Historical summary of public elementary and secondary school statistics: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2016-17

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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		2013-14		2014-15		2015-16		2016-17
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		316,058		318,386		320,743		323,071
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		53,721		53,693		53,702		53,727
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		17.0		16.9		16.7		16.6
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		50,045		50,313		50,438		50,615
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		35,251		35,370		35,388		35,477
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		14,794		14,943		15,050		15,138
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		15.8		15.8		15.7		15.7
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		93.2		93.7		93.9		94.2
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		29.6		29.7		29.8		29.9
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		---		---		---		---
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		46,830		47,064		47,248		47,286
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		8,404		8,434		8,467		8,474
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		---		---		---		93.0		---
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		179.5		179.2		179.2		179.2
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		---		---		---		166.6		---
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		4,167		4,205		4,250		4,294
Supervisors (in thousands)	---		---	---	---	---	7	7	5	---	---		---		---		---		---		---		---		---		---		---
Principals (in thousands)	---		---	---	---	---	14	31	32	43	64		91		106		126		137		168		168		175		182		184
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		3,999		4,030		4,068		4,111
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		$623,650		$647,679		$677,219		$705,267
Federal government	---		---	---	---	---	2	7	40	156	652		3,220		9,504		12,701		27,098		75,998		54,506		55,003		55,975		57,311
State governments	---		---	---	---	---	160	354	684	2,166	5,768		16,063		45,349		98,239		184,613		258,864		288,637		301,530		317,660		331,322
Local sources, including intermediate	---		---	---	---	---	808	1,728	1,536	3,116	8,327		20,985		42,029		97,608		161,233		261,529		280,507		291,147		303,583		316,635
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		8.7		8.5		8.3		8.1
State governments	---		---	---	---	---	16.5	16.9	30.3	39.8	39.1		39.9		46.8		47.1		49.5		43.4		46.3		46.6		46.9		47.0
Local sources, including intermediate	---		---	---	---	---	83.2	82.7	68.0	57.3	56.5		52.1		43.4		46.8		43.2		43.9		45.0		45.0		44.8		44.9
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		$625,018		$651,135		$677,605		$707,601
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	553,501	⁷	575,332	⁷	596,202	⁷	619,165	⁷
Capital outlay⁸	---		---	26	35	70	154	371	258	1,014	2,662		4,659		6,506		17,781		43,357		56,715		46,438		50,610		55,989		61,442
Interest on school debt	---		---	---	---	---	18	93	131	101	490		1,171		1,874		3,776		9,135		17,232		17,152		17,479		17,501		18,334
Other current expenditures⁹	---		---	---	---	---	3	10	13	36	133		636		598	¹⁰	2,983		5,457		8,356		7,926		7,714		7,914		8,661
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	88.6	⁷	88.4	⁷	88.0	⁷	87.5	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		7.4		7.8		8.3		8.7
Interest on school debt	---		---	---	---	---	1.8	4.0	5.6	1.7	3.1		2.9		2.0		1.8		2.4		2.8		2.7		2.7		2.6		2.6
Other current expenditures⁹	---		---	---	---	---	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.8		1.6		0.6	¹⁰	1.4		1.4		1.4		1.3		1.2		1.2		1.2
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		$55,370		$56,826		$57,626		$58,316		$59,539
Personal income per member of labor force¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	1,734	1,333	3,445	5,893		9,913		19,842		37,343		57,416		78,234		91,262		96,149		100,031		101,272
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		1,978		2,045		2,113		2,190
National income per capita¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	773	629	1,607	2,580		4,455		9,954		19,286		29,710		39,206		45,861		47,874		49,223		49,691
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		11,819		12,224		12,619		13,094
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		13,174		13,668		14,171		14,778
National income per pupil in ADA¹³	---		---	---	---	---	---	4,430	3,738	10,757	14,127		21,396		58,510		125,931		189,249		261,921		309,519		323,865		334,149		339,501
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		65.86		68.22		70.42		73.07
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		73.43		76.29		79.10		82.49
	Amounts in constant 2018-19 dollars¹⁶
Total revenues and expenditures
Total revenue receipts (in millions)	---		---	---	---	---	$12,892	$30,903	$40,967	$58,144	$127,109		$269,975		$316,063		$415,975		$557,940		$696,919		$672,227		$693,081		$719,837		$736,111
Federal government	---		---	---	---	---	33	109	721	1,667	5,617		21,586		31,004		25,333		40,540		88,808		58,752		58,859		59,498		59,817
State governments	---		---	---	---	---	2,127	5,233	12,403	23,160	49,718		107,695		147,945		195,950		276,189		302,498		311,120		322,667		337,651		345,812
Local sources, including intermediate	---		---	---	---	---	10,732	25,561	27,843	33,317	71,774		140,694		137,114		194,692		241,211		305,612		302,356		311,556		322,688		330,482
Total expenditures for public schools (in millions)	---		---	---	---	---	$13,770	$34,280	$42,481	$62,428	$134,579		$272,768		$313,063		$424,396		$571,246		$709,338		$673,702		$696,780		$720,248		$738,547
Current expenditures⁶	---		---	---	---	---	11,444	27,278	35,191	50,126	106,274	⁷	229,418	⁷	283,775	⁷	375,448	⁷	484,551	⁷	613,162	⁷	596,615	⁷	615,662	⁷	633,722	⁷	646,242	⁷
Capital outlay⁸	---		---	---	---	---	2,040	5,488	4,675	10,846	22,943		31,237		21,226		35,467		64,864		66,275		50,056		54,158		59,513		64,129
Interest on school debt	---		---	---	---	---	242	1,369	2,372	1,076	4,219		7,850		6,113		7,532		13,667		20,137		18,489		18,705		18,602		19,136
Other current expenditures⁹	---		---	---	---	---	44	145	242	381	1,143		4,263		1,950	¹⁰	5,949		8,164		9,764		8,544		8,255		8,412		9,040
Teacher salaries; income and expenditures per pupil and per capita
Annual salary of classroom teachers¹¹	---		---	---	---	---	$11,575	$21,011	$26,115	$32,189	$43,055		$57,834		$52,100		$62,566		$62,545		$64,703		$61,252		$61,666		$61,986		$62,143
Personal income per member of labor force¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	25,663	24,151	36,836	50,795		66,462		64,733		74,485		85,896		91,421		98,371		102,889		106,326		105,701
Total school expenditures per capita of total population	---		---	---	---	---	132	281	324	418	757		1,354		1,391		1,719		2,047		2,312		2,132		2,188		2,246		2,286
National income per capita¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	11,436	11,397	17,182	22,238		29,870		32,475		38,468		44,448		45,814		49,433		51,230		52,321		51,864
Current expenditure per pupil in ADA^6,12,13	---		---	---	---	---	709	1,283	1,597	2,249	3,234		5,471		7,411		9,933		11,061		13,353		12,740		13,081		13,413		13,667
Total expenditure per pupil in ADA^13,14	---		---	---	---	---	850	1,605	1,916	2,784	4,060		6,403		8,125		11,064		12,849		15,232		14,201		14,626		15,063		15,424
National income per pupil in ADA¹³	---		---	---	---	---	---	65,545	67,749	115,032	121,768		143,449		190,883		251,185		283,125		306,070		333,628		346,568		355,178		354,348
Current expenditure per day per pupil in ADA^6,13,15	---		---	---	---	---	4.4	7.4	9.1	12.5	18.2		30.6		41.5		---		61.7		74.8		71.0		73.0		74.8		76.3
Total expenditure per day per pupil in ADA¹³	---		---	---	---	---	5.3	9.3	10.9	15.6	22.8		35.8		45.5		---		71.7		85.3		79.1		81.6		84.1		86.1

---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. No Consumer Price Index data available for years prior to 1919-20.

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; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1989-90 through 2017-18; "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1989-90 through 2016-17; and "State Dropout and Completion Data File," 2012-13. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, retrieved November 29, 2019, from https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-national-detail.html#par_textimage_57373479. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, retrieved January 1, 2020, from https://www.bea.gov/itable/. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved January 1, 2020, from https://stats.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm#empstat. (This table was prepared January 2020.)

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