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Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 201.20. Enrollment in grades 9 through 12 in public and private schools compared with population 14 to 17 years of age: Selected years, 1889-90 through fall 2016
[In thousands]
Year Enrollment, grades 9 to 12 Population
14 to 17
years of age2
Enrollment
as a ratio
of population
14 to 17
years of age3
All schools Public schools Private schools
Total 9th grade 10th grade 11th grade 12th grade Secondary ungraded1 Total 9th grade 10th grade 11th grade 12th grade Secondary ungraded
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1889-90 298 203 95   5,355 5.6
1899-1900 630 519 111   6,152 10.2
1909-10 1,032 915 117   7,220 14.3
1919-20 2,414 2,200 917 576 396 312 0 214   7,736 31.2
1929-30 4,741 4,399 1,627 1,192 880 701 0 341 4 9,341 50.7
1939-40 7,059 6,601 2,011 1,767 1,486 1,282 55 458 5 9,720 72.6
1949-50 6,397 5,725 1,761 1,513 1,275 1,134 42 672   8,405 76.1
Fall 1959 9,306 8,271 1,035   11,155 83.4
                                 
Fall 1965 13,002 11,602 3,215 2,993 2,741 2,477 176 1,400 6 14,146 91.9
Fall 1966 13,280 11,880 3,318 3,111 2,756 2,508 187 1,400 6 14,398 92.2
Fall 1967 13,647 12,247 3,395 3,221 2,879 2,525 226 1,400 6 14,727 92.7
Fall 1968 14,123 12,723 3,508 3,310 2,986 2,650 268 1,400 6 15,170 93.1
Fall 1969 14,337 13,037 3,568 3,405 3,047 2,732 285 1,300 6 15,549 92.2
                                 
Fall 1970 14,647 13,336 3,654 3,458 3,128 2,775 321 1,311   15,924 92.0
Fall 1971 15,053 13,753 3,781 3,571 3,200 2,864 337 1,300 6 16,328 92.2
Fall 1972 15,148 13,848 3,779 3,648 3,248 2,873 299 1,300 6 16,639 91.0
Fall 1973 15,344 14,044 3,801 3,650 3,323 2,918 352 1,300 6 16,867 91.0
Fall 1974 15,403 14,103 3,832 3,675 3,302 2,955 339 1,300 6 17,035 90.4
                                 
Fall 1975 15,604 14,304 3,879 3,723 3,354 2,986 362 1,300 6 17,128 91.1
Fall 1976 15,656 14,314 3,825 3,738 3,373 3,015 363 1,342   17,119 91.5
Fall 1977 15,546 14,203 3,779 3,686 3,388 3,026 324 1,343   17,045 91.2
Fall 1978 15,441 14,088 3,726 3,610 3,312 3,023 416 1,353   16,946 91.1
Fall 1979 14,916 13,616 3,526 3,532 3,241 2,969 348 1,300 6 16,611 89.8
                                 
Fall 1980 14,570 13,231 3,377 3,368 3,195 2,925 366 1,339   16,143 90.3
Fall 1981 14,164 12,764 3,286 3,218 3,039 2,907 314 1,400 6 15,609 90.7
Fall 1982 13,805 12,405 3,248 3,137 2,917 2,787 315 1,400 6 15,057 91.7
Fall 1983 13,671 12,271 3,330 3,103 2,861 2,678 299 1,400   14,740 92.7
Fall 1984 13,704 12,304 3,440 3,145 2,819 2,599 300 1,400 6 14,725 93.1
                                 
Fall 1985 13,750 12,388 3,439 3,230 2,866 2,550 303 1,362   14,888 92.4
Fall 1986 13,669 12,333 3,256 3,215 2,954 2,601 308 1,336 6 14,824 92.2
Fall 1987 13,323 12,076 3,143 3,020 2,936 2,681 296 1,247   14,502 91.9
Fall 1988 12,893 11,687 3,106 2,895 2,749 2,650 288 1,206 6 14,023 91.9
Fall 1989 12,524 11,393 3,141 2,868 2,629 2,473 281 1,131   303 284 267 273 5 13,536 92.5
                                 
Fall 1990 12,476 11,341 3,169 2,896 2,612 2,381 284 1,136 6 13,329 93.6
Fall 1991 12,675 11,544 3,313 2,915 2,645 2,392 278 1,131   309 286 272 260 4 13,491 94.0
Fall 1992 12,862 11,737 3,352 3,027 2,656 2,431 272 1,125 6 13,775 93.4
Fall 1993 13,081 11,963 3,487 3,050 2,751 2,424 250 1,118   312 286 266 249 5 14,096 92.8
Fall 1994 13,354 12,215 3,604 3,131 2,748 2,488 244 1,138 6 14,637 91.2
                                 
