Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics: 2015
Digest of Education Statistics: 2015

NCES 2016-014
December 2016


Table 206.30. Percentage distribution of students enrolled in grades 1 through 12, by public school type and charter status, private school type, and selected child and household characteristics: 2012
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child or household characteristic and public school type Total Public school Private school
Total Assigned or chosen type1 Traditional or charter status Total Religious Nonsectarian
Assigned Chosen Traditional2 Charter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total 100.0     (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†)
Sex of child                                                        
Male 51.6     (0.60) 51.5   (0.63) 51.9   (0.68) 50.2   (1.48) 51.7   (0.63) 45.4   (3.46) 52.7   (1.89) 52.8   (2.24) 51.8   (3.71)
Female 48.4     (0.60) 48.5   (0.63) 48.1   (0.68) 49.8   (1.48) 48.3   (0.63) 54.6   (3.46) 47.3   (1.89) 47.2   (2.24) 48.2   (3.71)
                                                         
Race/ethnicity of child                                                        
White 52.3     (0.39) 51.3   (0.43) 53.1   (0.49) 40.2   (1.36) 51.9   (0.43) 31.5   (2.85) 65.0   (1.77) 63.3   (1.94) 72.8   (3.35)
Black 14.4     (0.19) 14.7   (0.24) 13.5   (0.31) 21.6   (1.19) 14.3   (0.26) 29.9   (3.24) 10.2   (1.05) 11.0   (1.18) 6.6   (1.82)
Hispanic 22.7     (0.26) 23.3   (0.28) 22.7   (0.37) 27.4   (1.21) 23.1   (0.31) 30.8   (3.13) 15.2   (1.38) 16.8   (1.57) 7.6   (1.93)
Asian/Pacific Islander 5.2     (0.22) 5.2   (0.23) 5.1   (0.25) 5.5   (0.68) 5.2   (0.23) 5.4 ! (1.83) 5.2   (0.62) 5.1   (0.73) 6.0   (1.40)
Other 5.4     (0.26) 5.5   (0.27) 5.5   (0.30) 5.3   (0.55) 5.6   (0.28) 2.4 ! (0.84) 4.4   (0.70) 3.8   (0.79) 7.0   (1.95)
                                                         
Disability status of child as reported
      by parent
                                                       
Has a disability 17.3     (0.46) 17.7   (0.47) 17.7   (0.55) 17.7   (0.98) 17.8   (0.49) 15.5   (2.04) 12.2   (1.16) 11.1   (1.14) 17.7   (2.78)
Does not have a disability 82.7     (0.46) 82.3   (0.47) 82.3   (0.55) 82.3   (0.98) 82.2   (0.49) 84.5   (2.04) 87.8   (1.16) 88.9   (1.14) 82.3   (2.78)
                                                         
Grade level                                                        
Grades 1 through 5 43.4     (0.26) 43.2   (0.32) 43.5   (0.40) 40.6   (1.19) 43.0   (0.33) 47.0   (3.65) 46.7   (1.73) 47.2   (1.84) 44.0   (3.84)
Grades 6 through 8 25.2     (0.33) 25.4   (0.34) 25.2   (0.42) 27.2   (1.05) 25.2   (0.36) 32.5   (3.12) 22.7   (1.42) 22.7   (1.60) 23.0   (3.26)
Grades 9 through 12 31.3     (0.23) 31.4   (0.30) 31.3   (0.34) 32.2   (1.13) 31.7   (0.30) 20.5   (2.41) 30.6   (1.74) 30.1   (1.84) 33.0   (3.77)
                                                         
Number of parents in the household                                                        
Two parents 65.7     (0.50) 64.6   (0.54) 65.0   (0.62) 61.5   (1.29) 64.8   (0.55) 57.8   (3.61) 78.9   (1.18) 79.0   (1.33) 78.7   (2.54)
One parent 30.6     (0.49) 31.6   (0.53) 31.2   (0.63) 34.3   (1.37) 31.4   (0.55) 38.0   (3.61) 18.4   (1.19) 18.3   (1.35) 19.0   (2.40)
Nonparental guardians 3.8     (0.18) 3.8   (0.20) 3.8   (0.22) 4.2   (0.53) 3.8   (0.20) 4.2 ! (1.31) 2.7   (0.47) 2.8   (0.57) 2.3 ! (0.89)
                                                         
