Historical summary of public elementary and secondary school statistics: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2013-14

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Table 201.10.

Selected characteristic	1869-70		1879-80	1889-90	1899-1900	1909-10	1919-20	1929-30	1939-40	1949-50	1959-60		1969-70		1979-80		1989-90		1999-2000		2009-10		2010-11		2011-12		2012-13		2013-14
1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		12		13		14		15		16		17		18		19		20
Population, pupils, and instructional staff
Total population (in thousands)¹	38,558		50,156	62,622	75,995	90,490	104,514	121,878	131,028	149,188	177,830		201,385		225,055		246,819		279,040		306,772		309,347		311,719		314,103		316,427
5- to 17-year-olds (in thousands)¹	11,683		15,066	18,473	21,573	24,011	27,571	31,414	30,151	30,223	43,881		52,386		48,043		44,947		52,811		53,890		53,933		53,791		53,729		53,739
5- to 17-year-olds as a percent of total population	30.3		30.0	29.5	28.4	26.5	26.4	25.8	23.0	20.3	24.7		26.0		21.3		18.2		18.9		17.6		17.4		17.3		17.1		17.0

Total enrollment in elementary and secondary schools (in thousands)²	7,562	³	9,867	12,723	15,503	17,814	21,578	25,678	25,434	25,112	36,087		45,550		41,651		40,543		46,857		49,361		49,484		49,522		49,771		50,045
Prekindergarten through grade 8 (in thousands)	7,481	³	9,757	12,520	14,984	16,899	19,378	21,279	18,833	19,387	27,602		32,513		28,034		29,152		33,486		34,409		34,625		34,773		35,018		35,251
Grades 9-12 (in thousands)	80	³	110	203	519	915	2,200	4,399	6,601	5,725	8,485		13,037		13,616		11,390		13,371		14,952		14,860		14,749		14,753		14,794

Enrollment as a percent of total population	19.6	³	19.7	20.3	20.4	19.7	20.6	21.1	19.4	16.8	20.3		22.6		18.5		16.4		16.8		16.1		16.0		15.9		15.8		15.8
Enrollment as a percent of 5- to 17-year-olds	64.7	³	65.5	68.9	71.9	74.2	78.3	81.7	84.4	83.1	82.2		87.0		86.7		90.2		88.7		91.6		91.8		92.1		92.6		93.1

Percent of total enrollment in grades 9-12	1.1	³	1.1	1.6	3.3	5.1	10.2	17.1	26.0	22.8	23.5		28.6		32.7		28.1		28.5		30.3		30.0		29.8		29.6		29.6
High school graduates (in thousands)	—		—	22	62	111	231	592	1,143	1,063	1,627		2,589		2,748		2,320		2,554		3,128		3,144		3,149		3,169		—

Average daily attendance (in thousands)	4,077		6,144	8,154	10,633	12,827	16,150	21,265	22,042	22,284	32,477		41,934		38,289		37,799		43,807		45,919		46,119		46,400		46,554		46,785
Total number of days attended by pupils enrolled (in millions)	539		801	1,098	1,535	2,011	2,615	3,673	3,858	3,964	5,782		7,501		6,835	⁴	—		7,858		8,199		8,235		8,298		8,354		8,396
Percent of enrolled pupils attending daily	59.3		62.3	64.1	68.6	72.1	74.8	82.8	86.7	88.7	90.0		90.4		90.1	⁴	—		94.3		—		—		93.9		—		—
Average length of school term, in days	132.2		130.3	134.7	144.3	157.5	161.9	172.7	175.0	177.9	178.0		178.9		178.5	⁴	—		179.4		178.6		178.6		178.8		179.5		179.5
Average number of days attended per pupil	78.4		81.1	86.3	99.0	113.0	121.2	143.0	151.7	157.9	160.2		161.7		160.8	⁴	—		169.2		—		—		167.9		—		—

