Historical summary of public elementary and secondary school statistics: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2017-18

(76KB)

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		2014-15		2015-16		2016-17		2017-18
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		318,301		320,635		322,941		324,986
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		53,691		53,700		53,728		53,694
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		16.9		16.7		16.6		16.5
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		50,313		50,438		50,615		50,686
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		35,370		35,388		35,477		35,496
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		14,943		15,050		15,138		15,190
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		15.7		15.7		15.6
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		93.7		93.9		94.2		94.4
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		29.7		29.8		29.9		30.0
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		47,064		47,248		47,287		47,230
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		8,434		8,467		8,474		8,463
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		---		---		93.5		---		93.2
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		179.2		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		---		---		167.6		---		166.9
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		4,205		4,250		4,294		4,340
Supervisors (in thousands)	---		---	---	---	---	7	7	5	---	---		---		---		---		---		---		---		---		---		---
Principals (in thousands)	---		---	---	---	---	14	31	32	43	64		91		106		126		137		168		175		182		184		189
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		4,030		4,068		4,111		4,151
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		$647,679		$677,219		$704,840		$734,244
Federal government	---		---	---	---	---	2	7	40	156	652		3,220		9,504		12,701		27,098		75,998		55,003		55,975		57,309		57,345
State governments	---		---	---	---	---	160	354	684	2,166	5,768		16,063		45,349		98,239		184,613		258,864		301,530		317,660		331,319		343,952
Local sources, including intermediate	---		---	---	---	---	808	1,728	1,536	3,116	8,327		20,985		42,029		97,608		161,233		261,529		291,147		303,583		316,212		332,947
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		8.5		8.3		8.1		7.8
State governments	---		---	---	---	---	16.5	16.9	30.3	39.8	39.1		39.9		46.8		47.1		49.5		43.4		46.6		46.9		47.0		46.8
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		44.8		44.9		45.3
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		$651,135		$677,605		$706,823		$734,876
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	575,332	⁷	596,202	⁷	619,291	⁷	639,952	⁷
Capital outlay⁸	---		---	26	35	70	154	371	258	1,014	2,662		4,659		6,506		17,781		43,357		56,715		50,610		55,989		61,298		67,346
Interest on school debt	---		---	---	---	---	18	93	131	101	490		1,171		1,874		3,776		9,135		17,232		17,479		17,501		18,338		19,356
Other current expenditures⁹	---		---	---	---	---	3	10	13	36	133		636		598	¹⁰	2,983		5,457		8,356		7,714		7,914		7,895		8,222
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	88.4	⁷	88.0	⁷	87.6	⁷	87.1	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		7.8		8.3		8.7		9.2
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		2.6		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		1.2		1.2		1.1		1.1
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		$57,748		$58,492		$59,752		$60,768
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		96,149		100,071		101,520		105,717
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		2,046		2,113		2,189		2,261
National income per capita¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	773	629	1,607	2,580		4,455		9,954		19,286		29,710		39,213		47,879		49,229		49,801		51,860
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		12,224		12,619		13,096		13,550
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		13,668		14,171		14,780		15,385
National income per pupil in ADA¹³	---		---	---	---	---	---	4,430	3,738	10,757	14,127		21,396		58,510		125,931		189,249		261,971		323,810		334,079		340,105		356,848
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		68.22		70.42		73.09		75.61
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		76.29		79.10		82.48		85.86