Highest education level of parents                                                        
Less than a high school diploma 11.7     (0.21) 12.3   (0.23) 12.1   (0.28) 12.4   (1.06) 12.3   (0.24) 12.3   (3.08) 4.8   (1.09) 4.9   (1.11)   (†)
High school diploma or GED 20.3     (0.22) 21.2   (0.26) 21.9   (0.33) 18.1   (1.26) 21.0   (0.27) 25.8   (3.53) 9.8   (1.30) 10.5   (1.44) 6.6 ! (2.24)
Vocational/technical or some college 30.4     (0.39) 31.3   (0.42) 31.6   (0.46) 30.4   (1.25) 31.4   (0.43) 26.4   (2.75) 20.0   (1.44) 20.7   (1.69) 16.8   (2.68)
Bachelor's degree/some graduate school 22.7     (0.34) 21.6   (0.35) 21.1   (0.41) 23.9   (1.27) 21.6   (0.36) 22.9   (2.72) 36.1   (1.68) 37.6   (1.92) 29.4   (3.97)
Graduate/professional degree 14.8     (0.13) 13.6   (0.17) 13.3   (0.21) 15.3   (0.65) 13.7   (0.18) 12.6   (1.82) 29.3   (1.38) 26.3   (1.48) 43.2   (3.30)
                                                         
Poverty status of household3                                                        
Poor 18.6     (0.29) 19.5   (0.32) 19.6   (0.42) 19.3   (1.08) 19.4   (0.34) 25.2   (3.62) 7.1   (1.07) 6.9   (1.24) 8.1 ! (2.82)
Near-poor 22.1     (0.39) 23.0   (0.43) 23.1   (0.49) 22.9   (1.00) 22.9   (0.44) 27.7   (3.14) 10.7   (1.23) 11.2   (1.39) 8.0   (1.93)
Nonpoor 59.3     (0.30) 57.4   (0.37) 57.3   (0.42) 57.9   (1.21) 57.8   (0.39) 47.2   (3.19) 82.2   (1.54) 81.8   (1.71) 83.9   (3.18)
                                                         
Locale                                                        
City 29.0     (0.49) 28.5   (0.48) 25.3   (0.49) 45.9   (1.41) 27.7   (0.46) 51.6   (3.10) 34.8   (1.81) 33.8   (2.03) 39.2   (3.41)
Suburban 38.0     (0.63) 37.7   (0.65) 38.5   (0.71) 33.8   (1.41) 37.9   (0.64) 30.8   (3.45) 41.6   (1.44) 42.8   (1.75) 35.7   (3.36)
Town 9.4     (0.34) 9.8   (0.36) 10.6   (0.43) 5.9   (0.82) 9.9   (0.37) 5.2 ! (2.08) 5.0   (0.65) 4.8   (0.72) 5.9   (1.63)
Rural 23.6     (0.49) 24.0   (0.50) 25.6   (0.57) 14.4   (1.03) 24.4   (0.50) 12.3   (2.18) 18.7   (1.50) 18.5   (1.68) 19.2   (2.99)
                                                         
Region                                                        
Northeast 17.5     (0.39) 17.0   (0.39) 18.2   (0.44) 10.0   (0.79) 17.1   (0.41) 13.1   (2.05) 24.7   (1.53) 23.9   (1.88) 28.4   (4.04)
South 35.9     (0.57) 36.3   (0.60) 36.2   (0.69) 37.1   (1.36) 36.5   (0.61) 30.3   (3.20) 30.6   (1.52) 28.6   (1.69) 39.6   (3.32)
Midwest 22.2     (0.53) 22.1   (0.54) 22.4   (0.58) 20.0   (1.16) 22.0   (0.53) 23.8   (3.26) 23.2   (1.61) 26.6   (1.93) 7.2   (1.73)
West 24.4     (0.51) 24.7   (0.55) 23.2   (0.57) 33.0   (1.32) 24.4   (0.55) 32.8   (3.01) 21.5   (1.48) 20.8   (1.67) 24.8   (3.71)
                                                         
Public school type1                                                        
Assigned 84.6 4   (0.46) 84.6   (0.46) 100.0   (†)   (†) 87.3   (0.40)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Chosen 15.4 4   (0.46) 15.4   (0.46)   (†) 100.0   (†) 12.7   (0.40) 100.0   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.
1 In 160 cases, questions about whether the school was assigned were not asked because parents reported the school as a private school, and it was only later found to be a public school. These cases were excluded from the analysis of assigned versus chosen public schools, but were included in the charter school analysis as well as in the public school and overall totals.
2 Includes all types of public noncharter schools.
3 Poor children are those whose family incomes were below the Census Bureau's poverty threshold in the year prior to data collection; near-poor children are those whose family incomes ranged from the poverty threshold to 199 percent of the poverty threshold; and nonpoor children are those whose family incomes were at or above 200 percent of the poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is a dollar amount that varies depending on a family's size and composition and is updated annually to account for inflation. In 2011, for example, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two children was $22,811. Survey respondents are asked to select the range within which their income falls, rather than giving the exact amount of their income; therefore, the measure of poverty status is an approximation.
4 Includes only students enrolled in public schools.
NOTE: Data exclude homeschooled children. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (PFI-NHES:2012). (This table was prepared September 2014.)