• Participation in Formal Education
• Elementary/Secondary Education
• Higher Education
• Graduates, Degrees, and Attainment
• Education Expenditures
• Summary
• Reference

The publication contains information on a variety of subjects in the field of education statistics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to educational attainment, finances, federal funds for education, employment and income of graduates, libraries, and international education. Supplemental information on population trends, attitudes on education, education characteristics of the labor force, government finances, and economic trends provides background for evaluating education data.

In addition to updating many of the statistics that have appeared in previous years, this edition contains a significant amount of new material, including

• parental involvement in education-related activities;
• number of hours young children spend in day-care programs;
• performance of 8th-grade students in music, theatre, and visual arts;
• finances of nonprofit institutions of higher education;
• international comparisons of the performance of 12th-grade students in mathematics and science; and
• percentage of home computer users using specific applications.

In the fall of 1998, about 67.3 million persons were enrolled in American schools and colleges (table A). About 3.8 million were employed as elementary and secondary school teachers and as college faculty. Other professional, administrative, and support staff of educational institutions numbered 4.2 million. Thus, about 75 million people were involved, directly or indirectly, in providing or receiving formal education. In a nation with a population of about 270 million, more than 1 out of every 4 persons participated in formal education.

Table A.—Estimated number of participants in elementary and secondary education and in higher education: Fall 1998 (In millions)

Since the enrollment rates of kindergarten and elementary school age children have not changed much in recent years, increases in elementary school enrollment have been driven primarily by increases in the number of young people. Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools rose 19 percent between 1985 and 1998. The fastest growth occurred in the elementary grades, where enrollment rose 24 percent over the same period, from 27.0 million in 1985 to a record high of 33.5 million in 1998. Secondary enrollments declined 8 percent from 1985 to 1990, but then rose by 17 percent from 1990 to 1998, for a net increase of percent. Private school enrollment grew more slowly than public school enrollment over this period, rising 7 percent, from 5.6 million in 1985 to 5.9 million in 1998. As a result, the percentage of students enrolled in private schools declined slightly, from 12 percent in 1985 to 11 percent in 1998.

NCES forecasts record levels of enrollment during the late 1990s. The fall 1998 public school enrollment marks a new record, and new records are expected every year through the early 2000s. Public elementary enrollment is projected to grow slowly over the next few years and then decline slightly, so that the fall 2008 projection is almost the same as the 1998 enrollment. In contrast, public secondary school enrollment is expected to have a substantial increase of 11 percent between 1998 and 2008.

An estimated 3.1 million elementary and secondary school teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in the fall of 1998. This number has risen in recent years, up about 7 percent since 1988. The number of public school teachers in 1998 was about 2.7 million and the number of private school teachers was about 0.4 million. About 1.9 million teachers taught in elementary schools, while about 1.2 million were teaching at the secondary level.

The number of public school teachers has risen at about the same rate as the number of students over the past 10 years, resulting in very small changes in the pupil/teacher ratio. In the fall of 1998, there were 17.2 public school pupils per teacher, compared with 17.3 public school pupils per teacher 10 years earlier. During the same time period, the pupil/teacher ratio in private schools fell from 15.2 to 14.9. Despite the historical trend toward lower pupil/teacher ratios, the fluctuations since 1990 suggest stability in the pupil/teacher ratio.

The salaries of public school teachers, which lost purchasing power to inflation during the 1970s, rose faster than the inflation rate in the 1980s. The rising salaries reflected an interest by state and local education agencies in boosting teacher salary schedules and, to some extent, an increase in teachers' experience and education levels. Since 1990-91, salaries for teachers have fallen slightly after adjusting for inflation. The average salary for teachers in 1997-98 was $39,385.

Reading. Overall, the reading achievement scores for the country's 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students are mixed. Reading performance scores for 9- and 13-year-olds were somewhat higher in 1996 than they were in 1971. However, there has been little change since the mid-1980s. The reading performance of 17-year-olds was about the same in 1996 as it was in 1971. Black 13- and 17-year-olds exhibited higher reading performance in 1996 than in 1971. Black 9-year-olds' performance improved significantly between 1971 and 1980, but it has not improved further. The performance levels of white 9- and 13-year-olds also rose between 1971 and 1996. Separate data for Hispanics were not gathered in 1971, but changes between 1975 and 1996 indicate an increase among 9-year-olds. There was no significant difference between the 1975 and 1996 reading performance of 13- and 17-year-old Hispanics.

Mathematics. Results from assessments of mathematics proficiency indicate that 9- and 13-year-old students improved their performance between 1973 and 1996. However, there has been very little change for 9-year-olds since 1990, and the performance of older students on advanced mathematical operations has been stable. The proportion of 17-year-olds who demonstrated skill with moderately complex procedures and reasoning rose from 52 percent in 1978 to 60 percent in 1996. During the same time period, the proportion of 17-year-olds with skill in multistep problem solving and algebra remained unchanged.

White, black, and Hispanic students improved their mathematics performance between 1973 and 1996, among all three age groups. Mathematics scores for white, black, and Hispanic 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds improved between 1986 and 1996.

A 1996 voluntary assessment of the states found that mathematics proficiency varied widely among eighth-graders in the 42 jurisdictions (40 states, Guam, and the District of Columbia) that participated in the program. Overall, 62 percent of eighth-grade students performed at or above the basic level in mathematics. Only four states, the District of Columbia, and Guam had fewer than 50 percent of students performing at least at the basic level in math. Ten states had 70 percent or more of their students performing at or above the basic level.