Total full-time-equivalent (FTE) instructional staff (in thousands)	—		—	—	—	—	678	880	912	963	1,457		2,286		2,406		2,986		3,819		4,279		4,151		4,134		4,158		4,167
Supervisors (in thousands)	—		—	—	—	—	7	7	5	—	—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—
Principals (in thousands)	—		—	—	—	—	14	31	32	43	64		91		106		126		137		168		165		166		169		168
Teachers, teacher aides, librarians, and guidance counselors (in thousands)⁵	201		287	364	423	523	657	843	875	920	1,393		2,195		2,300		2,860		3,682		4,111		3,986		3,967		3,989		3,999
Males (in thousands)	78		123	126	127	110	93	140	195	196	404	⁴	711	⁴	782	⁴	—		—		—		—		—		—		—
Females (in thousands)	123		164	238	296	413	585	703	681	724	989	⁴	1,484	⁴	1,518	⁴	—		—		—		—		—		—		—
Percent male	38.7		42.8	34.5	29.9	21.1	14.1	16.6	22.2	21.3	29.0	⁴	32.4	⁴	34.0	⁴	—		—		—		—		—		—		—
	Amounts in current dollars
Total revenues and expenditures
Total revenue receipts (in millions)	—		—	$143	$220	$433	$970	$2,089	$2,261	$5,437	$14,747		$40,267		$96,881		$208,548		$372,944		$596,391		$604,229		$597,885		$603,770		$623,209
Federal government	—		—	—	—	—	2	7	40	156	652		3,220		9,504		12,701		27,098		75,998		75,549		60,921		55,861		54,505
State governments	—		—	—	—	—	160	354	684	2,166	5,768		16,063		45,349		98,239		184,613		258,864		266,786		269,043		273,215		288,196
Local sources, including intermediate	—		—	—	—	—	808	1,728	1,536	3,116	8,327		20,985		42,029		97,608		161,233		261,529		261,893		267,921		274,694		280,507
Percentage distribution of revenue receipts
Federal government	—		—	—	—	—	0.3	0.4	1.8	2.9	4.4		8.0		9.8		6.1		7.3		12.7		12.5		10.2		9.3		8.7
State governments	—		—	—	—	—	16.5	16.9	30.3	39.8	39.1		39.9		46.8		47.1		49.5		43.4		44.2		45.0		45.3		46.2
Local sources, including intermediate	—		—	—	—	—	83.2	82.7	68.0	57.3	56.5		52.1		43.4		46.8		43.2		43.9		43.3		44.8		45.5		45.0

Total expenditures for public schools (in millions)	$63		$78	$141	$215	$426	$1,036	$2,317	$2,344	$5,838	$15,613		$40,683		$95,962		$212,770		$381,838		$607,018		$604,356		$601,994		$606,813		$625,016
Current expenditures⁶	—		—	114	180	356	861	1,844	1,942	4,687	12,329	⁷	34,218	⁷	86,984	⁷	188,229	⁷	323,889	⁷	524,715	⁷	527,291	⁷	527,207	⁷	535,796	⁷	553,501	⁷
Capital outlay⁸	—		—	26	35	70	154	371	258	1,014	2,662		4,659		6,506		17,781		43,357		56,715		50,969		48,793		45,721		46,438
Interest on school debt	—		—	—	—	—	18	93	131	101	490		1,171		1,874		3,776		9,135		17,232		17,934		17,804		17,266		17,152
Other current expenditures⁹	—		—	—	—	—	3	10	13	36	133		636		598	¹⁰	2,983		5,457		8,356		8,161		8,189		8,031		7,925
Percentage distribution of total expenditures
Current expenditures⁶	—		—	81.3	83.5	83.6	83.1	79.6	82.8	80.3	79.0	⁷	84.1	⁷	90.6	⁷	88.5	⁷	84.8	⁷	86.4	⁷	87.2	⁷	87.6	⁷	88.3	⁷	88.6	⁷
Capital outlay⁸	—		—	18.7	16.5	16.4	14.8	16.0	11.0	17.4	17.0		11.5		6.8		8.4		11.4		9.3		8.4		8.1		7.5		7.4
Interest on school debt	—		—	—	—	—	1.8	4.0	5.6	1.7	3.1		2.9		2.0		1.8		2.4		2.8		3.0		3.0		2.8		2.7
Other current expenditures⁹	—		—	—	—	—	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.8		1.6		0.6	¹⁰	1.4		1.4		1.4		1.4		1.4		1.3		1.3

Teacher salaries; income and expenditures per pupil and per capita
Annual salary of classroom teachers¹¹	$189		$195	$252	$325	$485	$871	$1,420	$1,441	$3,010	$4,995		$8,626		$15,970		$31,367		$41,807		$55,202		$55,623		$55,418		$56,103		$56,610
Personal income per member of labor force¹	—		—	—	—	—	—	1,734	1,333	3,446	5,897		9,913		19,800		37,297		57,319		78,465		81,079		86,283		89,789		90,571
Total school expenditures per capita of total population	2		2	2	3	5	10	19	18	39	88		202		426		862		1,368		1,979		1,954		1,931		1,932		1,975
National income per capita¹	—		—	—	—	—	—	773	630	1,609	2,584		4,467		9,990		19,375		29,832		39,528		41,182		42,834		44,768		45,650
Current expenditure per pupil in ADA^6,12,13	—		—	14	17	28	53	87	88	210	375		816		2,272		4,980		7,394		11,427		11,433		11,362		11,509		11,831
Total expenditure per pupil in ADA^13,14	16		13	17	20	33	64	108	106	260	471		955		2,491		5,547		8,589		13,035		12,926		12,796		12,859		13,187
National income per pupil in ADA¹³	—		—	—	—	—	—	4,430	3,743	10,770	14,152		21,450		58,717		126,516		190,026		264,075		276,233		287,762		302,057		308,752
Current expenditure per day per pupil in ADA^6,13,15	—		—	0.10	0.12	0.18	0.33	0.50	0.50	1.17	2.11		4.56		12.73		—		41.22		64.00		64.03		63.53		64.13		65.93
Total expenditure per day per pupil in ADA¹³	0.12		0.10	0.13	0.14	0.21	0.40	0.63	0.60	1.46	2.65		5.34		13.95		—		47.90		73.02		72.39		71.56		71.67		73.50
	Amounts in constant 2015-16 dollars¹⁶
Annual salary of classroom teachers¹¹	—		—	—	—	—	$10,890	$19,767	$24,569	$30,284	$40,506		$54,411		$49,016		$58,862		$58,843		$60,688		$59,948		$58,026		$57,782		$57,407
Personal income per member of labor force¹	—		—	—	—	—	—	24,144	22,721	34,672	47,824		62,528		60,770		69,989		80,675		86,264		87,382		90,344		92,477		91,847
Total school expenditures per capita of total population	—		—	—	—	—	124	265	305	394	712		1,274		1,309		1,618		1,926		2,175		2,106		2,022		1,990		2,003
National income per capita¹	—		—	—	—	—	—	10,759	10,735	16,185	20,958		28,174		30,661		36,359		41,988		43,457		44,384		44,851		46,108		46,293
Current expenditure per pupil in ADA^6,12,13	—		—	—	—	—	667	1,207	1,502	2,116	3,042		5,147		6,973		9,345		10,406		12,563		12,322		11,897		11,854		11,998
Total expenditure per pupil in ADA^13,14	—		—	—	—	—	800	1,510	1,803	2,620	3,819		6,024		7,644		10,409		12,089		14,331		13,931		13,398		13,243		13,373
National income per pupil in ADA¹³	—		—	—	—	—	—	61,665	63,816	108,358	114,759		135,304		180,217		237,414		267,458		290,321		297,709		301,307		311,097		313,101
Current expenditure per day per pupil in ADA^6,13,15	—		—	—	—	—	4.1	7.0	8.5	11.8	17.1		28.8		39.1		—		53.9		70.4		69.0		66.5		66.1		66.9
Total expenditure per day per pupil in ADA¹³	—		—	—	—	—	5.0	8.8	10.2	14.7	21.5		33.7		42.8		—		62.7		80.3		78.0		74.9		73.8		74.5

—Not available.

¹ Data on population and labor force are from the Census Bureau, and data on personal income and national income are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Population data through 1900 are based on total population from the decennial census. From 1909-10 to 1959-60, population data are total population, including armed forces overseas, as of July 1. Data for later years are for resident population that excludes armed forces overseas.

² Data for 1869-70 through 1959-60 are school year enrollment. Data for later years are fall enrollment. Total counts of ungraded students were prorated to prekindergarten through grade 8 and grades 9 through 12 based on prior reports.

³ Data for 1870-71.

⁴ Estimated by the National Center for Education Statistics.

⁵ Prior to 1919-20, data are for the number of different persons employed rather than number of positions.

⁶ Prior to 1919-20, includes interest on school debt.

⁷ Because of the modification of the scope of "current expenditures for elementary and secondary schools," data for 1959-60 and later years are not entirely comparable with prior years.

⁸ Beginning in 1969-70, includes capital outlay by state and local school building authorities.

⁹ Includes summer schools, community colleges, and adult education. Beginning in 1959-60, also includes community services, formerly classified with "current expenditures for elementary and secondary schools."

¹⁰ Excludes community colleges and adult education.

¹¹ Prior to 1959-60, average includes supervisors, principals, teachers, and other nonsupervisory instructional staff. Data for 1959-60 and later years are estimated by the National Education Association.

¹² Excludes current expenditures not allocable to pupil costs.

¹³ "ADA" means average daily attendance in elementary and secondary schools.

¹⁴ Expenditure figure is the sum of current expenditures allocable to pupil costs, capital outlay, and interest on school debt.

¹⁵ Per-day rates derived by dividing annual rates by average length of term.

¹⁶ Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.

NOTE: Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Beginning in 1959-60, data include Alaska and Hawaii. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1869-70 through 1909-10; Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919-20 through 1949-50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1959-60 and 1969-70; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1979-80; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, FY 1980; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Questionnaire," 1999-2000, 2007-08, and 2011-12; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1989-90 through 2014-15, and "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1989-90 through 2013-14. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, retrieved August 2, 2016, from http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2015/2015-nat-res.html. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, retrieved February 17, 2017, from http://www.bea.gov/itable/. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved February 17, 2017, from http://stats.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm#empstat. (This table was prepared February 2017.)

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