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Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 208.20. Public and private elementary and secondary teachers, enrollment, pupil/teacher ratios, and new teacher hires: Selected years, fall 1955 through fall 2028
Year Teachers (in thousands) Enrollment (in thousands) Pupil/teacher ratio Number of new teacher
hires (in thousands)1
Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private
1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   10 11 12 13
1955 1,286 1,141 145 2 35,280 30,680 4,600 2 27.4 26.9 31.7 2      
1960 1,600 1,408 192 2 42,181 36,281 5,900 2 26.4 25.8 30.7 2      
1965 1,933 1,710 223   48,473 42,173 6,300   25.1 24.7 28.3        
1970 2,292 2,059 233   51,257 45,894 5,363   22.4 22.3 23.0        
1975 2,453 2,198 255 2 49,819 44,819 5,000 2 20.3 20.4 19.6 2      
                                     
1976 2,457 2,189 268   49,478 44,311 5,167   20.1 20.2 19.3        
1977 2,488 2,209 279   48,717 43,577 5,140   19.6 19.7 18.4        
1978 2,479 2,207 272   47,637 42,551 5,086   19.2 19.3 18.7        
1979 2,461 2,185 276 2 46,651 41,651 5,000 2 19.0 19.1 18.1 2      
1980 2,485 2,184 301   46,208 40,877 5,331   18.6 18.7 17.7              
                                     
1981 2,440 2,127 313 2 45,544 40,044 5,500 2 18.7 18.8 17.6 2      
1982 2,458 2,133 325 2 45,166 39,566 5,600 2 18.4 18.6 17.2 2      
1983 2,476 2,139 337   44,967 39,252 5,715   18.2 18.4 17.0        
1984 2,508 2,168 340 2 44,908 39,208 5,700 2 17.9 18.1 16.8 2      
1985 2,549 2,206 343   44,979 39,422 5,557   17.6 17.9 16.2        
                                     
1986 2,592 2,244 348 2 45,205 39,753 5,452 2 17.4 17.7 15.7 2      
1987 2,631 2,279 352   45,488 40,008 5,479   17.3 17.6 15.6        
1988 2,668 2,323 345 2 45,430 40,189 5,242 2 17.0 17.3 15.2 2      
1989 2,713 2,357 356   46,141 40,543 5,599   17.0 17.2 15.7        
1990 2,759 2,398 361 2 46,864 41,217 5,648 2 17.0 17.2 15.6 2      
                                     
1991 2,797 2,432 365   47,728 42,047 5,681   17.1 17.3 15.6        
1992 2,823 2,459 364 2 48,694 42,823 5,870 2 17.2 17.4 16.1 2      
1993 2,868 2,504 364   49,532 43,465 6,067   17.3 17.4 16.7        
1994 2,922 2,552 370 2 50,106 44,111 5,994 2 17.1 17.3 16.2 2      
1995 2,974 2,598 376   50,759 44,840 5,918   17.1 17.3 15.7        
                                     
1996 3,051 2,667 384 2 51,544 45,611 5,933 2 16.9 17.1 15.5 2      
1997 3,138 2,746 391   52,071 46,127 5,944   16.6 16.8 15.2        
1998 3,230 2,830 400 2 52,526 46,539 5,988 2 16.3 16.4 15.0 2      
1999 3,319 2,911 408   52,875 46,857 6,018   15.9 16.1 14.7   305   222   83  
2000 3,366 2,941 424 2 53,373 47,204 6,169 2 15.9 16.0 14.5 2      
                                     
2001 3,440 3,000 441   53,992 47,672 6,320   15.7 15.9 14.3        
2002 3,476 3,034 442 2 54,403 48,183 6,220 2 15.7 15.9 14.1 2      
2003 3,490 3,049 441   54,639 48,540 6,099   15.7 15.9 13.8   311   236   74  
2004 3,536 3,091 445 2 54,882 48,795 6,087 2 15.5 15.8 13.7 2      
2005 3,593 3,143 450   55,187 49,113 6,073   15.4 15.6 13.5        
                                     
