Fast Facts: Preprimary education enrollment (516)

Preprimary education enrollment

Question:
What percentage of children are enrolled in preprimary education?

Response:

Formal schooling, such as preschool and kindergarten programs, is an important component of early childhood education. This Fast Fact looks at the school enrollment rates of 3- to 5-year-olds using data from the American Community Survey (ACS).¹ This Fast Fact also compares enrollment rates in public and private education by various child and family characteristics within the 3- to 4-year-old and 5-year-old age groups. Throughout this Fast Fact, homeschooled students are included in the group of students receiving a private education.²

In 2022, about 59 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds were enrolled in school overall, including 39 percent enrolled in public schools and 20 percent who were receiving a private education. The total enrollment rate was higher for 5-year-olds than for 3- to 4-year-olds (84 vs. 47 percent).

Between 2012 and 2019, the overall school enrollment rate of 3- to 5-year-olds fluctuated between 59 and 61 percent, before falling to 53 percent in 2021—the data year which largely overlaps the first full school year of the coronavirus pandemic.³ In 2022, the rate had rebounded to 59 percent, but was still lower than in 2019 (61 percent). For each age group, the data show that

from 2012 to 2019, the enrollment rate for 3- to 4-year-olds increased by 1 percentage point (from 48 to 49 percent), while the rate for 5-year-olds was 86 percent in both years;
the enrollment rate for 3- to 4-year-olds was 9 percentage points lower in 2021 than in 2019 (40 vs. 49 percent) and the rate for 5-year-olds was 6 percentage points lower in 2021 than in 2019 (79 vs. 86 percent);⁴and
from 2021 and 2022, enrollment rates increased for both age groups, but each remained 2 percentage points lower than in 2019.

In 2022, there were differences in the overall school enrollment rate for 3- to 4-year-olds by race/ethnicity, both overall and for public and private school. Specifically,

the overall school enrollment rate was higher for 3- to 4-year-olds who were Asian (52 percent) than for most other groups, and lowest for those who were Pacific Islander (25 percent);
the public school enrollment rate was highest for 3- to 4-year-olds who were Black (37 percent), and lower for those who were Pacific Islander (14 percent) than for most other groups; and
the private school enrollment rate was higher for 3- to 4-year-olds who were Asian (28 percent) than for most other groups, and lower for those who were American Indian/Alaska Native (7 percent) than for most other groups.

For 3- to 4-year-olds of most racial/ethnic groups—except those who were Asian or White—the public school enrollment rate was either higher than or not measurably different from the private school enrollment rate in 2022. However, higher percentages of Asian and White 3- to 4-year-olds were enrolled in private school (28 and 26 percent, respectively) than in public school (23 and 24 percent, respectively).

There were also differences by race/ethnicity in the overall school enrollment rates of 5-year-olds in 2022. Specifically,

the overall school enrollment rate ranged from 82 to 86 percent for all groups except Pacific Islander 5-year-olds (64 percent);
the public school enrollment rate was higher for 5-year-olds who were American Indian/Alaska Native (77 percent), Black (75 percent), and Hispanic (72 percent) than for those of other racial/ethnic groups; and
the private school enrollment rate was highest for 5-year-olds who were of Some other race (26 percent),⁵ White (24 percent), of Two or more races (22 percent), and Asian (21 percent).

For 5-year-olds of all racial/ethnic groups, the public school enrollment rate was higher than the private school enrollment rate in 2022. For example, among Black 5-year-olds, 75 percent were enrolled in public school, while 9 percent were enrolled in private school.

In 2022, overall school enrollment rates did not measurably differ by sex for either 3- to 4-year-olds or 5-year-olds.

¹ Unless otherwise noted, data in this Fast Fact represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
² For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Condition of Education Reader’s Guide.
³ The 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) data are not available due to collection issues associated with the coronavirus pandemic. While the 2020 ACS data are not available, data were collected throughout the 12 months of 2021. In the ACS, the school enrollment question asked about enrollment during the previous 3 months. Thus, respondents to the 2021 ACS could be reporting on school enrollment from late 2020 to fall 2021, throughout much of the 2020–21 school year. For additional information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html and the 2021 questionnaire at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/forms-and-instructions.2021.html#list-tab-9466845.
⁴ Enrollment drops during the coronavirus pandemic were also observed in data collected by NCES (see Condition of Education indicators Public School Enrollment and Racial/Ethnic Enrollment in Public Schools).
⁵ “Some other race” includes respondents who wrote in some other race that was not included as an option on the questionnaire.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Enrollment Rates of Young Children. The Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cfa.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)

Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)