Fast Facts: Back-to-school statistics (372)

Back-to-school statistics

Question:
It's back-to-school time—what do we know about our nation’s students and schools?

Response:

Across the country, students are preparing to head back to school for the 2024–25 academic year. Each year, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) compiles facts and figures that provide a snapshot of the most recent data about schools and colleges in the United States.¹ This year’s Fast Fact covers a range of school years from 2019–20 to 2022–23. Learn more below.

To locate the latest findings from NCES, search for recent Publications & Products and peruse the NCES Blog.

PK–12 EDUCATION

Enrollment
After-School Programs
Learning Recovery
Mental Health
Teachers
Expenditures

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

Enrollment
Distance Learning
Attainment
Federal Student Aid

PK–12 EDUCATION

Enrollment

How many students attended school in recent years?

In fall 2022, about 49.6 million students were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools (source). Of these public school students in fall 2022,

1.5 million attended prekindergarten;
32.5 million attended kindergarten to grade 8; and
15.5 million attended grades 9 to 12.²

Compared to fall 2019 (prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), public school enrollment in 2022 was 4 percent lower in prekindergarten, 4 percent lower in kindergarten to grade 8, and 2 percent higher in grades 9 to 12 (source).

In fall 2021, about 5.5 million students were enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools (source). For private school students, this estimate excludes prekindergarten enrollment in schools that do not offer kindergarten or a higher grade. Of these private school students in fall 2021,

3.3 million attended kindergarten to grade 8; and
1.4 million attended grades 9 to 12.³

What were the demographics of public school students in fall 2022?

The 49.6 million public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through grade 12 in fall 2022 included (source)

22.1 million White students;
14.4 million Hispanic students;
7.4 million Black students;
2.7 million Asian students;
2.5 million students of Two or more races;
0.4 million American Indian/Alaska Native students; and
0.2 million Pacific Islander students.

To learn more about student demographics, explore other NCES Fast Facts on topics including:

After-School Programs (source)

What percentage of public schools provided after-school instruction to students who needed academic assistance?

In September 2023, some 51 percent of public schools reported providing after-school programs for academic assistance, and 59 percent reported providing school-related activities and clubs after school.

Of schools offering after-school activities and clubs,

77 percent offered athletic teams or clubs;
72 percent offered academic clubs;
71 percent offered performing arts;
60 percent offered class council or student government;
48 percent offered spirit groups;
43 percent offered volunteer or community service clubs sponsored by the school;
29 percent offered inclusion clubs; and
16 percent offered other school clubs or activities.

Learning Recovery (source)

What percentage of public school students were behind grade level in the 2023–24 school year?

Public school leaders nationwide estimated that, on average, 32 percent of their students ended the 2023–24 school year behind grade level⁴ in at least one academic subject, which is not measurably different than the 33 percent reported at the end of the 2021–22 school year.⁵

How many schools are offering different types of tutoring?

In May 2024, some 87 percent of public schools reported having provided any type of tutoring to their students during the 2023–24 school year, and 47 percent of public schools reported having provided two or more types of tutoring. Specifically,

46 percent provided high-dosage tutoring;
66 percent provided standard tutoring;
24 percent provided self-paced tutoring; and
13 percent provided on-demand online tutoring.

Mental Health (source)

What percentage of public schools reported that they were able to effectively provide mental health services to students?

In March 2024,

58 percent of public schools reported that the percentage of students seeking school-based mental health services had increased since the last school year.
9 percent of public schools strongly agreed and 39 percent moderately agreed that their school was able to effectively provide mental health services to all students in need.

In March 2024, public schools that provided mental health services to students reported, on average, that 19 percent of students used school-based mental health services.

Visit our Fast Fact on mental health services in public schools to learn more about the mental health services schools offered in earlier years.

Teachers

How many teachers were there in the United States in recent years?

In fall 2022, there were 3.2 million full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in public schools (source). In fall 2021, there were 0.5 million FTE teachers in private schools (source).⁶

Visit our Fast Fact on teacher characteristics and trends to learn more about the teaching profession in the United States.

What percentage of teachers remained in the same school, changed schools, or left the teaching profession?

In the United States, 84 percent of teachers in public schools and 82 percent of teachers in private schools in 2020–21 stayed on as teachers at the same school in 2021–22. Meanwhile, 8 percent of public school teachers and 6 percent of private school teachers moved to a position as a teacher at another school, and 8 percent of public school teachers and 12 percent of private school teachers left the profession (source).

Expenditures (source)⁷

How much was spent on public elementary and secondary education in 2021–22 (FY 2022)?

Total current expenditures were $768 billion.
Current expenditures per student were $15,591.

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

Enrollment

How many students attended colleges and universities in fall 2022?

