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Digest of Education Statistics
2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 216.30. Number and percentage distribution of public elementary and secondary students and schools, by traditional or charter school status and selected characteristics: School years 2011-12 and 2021-22
Selected characteristic 2011-12 2021-22
Total, all public schools Traditional (noncharter) schools Charter schools Total, all public schools Traditional (noncharter) schools Charter schools
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fall enrollment (in thousands) 49,256 47,199 2,058 49,090   45,415   3,675  
                   
Percentage distribution of students                  
Sex 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
Male 51.4 51.4 49.6 51.3   51.4   49.8  
Female 48.6 48.6 50.4 48.7   48.6   50.2  
                   
Race/ethnicity 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
White 51.7 52.4 35.6 45.3   46.5   29.4  
Black 15.8 15.2 28.7 14.9   14.2   24.4  
Hispanic 23.7 23.6 28.0 28.4   27.8   36.1  
Asian/Pacific Islander 5.1 5.1 4.0 5.8   5.8   4.7  
Asian 4.7 4.8 3.5 5.4   5.5   4.3  
Pacific Islander 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4   0.4   0.4  
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.9   0.9   0.7  
Two or more races 2.6 2.6 2.8 4.7   4.7   4.7  
                   
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price
     lunch program1
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
0 to 25.0 23.7 23.8 21.9 24.2   24.8   17.3  
25.1 to 50.0 27.6 28.0 18.4 28.8   29.4   20.5  
50.1 to 75.0 25.2 25.4 21.0 21.9   21.9   22.6  
More than 75.0 18.9 18.3 30.8 21.5   20.7   31.3  
Missing/school does not participate 4.6 4.4 7.9 3.6   3.3   8.3  
                   
Number of teachers 3,028,283 2,920,353 107,929 3,139,258 2 2,948,111 2 191,146 2
Pupil/teacher ratio3 16.3 16.3 17.6 15.4   15.2   17.3  
                   
Total number of schools 98,328 92,632 5,696 99,239   91,392   7,847  
                   
Percentage distribution of schools                  
School level 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
Prekindergarten 1.1 1.1 0.5 1.5   1.7   0.3  
Elementary 53.3 53.8 44.7 52.9   53.3   47.2  
Middle 17.1 17.4 12.2 16.4   16.9   10.4  
Secondary and high 23.6 23.3 28.7 23.9   23.6   27.3  
Other, ungraded, and not applicable/not reported 4.9 4.4 13.9 5.3   4.4   14.8  
                   
Size of enrollment 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
Less than 300 30.5 28.9 55.8 32.0   31.0   43.5  
300 to 499 27.7 28.0 23.1 29.5   29.9   24.7  
500 to 999 32.8 33.8 17.0 29.5   30.0   24.2  
1,000 or more 9.0 9.3 4.2 9.0   9.1   7.6  
                   
Racial/ethnic concentration                  
More than 50 percent White 59.7 61.1 37.5 51.5   53.6   28.1  
More than 50 percent Black 10.3 9.4 25.3 9.3   8.3   21.6  
More than 50 percent Hispanic 15.0 14.6 21.8 18.6   17.6   29.9  
No majority racial/ethnic group 13.4 13.4 13.6 18.8   18.8   18.7  
                   
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price
     lunch program1
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
0 to 25.0 19.7 19.7 18.7 20.3   20.6   16.1  
25.1 to 50.0 25.8 26.3 17.9 27.0   27.7   18.6  
50.1 to 75.0 25.7 26.1 19.9 21.7   21.7   21.9  
More than 75.0 20.5 19.7 33.8 22.4   21.4   34.2  
Missing/school does not participate 8.3 8.2 9.7 8.6   8.6   9.2  
                   
Locale 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 4 100.0 4 100.0 4
City 26.2 24.4 55.4 27.4 4 24.9 4 56.3 4
Suburban 27.3 27.7 21.2 31.5 4 32.0 4 25.7 4
Town 13.6 14.0 7.4 13.1 4 13.7 4 6.0 4
Rural 32.9 33.9 16.0 28.0 4 29.4 4 12.0 4
                   
Region 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0   100.0   100.0  
Northeast 15.5 15.9 9.7 15.0   15.4   10.0  
Midwest 26.1 26.3 22.3 26.0   26.6   19.8  
South 34.9 35.1 30.8 34.8   34.8   35.0  
West 23.5 22.7 37.2 24.2   23.2   35.2  
1The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program. To be eligible for free lunch under the program, a student must be from a household with an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty threshold; to be eligible for reduced-price lunch, a student must be from a household with an income between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty threshold. The free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) counts show large shifts in the last several years in some states. Based on state explanations, these changes were due to (1) the Seamless Summer Option (beginning October 1, 2020), which allowed schools to provide meals to all students, regardless of demonstrated need, and (2) the shift away from in-person instruction due to the coronavirus pandemic (particularly for school year 2020-21), which caused a decrease in the number of students applying for FRPL because they were not present to apply for it. Data for 2021-22 are missing for Alaska.
2Teacher data are missing for Nevada for 2021-22.
3Pupil/teacher ratio based on schools that reported both enrollment and teacher data.
4Excludes schools with missing locale information.
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2011-12 and 2021-22; and Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE), "Public School File," 2011-12 and 2020-21. (This table was prepared October 2022.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest