under age 25 increased by 3 percent. During the same period, enrollment of persons 25 and over rose by 34 percent. From 1995 to 2007 however, NCES projects a 4 percent growth in enrollments of persons over 25 and an increase of 20 percent in the number under 25.
Figure 5.--Fall enrollment in institutions of higher education, by age: 1970 to 1995
The proportion of American college students who are minorities has been increasing. In 1976, 15.7 percent were minorities, compared with 25.3 percent in 1995. Much of the change can be attributed to rising proportions of Hispanic and Asian students. The proportion of students who are black has fluctuated over the past 15 years and was 10.7 percent in 1995, slightly up from the 1980 level of 9.4 percent. (These percentages exclude foreign students enrolled in American colleges and universities who are not permanent residents.)
Table 10.--Racial/ethnic distribution of fall enrollment in institutions of* Preliminary data.
higher education: 1980, 1990, and 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Race/ethnicity 1980 1990 1995* --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 White, non-Hispanic 83.5 79.9 74.7 Total minority 16.5 20.1 25.3 Black, non-Hispanic 9.4 9.3 10.7 Hispanic 4.0 5.8 7.9 Asian or Pacific Islander 2.4 4.3 5.8 American Indian or Alaskan Native 0.7 0.8 1.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graduate enrollment had been steady at about 1.3 million in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but rose about 18 percent between 1988 and 1995. Enrollment in first-professional programs, after rising very rapidly during the 1970s, stabilized in the early 1980s and showed a small increase between 1986 and 1995.
Since 1984, the number of women in graduate schools has exceeded the number of men. Between 1985 and 1995, the number of male full-time graduate students increased by 23 percent, compared with 64 percent for full-time women. Among part-time graduate students, enrollments for men increased by 6 percent compared with 26 percent for women. However, men continue to seek first-professional degrees more than do women.
Table 11.--Fall graduate enrollment \1\ in institutions of higher education,[1] Includes full-time and part-time unclassified postbaccalaureate students, but excludes first-professional enrollment.
by sex:1970 to 1995
[In thousands] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Total Men Women --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1970 1,031 630 400 1972 1,066 626 439 1974 1,190 663 526 1976 1,333 714 619 1978 1,312 682 630 1980 1,343 675 670 1981 1,343 674 669 1982 1,322 670 653 1983 1,340 677 663 1984 1,345 672 673 1985 1,376 677 700 1986 1,435 693 742 1987 1,452 693 759 1988 1,472 697 774 1989 1,522 710 811 1990 1,586 737 849 1991 1,639 761 878 1992 1,669 772 896 1993 1,688 771 917 1994 1,721 776 946 1995 \2\ 1,732 768 965 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
