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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 214.10. Number of public school districts and public and private elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2015-16
School year Regular
public
school
districts1
Total, all
public and
private
schools
Public schools2 Private schools2,3
Total, all
public
schools4
Total,
schools with
reported
grade
spans5
Schools with
elementary grades
Schools
with
secondary
grades
Total, all
private
schools4
Schools
with
elementary
grades
Schools
with
secondary
grades
Total One-
teacher
1   2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1869-70   116,312      
1879-80   178,122      
1889-90   224,526      
1899-1900   248,279      
1909-10   265,474 212,448      
                           
1919-20   271,319 187,948      
1929-30   248,117 238,306 148,712 23,930   9,275 6  3,258 6 
1939-40 117,108 7  226,762 113,600   11,306 6  3,568 6 
1949-50 83,718 7  128,225 59,652 24,542   10,375 6  3,331 6 
1959-60 40,520 7  91,853 20,213 25,784   13,574 6  4,061 6 
                             
1961-62 35,676 7  125,634 107,260 81,910 13,333 25,350 18,374   14,762 6  4,129 6 
1963-64 31,705 7  104,015 77,584 9,895 26,431     4,451 6 
1965-66 26,983 7  117,662 99,813 73,216 6,491 26,597 17,849 6  15,340 6  4,606 6 
1967-68 22,010 7  94,197 70,879 4,146 27,011      
1970-71 17,995 7  89,372 65,800 1,815 25,352   14,372 6  3,770 6 
                             
1973-74 16,730 7  88,655 65,070 1,365 25,906      
1975-76 16,376 7  88,597 87,034 63,242 1,166 25,330      
1976-77 16,271 7  86,501 62,644 1,111 25,378 19,910 6  16,385 6  5,904 6 
1978-79 16,014 7  84,816 61,982 1,056 24,504 19,489 6  16,097 6  5,766 6 
1979-80 15,944 7  87,004      
                             
1980-81 15,912 7  106,746 85,982 83,688 61,069 921 24,362 20,764 6  16,792 6  5,678 6 
1982-83 15,824 7  84,740 82,039 59,656 798 23,988      
1983-84 15,747 7  111,872 84,178 81,418 59,082 838 23,947 27,694   20,872   7,862  
1984-85   84,007 81,147 58,827 825 23,916      
1985-86   25,616   20,252   7,387  
                             
1986-87 15,713   83,421 82,316 60,811 763 23,481      
1987-88 15,577   110,055 83,248 81,416 59,754 729 23,841 26,807   22,959   8,418  
1988-89 15,376   83,165 81,579 60,176 583 23,638      
1989-90 15,367   110,137 83,425 81,880 60,699 630 23,461 26,712   24,221   10,197  
1990-91 15,358   109,228 84,538 82,475 61,340 617 23,460 24,690   22,223   8,989  
                             
1991-92 15,173   110,576 84,578 82,506 61,739 569 23,248 25,998   23,523   9,282  
1992-93 15,025   84,497 82,896 62,225 430 23,220      
1993-94 14,881   111,486 85,393 83,431 62,726 442 23,379 26,093   23,543   10,555  
1994-95 14,772   86,221 84,476 63,572 458 23,668      
1995-96 14,766   121,519 87,125 84,958 63,961 474 23,793 34,394   32,401   10,942  
                             
1996-97 14,841   88,223 86,092 64,785 487 24,287      
1997-98 14,805   123,403 89,508 87,541 65,859 476 24,802 33,895   31,408   10,779  
1998-99 14,891   90,874 89,259 67,183 463 25,797      
1999-2000 14,928   125,007 92,012 90,538 68,173 423 26,407 32,995   30,457   10,693  
2000-01 14,859   93,273 91,691 69,697 411 27,090      
                             
2001-02 14,559   130,007 94,112 92,696 70,516 408 27,468 35,895   33,191   11,846  
2002-03 14,465   95,615 93,869 71,270 366 28,151      
2003-04 14,383   130,407 95,726 93,977 71,195 376 28,219 34,681   31,988   11,188  
2004-05 14,205   96,513 95,001 71,556 338 29,017      
2005-06 14,166   132,436 97,382 95,731 71,733 326 29,705 35,054   32,127   12,184  
                             
2006-07 13,856   98,793 96,362 72,442 313 29,904      
2007-08 13,838   132,656 98,916 97,654 73,011 288 30,542 33,740   30,808   11,870  
2008-09 13,809   98,706 97,119 72,771 237 29,971      
2009-10 13,625   132,183 98,817 97,521 72,870 217 30,381 33,366   30,590   11,941  
2010-11 13,588   98,817 97,767 73,223 224 30,681      
                             
2011-12 13,567   129,189 98,328 97,357 73,000 205 30,668 30,861   28,184   11,165  
2012-13 13,515   98,454 97,331 73,037 196 30,623      
2013-14 13,491   131,890 98,271 97,290 73,223 193 30,256 33,619   30,919   11,110  
2014-15 13,601   98,176 97,601 73,420 165 30,528      
2015-16 13,584   132,853 98,277 97,586 73,546 197 30,828 34,576   31,630   12,669  
—Not available.
1 Regular districts exclude regional education service agencies and supervisory union administrative centers, state-operated agencies, federally operated agencies, and other types of local education agencies, such as independent charter schools.
2 Schools with both elementary and secondary grades are included under elementary schools and also under secondary schools.
3 Data for most years prior to 1976-77 are partly estimated. Prior to 1995-96, excludes schools with highest grade of kindergarten.
4 Includes schools not classified by grade span, which are not shown separately.
5 Includes elementary, secondary, and combined elementary/secondary schools.
6 These data cannot be compared directly with the data for years after 1980-81.
7 Because of expanded survey coverage, data are not directly comparable with figures after 1983-84.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1870 through 1910; Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919-20 through 1949-50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1951-52 through 1967-68; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1970-71 through 1980-81; Statistics of Public and Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Day Schools, 1968-69; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1970-71; Private Schools in American Education; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Private School Questionnaire," 1987-88 and 1990-91; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989-90 through 2015-16; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "Local Education Agency Universe Survey" and "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1982-83 through 2015-16. (This table was prepared September 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest