Some 3.6 million elementary and secondary school teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in the fall of 2015, with about 3.2 million teachers in public schools and 0.5 million in private schools.
The number of public elementary and secondary school teachers was less than 1 percent higher in 2015 than in 2005. The number of public school teachers increased by a lower percentage than the number of students during that period (3 percent). The number of teachers in 2010 was 1 percent lower than in 2005, but the number increased 2 percent between 2010 and 2015.
In the fall of 2015 the pupil/teacher ratio for public schools was 16.0, compared to 15.6 in 2005. The pupil/teacher ratio in private schools was 11.9 pupils per teacher in 2015, compared to 13.5 in 2005.
| Year | Total | Public | Private |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachers, in thousands | |||
| 1990 | 2,759 | 2,398 | 361 |
| 2000 | 3,366 | 2,941 | 4241 |
| 2005 | 3,593 | 3,143 | 450 |
| 2010 | 3,512 | 3,099 | 4131 |
| 2011 | 3,508 | 3,103 | 405 |
| 2012 | 3,517 | 3,109 | 4081 |
| 2013 | 3,555 | 3,114 | 441 |
| 2014 | 3,594 | 3,132 | 4611 |
| 2015 | 3,633 | 3,151 | 482 |
| Pupil/teacher ratio | |||
| 1990 | 17.0 | 17.2 | 15.61 |
| 2000 | 15.9 | 16.0 | 14.51 |
| 2005 | 15.4 | 15.6 | 13.5 |
| 2010 | 15.6 | 16.0 | 13.01 |
| 2011 | 15.6 | 16.0 | 13.0 |
| 2012 | 15.7 | 16.0 | 13.11 |
| 2013 | 15.6 | 16.1 | 12.2 |
| 2014 | 15.6 | 16.1 | 12.11 |
| 2015 | 15.5 | 16.0 | 11.9 |