Skip Navigation
Click to open navigation

Indicator 6: Elementary and Secondary Enrollment
(Last Updated: February 2019)

Between fall 2000 and fall 2015, the percentage of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools who were White decreased from 61 to 49 percent. The percentage of Black students also decreased during this period from 17 to 15 percent. In contrast, there was an increase in the percentage of students enrolled in public schools who were Hispanic (from 16 to 26 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4 to 5 percent) during this time period.

Public elementary and secondary school enrollment increased from 47.2 million to 50.4 million between fall 2000 and fall 2015 and is projected to continue increasing to 52.1 million in fall 2027 (the last year for which projected data are available). In addition, racial/ethnic distributions of students in public schools have been shifting. Public schools include both traditional public schools and public charter schools. This indicator discusses overall public school enrollment, as well as enrollment in traditional public and public charter schools separately.


Figure 6.1. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by race/ethnicity: Fall 2000, fall 2015, and fall 2027

Figure 6.1. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by race/ethnicity: Fall 2000, fall 2015, and fall 2027


— Not available.
1 In 2000, data on students of Two or more races were not collected.
2 Projected.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education,” 2000–01 and 2015–16; and National Elementary and Secondary Enrollment Projection Model, 1972 through 2027. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 203.50.


Between 2000 and 2015, the percentage of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools who were White decreased from 61 to 49 percent. The percentage of Black students also decreased during this period, from 17 to 15 percent. In contrast, there was an increase in the percentage of students enrolled in public schools who were Hispanic (from 16 to 26 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4 to 5 percent) during this time period. The percentage of students enrolled in public schools who were American Indian/Alaska Native remained around 1 percent from 2000 to 2015. The percentage of students enrolled in public schools who were of Two or more races increased between 2008 (the first year for which data are available) and 2015 from 1 to 3 percent.

Between fall 2015 and fall 2027, the percentage of students enrolled in public schools who are White is projected to continue decreasing (from 49 to 45 percent). In contrast, the percentage is projected to increase over this period for students who are Hispanic (from 26 to 29 percent), Asian/Pacific Islander (from 5 to 6 percent), and of Two or more races (from 3 to 4 percent). The percentages of students who are Black and American Indian/Alaska Native in 2027 are projected to remain at 15 and 1 percent, respectively.


Figure 6.2. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by region and race/ethnicity: Selected years, fall 2000 through fall 2015

Figure 6.2. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by region and race/ethnicity: Selected years, fall 2000 through fall 2015


1 Includes imputations for prekindergarten enrollment in California and Oregon.
2 Prior to 2008, data on students of Two or more races were not collected.
NOTE: Categories not shown round to zero unless otherwise noted. Enrollment data for students not reported by race/ethnicity were prorated by state and grade to match state totals. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education,” Selected years, 2000–01 through 2015–16. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 203.50.


Between fall 2000 and fall 2015, the percentages of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools who were White and who were Black decreased in all regions of the United States. In contrast, the percentage of Hispanic students increased in all regions of the United States between 2000 and 2015. The largest increase was in the South, where the percentage of Hispanic students increased by 11 percentage points. The percentages of Asian/Pacific Islander students in the Northeast, Midwest, and South increased by 1 to 3 percentage points between 2000 and 2015; however, the percentage did not change measurably for those enrolled in the West during this time period. The difference between the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native students in 2000 and 2015 was less than 1 percentage point in all regions. The percentage of students of Two or more races increased by 2 to 4 percentage points across all regions between 2009 (the first year for which data are available for all regions) and 2015.

In fall 2015, the percentage distribution of racial/ethnic groups enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools varied by state or jurisdiction. Among all states and jurisdictions, Vermont had the highest enrollment share of White students (at 91 percent), and the District of Columbia had the lowest (at 10 percent). The District of Columbia had the highest share of Black students (at 71 percent), and Montana had the lowest (at 1 percent). The highest share of Hispanic students was in New Mexico (at 61 percent), and the lowest was in West Virginia (at 2 percent). Hawaii had the highest share of Asian students (at 30 percent), and West Virginia had the lowest (at 1 percent). Hawaii also had the highest share of Pacific Islander students (at 30 percent), while 42 states and the District of Columbia had shares of Pacific Islander students of less than one-half of 1 percent. Alaska had the highest share of American Indian/Alaska Native students (at 23 percent), while 23 states and the District of Columbia had shares of American Indian/Alaska Native students of less than one-half of 1 percent. Hawaii had the highest share of students of Two or more races (at 12 percent), and Mississippi had the lowest (at 1 percent).


Figure 6.3. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by race/ethnicity and traditional public or public charter school status: School year 2015–16

Figure 6.3. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by race/ethnicity and traditional public or public charter school status: School year 2015–16


NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,” 2015–16. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 216.30.


Although the majority of students enrolled in public schools are enrolled in traditional public schools, the number of students enrolled in public charter schools grew substantially from 2000–01 through 2015–16. Public charter school enrollment increased from 0.4 million students in the 2000–01 school year to 2.8 million students in the 2015–16 school year. There were differences in the racial/ethnic distribution of students attending traditional public schools and public charter schools in 2015–16. The shares of Black and Hispanic students in public charter schools (27 and 32 percent, respectively) were greater than the shares of Black and Hispanic students in traditional public schools (15 and 26 percent, respectively). In contrast, the shares of White and Asian/Pacific Islander students in public charter schools (33 and 4 percent, respectively) were less than the shares of White and Asian/Pacific Islander students in traditional public schools (50 and 5 percent, respectively).

There were also differences in the racial/ethnic distribution of students attending public schools overall (i.e., traditional public schools and public charter schools combined) and private schools. In fall 2015, the share of White students in private schools (69 percent) was higher than the share in public schools (49 percent), and the same pattern was evident for students who were Asian (6 vs. 5 percent), Pacific Islander (1 percent vs. less than 1 percent), and of Two or more races (4 vs. 3 percent). In contrast, the shares of students in private schools were lower than the shares in public schools for students who were Black (9 vs. 15 percent), Hispanic (10 vs. 26 percent), and American Indian/Alaska Native (less than 1 percent vs. 1 percent).


Figure 6.4. Percentage distribution of private elementary and secondary students, by race/ethnicity and school type: Fall 2015

Figure 6.3. Percentage distribution of public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, by race/ethnicity and traditional public or public charter school status: School year 2015–16


# Rounds to zero.
NOTE: Includes schools that offer kindergarten or higher grades. Percentage distribution is based on the students for whom race/ethnicity was reported. Race/ethnicity data were not collected for prekindergarten students (846,900 students in fall 2015). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 2015–16. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 205.40.


The share of enrollment in particular types of private schools also varied by race/ethnicity. In fall 2015, Hispanic students had a greater share of enrollment in Catholic schools (16 percent) than in other religious schools (7 percent) and in nonsectarian schools (8 percent). In contrast, White students had a greater share of enrollment in other religious schools (73 percent) than in Catholic schools (66 percent) and nonsectarian schools (65 percent). Black students also had a greater share of enrollment in other religious schools (11 percent) than in Catholic schools (8 percent). Asian students and students of Two or more races had a greater share of enrollment in nonsectarian schools than in Catholic and other religious schools. Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native students each had 1 percent or less of the share of enrollment in all types of private schools.

Top