Private School Universe Survey (PSS)
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Percentage of private schools with 12th-graders, number of graduates, graduation rate, and percentage of graduates who attended 4-year colleges, by selected school characteristics: United States, 2016–17
                 
Selected school
characteristic		 Percent of schools
with 12th-graders
in 2016-17		   Number of
2016-17
graduates		   2016-17
graduation
rate1		   Percent of 2016-17
graduates
who attended
4-year colleges
by fall 2017		  
Total 30.5   348,234   97.3   61.7  
                 
Private school typology                
Catholic 22.2   160,211   99.1   85.2  
Parochial 7.9   13,553   99.5   83.5  
Diocesan 20.4   76,609   98.8   84.9  
Private 58.0   70,049   99.4   86.1  
                 
Other religious 36.1   107,425   98.0   60.4  
Conservative Christian 60.7   39,145   98.4   60.8  
Other affiliated 36.5   33,698   98.3   71.0  
Unaffiliated 23.9   34,581   97.2   53.5  
                 
Nonsectarian 28.5   80,598   93.0   51.2  
Regular 33.1   61,288   98.7   73.3  
Special emphasis 13.0   13,423   92.2   48.5  
Special education 60.1   5,887   58.9   17.2  
                 
School level                
Elementary †   †   †   †  
Secondary 93.4   192,821   98.0   70.1  
Combined2 75.4   155,413   96.3   58.6  
                 
Program emphasis                
Regular elementary/ secondary 34.9   319,255   98.8   68.0  
Montessori 1.7   345   95.3   76.5  
Special program emphasis 42.9   11,578   98.4   76.9  
Special education 59.1   6,320   59.7   17.1  
Vocational/technical 83.5   372   72.2   ‡  
Alternative 22.8   9,998   89.8   32.5  
Early childhood †   †   †   †  
                 
Size (number of students)                
Less than 50 18.8   9,051   81.9   38.2  
50 -149 32.5   26,865   90.0   50.9  
150- 299 32.4   46,693   95.9   69.5  
300-499 44.5   60,972   98.9   83.3  
500-749 74.7   81,070   99.3   88.8  
750 or more 89.6   123,582   98.8   89.8  
                 
Region                
Northeast 28.9   88,816   96.6   59.4  
Midwest 22.7   74,924   97.8   67.1  
South 38.0   119,843   97.8   60.5  
West 29.0   64,651   96.8   61.8  
                 
Urbancity type                
City 31.2   163,838   97.6   68.5  
Suburban 28.3   132,412   97.2   63.9  
Town 31.7   15,800   96.9   56.9  
Rural 32.9   36,184   96.6   50.9  
† Not applicable
‡ Reporting standards not met. There are fewer than 15 sample cases.
1The 2016–17 graduation rate is the percent of 12th graders enrolled around October 1, 2016 who graduated in 2016–17.
2Includes the schools that reported 12th grade enrollment for 2016–17, but were elementary in 2017–18 (less than 1 percent).
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or missing values in cells with too few sample cases. These estimates include private schools that 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), 2017–18.

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