Science. Long-term changes in science performance have been mixed, though changes over the past 10 years have been generally positive. In 1996, science performance among 17-year-olds was lower than in 1970, but higher than in 1986. The science performance level of 13-year-olds was higher in 1996 than in 1986, recouping earlier declines. The science performance of 9-year-olds increased between 1986 and 1996, after showing no significant change between 1970 and 1986.

The science performance of white 9- and 13-year-olds was about the same in 1996 as it was in 1970, and the performance of 17-year-olds was lower in 1996. However, the performance at each of the three age groups was higher in 1996 than in 1986. Black and Hispanic 9- and 13-year-olds had higher science performance in 1996 than in the 1970s. Black 17-year-olds showed a decline through 1982 but an increase by 1996. Despite significant gains by younger black and Hispanic students, their average performance remains lower than for white students. Although the performance gap between black and white students has narrowed, the science performance for black 13-year-olds was slightly lower than the average for white 9-year-olds in 1996.

International comparisons. The results of a 1995 international assessment in math and science show that U.S. fourth- and eighth-graders compare more favorably with other countries in science than in mathematics. In mathematics, U.S. eighth-graders scored below the international average, falling below 20 of the 41 countries tested. Fourth-graders performed above the international average, scoring below 7 of the 26 countries tested, including Singapore, Korea, and Japan. Students at both the fourth- and eighth-grade levels scored above the international average in science. Eighth-grade students in the United States were outperformed by 4 out of 41 countries. Fourth-grade students once again compared more favorably with their international counterparts than eighth-grade students. Out of 26 countries that participated in the fourth-grade assessment, only 1 country outperformed the U.S. students in science.

The international standing of U.S. students was stronger at the 8th grade than at the 12th grade in both mathematics and science among the countries that participated in the assessments at both grade levels. U.S. 12th-graders performed below the international average and among the lowest of the 21 countries on the assessment of mathematics general knowledge. U.S. students were outperformed by those in 14 countries and outperformed those in 2 countries. U.S. 12th-graders also performed below the international average and among the lowest of the 21 countries on the assessment of science general knowledge. U.S. students were outperformed by students in 11 countries, and they outperformed students in 2 countries. U.S. students' scores were not significantly different from those of seven countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and the Russian Federation (Takahira et al., 17 and 18).

Public perception about problems facing the local public schools has shifted in the past several years. Between 1985 and 1990, an increasing proportion of people believed that drug use was a major problem facing schools. Then, the proportion of people who felt drug use was a major problem facing schools fell, from 38 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 1998. In the latest survey, lack of discipline was cited as a major problem by 14 percent of the population; fighting, gangs, and violence was cited by 15 percent; and the lack of financial support was cited by 12 percent.

College enrollment hit a record level of 14.5 million in fall 1992 and was expected to reach a new high in 1998, after falling slightly between 1993 and 1995. Despite decreases in the traditional college-age population during the 1980s and early 1990s, total enrollment has increased because of the high enrollment rate of older women and a rising rate of college attendance for recent high school graduates. Since 1980, the number of part-time students has generally increased at a faster rate than full-time students.

During the fall of 1995, there were 932,000 faculty members in higher education institutions. Making up this figure were 551,000 full-time and 381,000 part-time faculty. In 1992, full-time instructors generally taught more hours and more students than part-time instructors, with 61 percent of full-time instructors teaching 8 or more hours per week and two-thirds teaching 50 or more students. About 30 percent of part-time instructors taught 8 or more hours per week and 30 percent taught 50 or more students.

White males constituted a disproportionate share of full-time college faculty in 1995. Overall, about 57 percent of full-time faculty were white males. However, this distribution varied substantially by rank of faculty. Among full professors, the proportion of white males was 75 percent. The proportion was somewhat lower among the lower ranked faculty, with white males making up 39 percent of the lecturers.

The number of high school graduates in 1997-98 totaled about 2.7 million. Approximately 2.4 million graduated from public schools and less than 0.3 million graduated from private schools. The number of high school graduates has declined from its peak in 1976-77, when 3.2 million people earned their diplomas. The dropout rate declined over this period, from 14 percent of all 16- to 24-year-olds in 1977 to 11 percent in 1997. The number of degrees conferred by institutions of higher education during the 1997-98 school year by degree level has been projected: 520,000 associate degrees; 1,172,000 bachelor's degrees; 406,000 master's degrees; 78,400 first-professional degrees; and 45,200 doctor's degrees.

The Bureau of the Census has collected annual statistics on the educational attainment of the population in terms of years of school completed. Between 1980 and 1997, the proportion of the adult population 25 years of age and over with 4 years of high school or more rose from 69 percent to 82 percent, and the proportion of adults with at least 4 years of college increased from 17 percent to 24 percent. In contrast, the proportion of young adults (25- to 29-year-olds) completing high school showed a small increase of about 2 percentage points.

Expenditures for public and private education, from preprimary through graduate school, are estimated at $584 billion for 1997-98. The expenditures of elementary and secondary schools are expected to total about $351 billion for 1997-98, while those of institutions of higher education will be about $233 billion. Viewed in another context, the total expenditures for education are expected to amount to about 7.2 percent of the gross domestic product in 1997-98, about the same percentage as in the recent past.

The statistical highlights presented here provide a quantitative description of the current American education scene. Clearly, from the large number of participants, the number of years that people spend in school, and the large sums expended by educational institutions, it is evident that the American people have a high regard for education. Assessment data indicate that there have been improvements in mathematics and science performance between 1986 and 1996. A high proportion of high school graduates are going on to college. Yet, wide variations in student proficiency from state to state and mediocre mathematics scores of American students in international assessments pose challenges.