About 19.0 million students attended colleges and universities (including non-degree-granting institutions) in fall 2022 (source). Of these students,

11.5 million students attended full time; and
7.4 million students attended part time.

15.8 million students attended undergraduate programs; and
3.2 million students attended graduate programs.

13.6 million students attended public institutions; and
5.3 million students attended private institutions.

13.9 million students attended 4-year institutions;
4.7 million students attended 2-year institutions; and
13.9 million students attended less-than-2-year institutions.

11.0 million students were female; and
8.0 million students were male.

8.9 million students were White;
3.7 million students were Hispanic;
2.3 million students were Black;
1.3 million students were Asian;
0.7 million students were students of Two or more races;
0.1 million students were American Indian/Alaska Native students;
43,600 students were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students;
1.0 million students were U.S. nonresidents (not identified by race/ethnicity); and
0.9 million students were students for whom race/ethnicity was unknown.

How did fall 2022 postsecondary enrollment compare with enrollment in previous years?

Postsecondary enrollment in fall 2022 (19.0 million students) was 10 percent lower than in fall 2012 (21.1 million students) (source).

Distance Learning (source)

How many postsecondary students participated in distance learning?

In fall 2022, some 53 percent of postsecondary students (10.1 million) were enrolled in any distance education course. Of these 10.1 million students, 49 percent (4.9 million, or 26 percent of total enrollment) were enrolled exclusively in distance education courses.

Visit our Fast Fact on distance learning among postsecondary students to learn more about distance learning in the United States.

Attainment (source)

During the 2022–23 academic year, how many degrees did colleges and universities award?

Postsecondary institutions conferred 5 million awards, including

904,000 certificates;⁸
959,000 associate’s degrees;
1,965,000 bachelor’s degrees;
933,000 master’s degrees; and
205,000 doctor’s degrees.

Federal Student Aid (source)

What percentage of undergraduates received federal student aid in 2019–20?

72 percent received some type of financial aid;⁹
55 percent received federal student aid;
40 percent received federal Pell Grants; and
34 percent took out subsidized or unsubsidized federal Direct Loans.

What were the average amounts of federal student aid received during the 2019–20 academic year?

Among undergraduates receiving different types of federal student aid, average aid amounts were

$8,700 for total federal Title IV aid;
$4,100 for federal Pell Grants; and
$6,500 for federal Direct Loans, including

$3,800 for subsidized loans; and
$4,000 for unsubsidized loans.

¹ Throughout this Fast Fact, the United States includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
² Except for prekindergarten, counts include prorated estimates of ungraded students as well as students whose grade was not specified.
³ Counts include prorated estimates of ungraded students as well as students whose grade was not specified.
⁴ School administrators were asked to report on the percentage of students performing behind grade level, but were not asked to reference formal assessment results.
⁵ This information, reported by school administrators, is an indirect measure of student grade-level performance. For direct measures of student performance across school years, including findings comparing pre-pandemic direct assessment scores to those during the COVID-19 pandemic, see results for Reading Performance and Mathematics Performance from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
⁶ Excludes teachers who teach only prekindergarten students.
⁷ California did not report prekindergarten membership in the State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey. California reported prekindergarten expenditures separately, and these expenditures were excluded from the amounts reported. These estimates do include expenditures for special education preschool programs along with K–12 expenditures in California.
⁸ Includes all certificates at the subbaccalaureate and postbaccalaureate levels.
⁹ Aid includes all types of financial aid from any source except parents, friends, or relatives. Direct PLUS Loans to parents and other types of aid such as veterans benefits and job training funds are included, but federal tax credits for education are not included. Aid does not include emergency aid related to COVID-19.

For more information:

NCES publishes a wide range of data on many topics that may be of interest to you, including school enrollment, assessments, graduation rates, technology in education, costs of postsecondary education, fields of study (or majors), educational attainment, and employment outcomes in annual publications.

Consider exploring the Condition of Education, the Digest of Education Statistics, or the Distance Learning Dataset Training modules to learn more.

Additional resources:

Fast Fact about state-level statistics: Links to selected publications and websites that provide state-by-state information on achievement, attainment, demographics, enrollment, finances, and teachers at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels.
U.S. Department of Education program and budget information can be found here.
U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey: The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The CPS is the primary source of information on labor force statistics and also contains information on educational attainment.
Stay up to date with our releases throughout the year by visiting the NCES and NAEP press release pages.
Explore more NCES data with our data tools, including:

DataLab: Online table and regression maker tools featuring 30+ federal education datasets.
Elementary/Secondary Information System (ElSi): NCES web application that allows users to quickly view public and private school data and create custom tables and charts using data from the Common Core of Data (CCD) and Private School Survey (PSS).
IPEDS Trend Generator: View trends on most frequently asked subject areas including: Enrollment, Completions, Graduation Rates, Employees and Staff, Institutional Revenues, and Financial Aid.

Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)