2006 3,622 3,166 456 2 55,307 49,316 5,991 2 15.3 15.6 13.2 2      
2007 3,656 3,200 456   55,201 49,291 5,910   15.1 15.4 13.0   327   246   80  
2008 3,670 3,222 448 2 54,973 49,266 5,707 2 15.0 15.3 12.8 2      
2009 3,647 3,210 437   54,849 49,361 5,488   15.0 15.4 12.5        
2010 3,512 3,099 413 2 54,867 49,484 5,382 2 15.6 16.0 13.0 2      
                                     
2011 3,508 3,103 405   54,790 49,522 5,268   15.6 16.0 13.0   241   173   68  
2012 3,517 3,109 408 2 55,104 49,771 5,333 2 15.7 16.0 13.1 2      
2013 3,555 3,114 441   55,440 50,045 5,396   15.6 16.1 12.2        
2014 3,594 3,132 461 2 55,888 50,313 5,575 2 15.6 16.1 12.1 2      
2015 3,633 3,151 482   56,189 50,438 5,751   15.5 16.0 11.9   325   218   107  
                                     
2016 3,655 3,169 485   56,391 50,615 5,776   15.4 16.0 11.9   351   257   94  
20173 3,641 3,156 485   56,477 50,695 5,781   15.5 16.1 11.9   318   227   92  
20183 3,667 3,179 488   56,518 50,728 5,789   15.4 16.0 11.9   356   262   95  
20193 3,691 3,200 491   56,572 50,770 5,802   15.3 15.9 11.8   355   260   95  
20203 3,708 3,214 493   56,678 50,857 5,821   15.3 15.8 11.8   351   257   94  
                                     
20213 3,724 3,229 495   56,719 50,892 5,827   15.2 15.8 11.8   353   258   94  
20223 3,750 3,251 499   56,865 51,012 5,853   15.2 15.7 11.7   363   266   96  
20233 3,771 3,269 502   56,973 51,098 5,875   15.1 15.6 11.7   360   263   97  
20243 3,795 3,290 505   57,019 51,124 5,894   15.0 15.5 11.7   363   266   97  
20253 3,820 3,311 509   57,029 51,119 5,910   14.9 15.4 11.6   367   269   98  
                                     
20263 3,846 3,333 513   57,050 51,123 5,927   14.8 15.3 11.6   370   271   99  
20273 3,875 3,357 517   57,176 51,228 5,948   14.8 15.3 11.5   376   276   100  
20283 3,906 3,385 522   57,387 51,419 5,969   14.7 15.2 11.4   381   280   101  
—Not available.
1 A teacher is considered to be a new hire for a public or private school if the teacher had not taught in that control of school in the previous year. A teacher who moves from a public to private or a private to public school is considered a new teacher hire, but a teacher who moves from one public school to another public school or one private school to another private school is not considered a new teacher hire.
2 Estimated.
3 Projected.
NOTE: Data for teachers are expressed in full-time equivalents (FTE). Counts of private school teachers and enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12 in schools offering kindergarten or higher grades. Counts of public school teachers and enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12. The pupil/teacher ratio includes teachers for students with disabilities and other special teachers, while these teachers are generally excluded from class size calculations. Ratios for public schools reflect totals reported by states and differ from totals reported for schools or school districts. 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, Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary Day Schools, 1955-56 through 1980-81; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1955 through 1980; 1983-84, 1985-86, and 1987-88 Private School Survey; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1981-82 through 2016-17; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989-90 through 2015-16; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Teacher Data File" and "Private School Teacher Data File," 1999-2000 through 2011-12; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), 2015-16; Elementary and Secondary Teacher Projection Model, 1973 through 2028; and New Teacher Hires Projection Model, 1988 through 2028. (This table was prepared April 2019.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest