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Education Statistics Quarterly
Vol 2, Issue 2, Topic: Featured Topic: The Common Core of Data
Schools and Districts: Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1998-99
By: 
Lee Hoffman
 
This article was originally published as a Statistics in Brief report. The universe data are primarily from the following two components of the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD): "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey" and "Local Education Agency Universe Survey." Technical notes and definitions from the original report have been omitted.
 
 

The 50 states and the District of Columbia reported more than 90,000 public elementary/secondary schools in 1998-99. Most of these were regular schools, which offer a comprehensive curriculum and may provide a range of other programs and services as well. Considerably smaller numbers of schools focused primarily on special education, vocational/technical or career education, or alternative programs. Students in these specialized schools are often also enrolled in a regular school and reported only in the membership of that regular school.

Number of public elementary and secondary schools in 1998-99
Number of public elementary and secondary schools in 1998-99

Only those schools that reported membership are included in the following discussion and tables.

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In the 1998-99 school year, 88,548 public schools provided instruction to 46.5 million students in the United States (table 1).1 This was an increase of about 0.9 percent from the previous year's 46.1 million students and a gain of 1.0 percent from the 87,631 schools in 1997-98.2 Most of these 1998-99 school year institutions were regular schools (82,962). Among the total number of schools for which student membership was reported were 1,625 schools whose major function was to provide special education for students with disabilities and 356 identified as vocational, technical, or career schools. Some 3,605 schools were reported to offer other alternative programs.

The great majority of public school students, 98.1 percent, were enrolled in regular schools. An additional 0.4 percent were in special education schools, 0.5 percent in vocational schools, and 1.1 percent in alternative schools. Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and North Dakota reported having only regular schools. Delaware, Massachusetts, and Ohio reported 3 percent or more of their students in vocational schools. A comparable percentage of students from the District of Columbia were in special education schools, and at least 3 percent of the students in Alaska, California, and Minnesota attended alternative schools.

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Among the 88,548 public schools with students in membership during the 1998-99 school year, 58.3 percent spanned the traditional primary grades, typically beginning with prekindergarten or kindergarten and going no higher than grade 8 (table 2). About half (49.9 percent) of the nation's public school students were enrolled in these schools. An additional 17.4 percent of the schools covered the upper elementary and middle grades and offered instruction to 19.8 percent of public school students.

High schools represented 19.1 percent of the schools reported and enrolled 27.6 percent of the total number of students. Some 5.2 percent of schools followed some other grade configuration, including schools that spanned all of grades kindergarten through 12 and those that were ungraded.

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Table 3 shows that 28.9 percent of the students attended school in a large or midsize city, compared to 17.6 percent who were educated in rural schools. The urban fringes of large and midsize cities accounted for the greatest proportion of students (42.1 percent) and of schools (36.1 percent). Some 19.0 percent of schools—and 9.7 percent of students—were in rural settings that were not associated with an urban fringe area.

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School districts ranged greatly in size, as measured by the number of students in membership. A very few districts (24) enrolled 100,000 or more students, while a larger number (1,762) reported fewer than 150 students (table 4). While small in number, the largest districts served a considerable portion of students in America's public schools. Although only 1.7 percent of districts served 25,000 or more students, fully 32.8 percent of students received their education in these largest districts. To show the contrast from a different perspective, almost half of the school districts in the United States had fewer than 1,000 students in 1998-99. However, more than half of the public school students in this country attended schools in districts of 10,000 students or more.

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In 1998-99, there were 15,176 public education agencies providing education services directly to students in the United States. Some 678 of these were operated directly by state or federal agencies, or had a primary role other than that of administering regular educational services. However, the majority of public education agencies (14,498) were regular school districts providing education to children within their jurisdiction (table 5).

States vary in the organization of their regular education agencies. Hawaii and the District of Columbia each consist of a single K-12 school district. Twelve other states include only comprehensive K-12 school districts. On the other hand, in Montana and Vermont only 12.0 and 31.4 percent, respectively, of the students were served in this type of school district.

Among the 14,498 regular school districts with pupils in membership, 3,168 were responsible for only the elementary grades, beginning with grades prekindergarten, kindergarten, or 1 and ending at grade 8 or below (table 5). These districts enrolled 5.7 percent of the nation's public school students. An additional 561 agencies could be characterized as secondary school districts, with a low grade of 7 or higher and a high grade of 7 to 12. Some 2.3 percent of all students attended schools in these districts. An additional 116 districts had some other grade configuration. However, almost three out of four districts (10,653) provided instruction from the beginning of school through graduation. Fully 91.9 percent of all students were enrolled in these comprehensive school districts in 1998-99.

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School year 1998-99 was the first in which states were asked to "flag" Title I, magnet, and charter schools in their reports. Table 6 indicates that not all states were able to report these new items. Of those that did provide information, 21 states had one or more charter schools (with 144 schools, California had the greatest number), and 16 states identified magnet schools. California had the most magnet schools (472), followed by Illinois (315) and North Carolina (119). Among the 32 states that flagged schools eligible for Title I, 14 reported that at least half their student population was enrolled in these schools. The proportions were smaller for schools with a Title I schoolwide program. Only Mississippi had as many as half of its students in these schools.

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Because participation in the Free Lunch Program depends on income, eligibility for this program is often used to estimate student needs. Seven states did not report free lunch eligibility data for at least 70 percent of their schools, so national totals could not be calculated (table 7). Within those states and schools that did provide this information, the proportion of students who were reported as eligible to receive a free lunch ranged from a low of 11.2 percent in New Hampshire to a high of 63.4 percent in Mississippi.

Nationally, about one in every eight students was reported to have an individualized education program (IEP), meaning that the student participates in special education services. The percentage of students with IEPs ranged from 4.9 percent in Michigan to 18.2 percent in New Mexico.

New items for 1998-99 asked for the numbers of students receiving services for limited English proficiency (LEP) and services as migrant students. Only 27 states answered the item about LEP program participation. In 1998-99, almost 1.4 million students received LEP services in California, as did more than 500,000 in Texas. Thirteen states reported the number of students provided with migrant services during the 1997-98 school year. California served some 192,000 migrant students, and Texas provided almost 74,000 migrant students with program services.

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The proportion of students in different racial/ethnic categories did not change much between the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years.3 In 1998-99, some 1.2 percent of students were American Indian/Alaska Native (also 1.2 percent in the previous year), and 4.0 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander (3.9 percent in the previous year). The proportions for 1998-99 and 1997-98, respectively, were 15.1 percent and 14.5 percent for Hispanics; 17.3 percent and 17.1 percent for black, non-Hispanic; and 62.5 percent and 63.4 percent for white, non-Hispanic (data not shown).

Table 8 shows the number of minority students (all groups except white, non-Hispanic) and the percentage of students who are minority group members in cities, urban fringe areas, and small towns or rural areas. In all but five states the proportion of minority students is highest in cities. At least three-fourths of the students are minority group members in the large and midsize cities of six states—Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, and New York—and in the District of Columbia.

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Footnotes

1 Although schools from the outlying areas, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (overseas) are included in the tables, national totals are limited to the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

2 Comparisons are based on the previous edition of this Statistics in Brief, which covers the 1997-98 school year: Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1997-98 (Hoffman 1999).

3 Data for 1997-98 are from Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1997-98 (Hoffman 1999); 1998-99 data are from Public School Student, Staff, and Graduate Counts by State: School Year 1998-99 (Bairu 2000).


Bairu, G. (2000). Public School Student, Staff, and Graduate Counts by State: School Year 1998-99 (NCES 2000-330). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Hoffman, L. (1999). Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1997-98 (NCES 1999-322. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

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Table 1. — Number of public elementary and secondary schools with membership and percentage of students in membership, by type of school and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 1. -Number of public elementary and secondary schools with membership and percentage of students in membership, by type of school and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 1. -Number of public elementary and secondary schools with membership and percentage of students in membership, by type of school and by state: School year 1998-99

— Distributions are not published for Bureau of Indian Affairs schools because data were available for only 38 of 188 schools.

NOTE: Table excludes 2,348 schools (22 of these in outlying areas) for which no students were reported in membership. U.S. totals exclude outlying areas. Although type of school is a mutually exclusive category, many regular schools include special, vocational, or alternative education programs. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Percentages of less than 0.05 are rounded to 0.0. Total student membership is reported from the "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education."

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey" and "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1998-99.

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Table 2.— Percentage of public elementary and secondary schools providing instruction and of students in membership, by specified level of instruction and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 2.- Percentage of public elementary and secondary schools providing instruction and of students in membership, by specified level of instruction and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 2.- Percentage of public elementary and secondary schools providing instruction and of students in membership, by specified level of instruction and by state: School year 1998-99

— Distributions are not published for Bureau of Indian Affairs schools because data were available for only 38 of 188 schools.

NOTE: Instructional levels are primary (low grade prekindergarten to 3, high grade up to 8); middle (low grade 4 to 7, high grade 4 to 9); high (low grade 7 to 12, high grade 12 only); and other (any configuration not falling within the previous three, including ungraded schools). For states that did not provide a grade span, grade span was determined by the highest and lowest grades in which students were reported. Table excludes 2,348 schools (22 in outlying areas) for which no students were reported in membership. U.S. totals exclude outlying areas. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1998-99.

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Table 3.—Number and percentage distribution of public schools with membership and percentage distribution of students in membership, by community type: School year 1998-99
Table 3.- Number and percentage distribution of public schools with membership and percentage distribution of students in membership, by community type: School year 1998-99

NOTE: Community types classify the location of a school relative to populous areas. Table includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Table excludes 2,326 schools for which no students were reported in membership. Table excludes 29 schools for which no locale codes could be assigned. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1998-99.

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Table 4.—Number and percentage distribution of regular public elementary and secondary school districts and students, by district membership size: School year 1998-99
Table 4.- Number and percentage distribution of regular public elementary and secondary school districts and students, by district membership size: School year 1998-99

NOTE: Table includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and excludes 393 regular school districts for which no students were reported in membership. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 1998-99.

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Table 5.—Number of regular public school districts providing instruction and percentage of students in membership, by grade span and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 5.- Number of regular public school districts providing instruction and percentage of students in membership, by grade span and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 5.- Number of regular public school districts providing instruction and percentage of students in membership, by grade span and by state: School year 1998-99
Table 5.- Number of regular public school districts providing instruction and percentage of students in membership, by grade span and by state: School year 1998-99

NOTE: For states that did not provide a grade span, grade span was determined by the highest and lowest grades served among all schools associated with the district. "Other" includes all grade configurations not reported in the specified categories and includes ungraded districts. Table excludes 393 regular school districts for which no students were reported in membership. U.S. totals exclude outlying areas. Table includes 12 Defense Department school districts for military personnel overseas, which are technically federally operated agencies. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Percentages of less than 0.05 are rounded to 0.0.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey" and "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 1998-99.

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Table 6.—Number of Title I, magnet, and charter schools and percentage of students served, by state: School year 1998-99
Table 6.- Number of Title I, magnet, and charter schools and percentage of students served, by state: School year 1998-99
Table 6.- Number of Title I, magnet, and charter schools and percentage of students served, by state: School year 1998-99

— Less than 70 percent of schools in noted states reported data; symbol does not distinguish states with missing data from those that do not operate that type of school. U.S. total not shown.

*Number of Title I eligible schools includes those with and without schoolwide Title I programs.

NOTE: Percentages are based on schools reporting. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Percentages of less than 0.05 are rounded to 0.0.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1998-99.

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Table 7.—Number and percentage of public school students participating in selected programs, by state: School year 1998-99
Table 7.- Number and percentage of public school students participating in selected programs, by state: School year 1998-99
Table 7.- Number and percentage of public school students participating in selected programs, by state: School year 1998-99

— Less than 70 percent of schools or agencies in noted states reported data. U.S. total not shown.

1Receipt of migrant services was reported for the previous (1997-98) school year. Migrant students include those who were enrolled at any time during the regular school year.

2State may not have reported students eligible for reduced-price meals.

NOTE: Percentages are based on schools and agencies reporting. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Percentages of less than 0.05 are rounded to 0.0.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey" and "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 1998-99.

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Table 8.—Number of minority public school students, by state, and percentage of minority enrollment, by community type and state: School year 1998-99 Percentage of minority enrollment by community type Number of minority City, large and Urban fringe Small town State Total students students midsize of city or rural
Table 8.- Number of minority public school students, by state, and percentage of minority enrollment, by community type and state: School year 1998-99
Table 8.- Number of minority public school students, by state, and percentage of minority enrollment, by community type and state: School year 1998-99
Table 8.- Number of minority public school students, by state, and percentage of minority enrollment, by community type and state: School year 1998-99

— Less than 70 percent of schools in noted states reported. U.S. total not shown.

NOTE: Percentages are based on schools reporting. U.S. totals exclude outlying areas. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey" and "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1998-99.

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Data sources: The following components of the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD): "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,"1997-98 and 1998-99; "Local Education Agency Universe Survey,," 1998-99; and "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1997-98 and 1998-99.

For technical information, see the complete report:

Hoffman, L. (2000). Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1998-99 (NCES 2000-333 [Revised]) .

Author affiliation: L. Hoffman, NCES.

For questions about content, contact Lee Hoffman (lee.offman@ed.gov).

To obtain the complete report (NCES 2000-333 [Revised]), visit the NCES Web Site (http://nces.ed.gov) or contact Lena McDowell (lena.mcdowell@ed.gov) .

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