	Amounts in constant 2019-20 dollars¹⁶
Total revenues and expenditures
Total revenue receipts (in millions)	---		---	---	---	---	$13,094	$31,386	$41,608	$59,054	$129,098		$274,199		$321,007		$422,482		$566,668		$707,821		$703,924		$731,098		$747,173		$761,184
Federal government	---		---	---	---	---	33	110	733	1,693	5,705		21,924		31,489		25,730		41,174		90,197		59,779		60,428		60,751		59,449
State governments	---		---	---	---	---	2,161	5,315	12,597	23,522	50,496		109,380		150,259		199,015		280,510		307,230		327,714		342,933		351,218		356,572
Local sources, including intermediate	---		---	---	---	---	10,900	25,961	28,279	33,839	72,897		142,895		139,259		197,738		244,984		310,393		316,430		327,736		335,204		345,163
Total expenditures for public schools (in millions)	---		---	---	---	---	$13,985	$34,816	$43,146	$63,405	$136,685		$277,035		$317,960		$431,035		$580,182		$720,434		$707,680		$731,515		$749,275		$761,839
Current expenditures⁶	---		---	---	---	---	11,623	27,704	35,742	50,910	107,936	⁷	233,007	⁷	288,214	⁷	381,321	⁷	492,131	⁷	622,754	⁷	625,294	⁷	643,635	⁷	656,486	⁷	663,432	⁷
Capital outlay⁸	---		---	---	---	---	2,072	5,573	4,748	11,015	23,302		31,726		21,558		36,022		65,879		67,312		55,005		60,444		64,980		69,817
Interest on school debt	---		---	---	---	---	246	1,391	2,410	1,092	4,285		7,972		6,208		7,650		13,881		20,452		18,997		18,893		19,440		20,066
Other current expenditures⁹	---		---	---	---	---	44	148	246	387	1,161		4,330		1,980	¹⁰	6,042		8,292		9,917		8,384		8,543		8,369		8,524
Teacher salaries; income and expenditures per pupil and per capita
Annual salary of classroom teachers¹¹	---		---	---	---	---	$11,756	$21,339	$26,524	$32,693	$43,728		$58,739		$52,915		$63,544		$63,523		$65,715		$62,763		$63,146		$63,341		$62,998
Personal income per member of labor force¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	26,065	24,529	37,412	51,590		67,502		65,746		75,650		87,240		92,851		104,498		108,033		107,618		109,596
Total school expenditures per capita of total population	---		---	---	---	---	134	286	329	425	769		1,376		1,413		1,746		2,079		2,348		2,223		2,281		2,320		2,344
National income per capita¹	---		---	---	---	---	---	11,615	11,575	17,451	22,586		30,337		32,983		39,070		45,143		46,540		52,037		53,146		52,792		53,763
Current expenditure per pupil in ADA^6,12,13	---		---	---	---	---	720	1,303	1,622	2,285	3,284		5,556		7,527		10,088		11,234		13,562		13,286		13,622		13,883		14,047
Total expenditure per pupil in ADA^13,14	---		---	---	---	---	863	1,630	1,946	2,828	4,124		6,503		8,253		11,237		13,050		15,471		14,855		15,298		15,668		15,950
National income per pupil in ADA¹³	---		---	---	---	---	---	66,570	68,809	116,831	123,672		145,693		193,869		255,115		287,554		310,918		351,930		360,659		360,532		369,942
Current expenditure per day per pupil in ADA^6,13,15	---		---	---	---	---	4.5	7.5	9.2	12.7	18.5		31.1		42.2		---		62.6		76.0		74.1		76.0		77.5		78.4
Total expenditure per day per pupil in ADA¹³	---		---	---	---	---	5.4	9.5	11.0	15.9	23.2		36.4		46.2		---		72.8		86.7		82.9		85.4		87.4		89.0
Total expenditure per pupil (in thousands)^2,14	---		---	---	---	---	646.1	1,350.1	1,686.7	2,509.5	3,755.5		5,986.9		7,586.4		10,482.6		12,205.0		14,394.3		13,899.0		14,333.9		14,638.0		14,862.5

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

NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Beginning in 1959-60, data include Alaska and Hawaii. 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 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 2017-18; "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1989-90 through 2017-18; "State Dropout and Completion Data File," 2012-13; and National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), "Public School Data File," 2015-16 and 2017-18. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-national-detail.html; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://www.bea.gov/itable/. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://stats.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm#empstat. National Education Association, Estimates of School Statistics, 1869 through 2020. (This table was prepared February 2021.)

2020 Tables and Figures

All Years of Tables and Figures

Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Download Excel Excel format

(76KB)