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Private School Universe Survey (PSS)



Table 12. Pupil/teacher ratio of private schools, by school level and selected characteristics: United States, 2019–20
                 
      School level1
Selected characteristic Total   Elementary/Middle   Secondary/High   Combined/Other  
Total 9.7   10.1   10.2   9.0  
                 
Private school typology                
Catholic 12.5   12.7   12.4   11.1  
Parochial 12.8   13.1   11.8   11.2  
Diocesan 12.8   12.9   13.0   10.3  
Private 11.5   10.2   11.9   11.5  
                 
Other religious 9.7   9.7   9.3   9.8  
Conservative Christian 10.2   10.0   11.0   10.3  
Other affiliated 9.3   8.9   8.9   9.7  
Unaffiliated 9.8   10.4   9.2   9.3  
                 
Nonsectarian 7.1   6.5   7.1   7.5  
Regular 7.6   7.1   7.1   8.1  
Special emphasis 6.9   5.8   8.7   8.4  
Special education 5.1   4.9   4.9   5.2  
                 
Program emphasis                
Regular elementary/secondary 10.3   11.0   10.5   9.4  
Montessori 5.6   5.3     6.9  
Special program emphasis 8.6   7.8   8.0   9.4  
Special education 5.2   5.0   4.9   5.3  
Vocational/technical        
Alternative 9.9   6.9   11.0   10.5  
Early childhood 5.7   5.7      
                 
Size (number of students)                
Less than 50 5.6   5.9   4.4   5.3  
50 -149 7.9   8.7   6.6   7.1  
150- 299 10.2   11.2   9.1   8.9  
300-499 10.8   12.2   9.9   9.6  
500-749 10.6   13.5   11.3   9.2  
750 or more 11.5   13.0   13.3   10.5  
                 
Region                
Northeast 8.6   9.5   9.0   7.2  
Midwest 10.9   11.5   12.0   9.2  
South 9.4   9.0   10.3   9.4  
West 10.3   10.5   10.3   10.0  
                 
Urbancity type                
City 9.8   10.1   10.7   9.0  
Suburban 9.7   10.1   10.4   8.9  
Town 9.9   10.2   9.3   9.7  
Rural 9.2   10.3   7.9   9.0  
† Not applicable.
‡ Reporting standards not met. There are fewer than 15 sample cases.
1 Schools are assigned to one of three school level categories in the 2019–20 PSS: Elementary/Middle, High/secondary, and Combined/other. Elementary/middle schools are defined as schools that enroll students in more of grades K through 4 than in higher grades or that enroll students in more of grades 5 through 8 than in higher or lower grades. High/secondary schools are defined as schools that enroll students in more of grades 9 through 12 than in lower grades. Combined/other schools include all other combinations of grades, including K-12 schools. School level categories in the 2019–20 PSS differ from those in previous survey administrations; caution should be exercised when comparing estimates by level over time.
NOTE: These estimates include private schools which provide instruction for one or more of grades kindergarten through twelve (or comparable ungraded levels).
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 2019–20.