Fall 1995 13,665 12,502 3,704 3,237 2,826 2,487 247 1,163   325 304 276 255 2 15,013 91.0
Fall 1996 14,027 12,849 3,801 3,323 2,930 2,586 208 1,178 6 15,443 90.8
Fall 1997 14,241 13,056 3,819 3,376 2,972 2,673 216 1,185   326 306 283 266 4 15,769 90.3
Fall 1998 14,407 13,195 3,856 3,382 3,021 2,722 214 1,212 6 15,829 91.0
Fall 1999 14,600 13,371 3,935 3,415 3,034 2,782 205 1,229   336 313 295 280 5 16,007 91.2
                                 
Fall 2000 14,781 13,517 3,963 3,491 3,083 2,803 177 1,264 6 16,144 91.6
Fall 2001 15,032 13,736 4,012 3,528 3,174 2,863 159 1,296   350 333 316 293 3 16,280 92.3
Fall 2002 15,374 14,069 4,105 3,584 3,229 2,990 161 1,306 6 16,506 93.1
Fall 2003 15,651 14,339 4,190 3,675 3,277 3,046 150 1,311   351 334 317 304 5 16,694 93.8
Fall 2004 15,949 14,618 4,281 3,750 3,369 3,094 122 1,331 6 17,054 93.5
                                 
Fall 2005 16,258 14,909 4,287 3,866 3,454 3,180 121 1,349   356 348 326 315 3 17,358 93.7
Fall 2006 16,441 15,081 4,260 3,882 3,551 3,277 110 1,360 6 17,549 93.7
Fall 2007 16,451 15,086 4,200 3,863 3,557 3,375 92 1,364   357 347 334 324 2 17,597 93.5
Fall 2008 16,322 14,980 4,123 3,822 3,548 3,400 87 1,342 6 17,395 93.8
Fall 2009 16,261 14,952 4,080 3,809 3,541 3,432 90 1,309   333 330 324 319 3 17,232 94.4
                                 
Fall 2010 16,159 14,860 4,008 3,800 3,538 3,472 42 1,299 6 17,066 94.7
Fall 2011 16,040 14,749 3,957 3,751 3,546 3,452 43 1,291   330 325 318 315 4 16,873 95.1
Fall 2012 16,055 14,753 3,975 3,730 3,528 3,477 43 1,302 6 16,722 96.0
Fall 2013 16,106 14,794 3,980 3,761 3,526 3,476 52 1,312   334 331 325 320 3 16,656 96.7
Fall 2014 16,277 14,943 4,033 3,794 3,568 3,496 52 1,334 6 16,754 97.2
                                 
Fall 20157 16,400 15,070 4,036 3,844 3,599 3,538 52 1,329   16,814 97.5
Fall 20167 16,427 15,111 3,994 3,848 3,647 3,570 52 1,316   16,779 97.9
—Not available.
1 Includes students reported as being enrolled in grade 13.
2 Data for 1890 through 1950 are from the decennial censuses of population. Later data are Census Bureau estimates as of July 1 preceding the opening of the school year.
3 Gross enrollment ratio based on school enrollment of all ages in grades 9 to 12 divided by the 14- to 17-year-old population. Differs from enrollment rates in other tables, which are based on the enrollment of persons in the given age group only.
4 Data are for 1927-28.
5 Data are for 1940-41.
6 Estimated.
7 Projected.
NOTE: Includes enrollment in public schools that are a part of state and local school systems and also in most private schools, both religiously affiliated and nonsectarian. The enrollment for ungraded public school students was estimated based on the secondary proportion of ungraded students in prior years. The enrollment of ungraded private school students was estimated based on the secondary proportion of ungraded students in individual high schools. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1890 through 1910; Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919-20 through 1949-50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1951-52 through 1957-58; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1959 through 1980; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1959 through 1980; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1981-82 through 2014-15; Schools and Staffing Survey, Private School Data File, 1987-88; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989-90 through 2013-14; National Elementary and Secondary Enrollment Projection Model, 1972 through 2026; and unpublished data. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P-25, Nos. 1000, 1022, 1045, 1057, 1059, 1092, and 1095; 2000 through 2009 Population Estimates, retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2011/index.html; and 2010 through 2016 Population Estimates, retrieved August 2, 2016, from http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2015/2015-nat-res.html. (This table was prepared February 2017.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest