All Levels of Education - National Center for Education ...

CHAPTER 1

All Levels of Education

This chapter provides a broad overview of education in the United States. It brings together material from preprimary, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, as well as from the general population, to present a composite picture of the American educational system. Tables feature data on the total number of people enrolled in school, the number of teachers, the number of schools, and total expenditures for education at all levels. This chapter also includes statistics on education-related topics such as educational attainment, computer and internet usage, family characteristics, and population. Economic indicators and price indexes have been added to facilitate analyses.

The U.S. system of education can be described as having three levels of formal education (elementary, secondary, and postsecondary) (figure 1). Students may spend 1 to 3 years in preprimary programs (prekindergarten and kindergarten), which may be offered either in separate schools or in elementary schools that also offer higher grades. (In Digest of Education Statistics tables, prekindergarten and kindergarten are generally defined as a part of elementary education.) Following kindergarten, students ordinarily spend from 6 to 8 years in elementary school. The elementary school program is followed by a 4- to 6-year program in secondary school. Students normally complete the entire program through grade 12 by age 18. Education at the elementary and secondary levels is provided in a range of institutional settings--including elementary schools (preprimary schools, middle schools, and schools offering broader ranges of elementary grades); secondary schools (junior high schools, high schools, and senior high schools); and combined elementary/secondary schools--that vary in structure from locality to locality.

High school graduates who decide to continue their education may enter a technical or vocational institution, a 2year community or junior college, or a 4-year college or university. A 2-year college normally offers the first 2 years of a standard 4-year college curriculum and a selection of terminal career and technical education programs. Academic courses completed at a 2-year college are usually transferable for credit at a 4-year college or university. A technical

or vocational institution offers postsecondary technical training leading to a specific career.

An associate's degree requires at least 2 years of collegelevel coursework, and a bachelor's degree normally requires 4 years of college-level coursework. At least 1 year of coursework beyond the bachelor's is necessary for a master's degree, while a doctor's degree usually requires a minimum of 3 or 4 years beyond the bachelor's.

Professional schools differ widely in admission requirements and program length. Medical students, for example, generally complete a bachelor's program of premedical studies at a college or university before they can enter the 4-year program at a medical school. Law programs normally require 3 years of coursework beyond the bachelor's degree level.

Many of the statistics in this chapter are derived from the statistical activities of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In addition, substantial contributions have been drawn from the work of other groups, both governmental and nongovernmental, as shown in the source notes of the tables. Information on survey methodologies is contained in Appendix A: Guide to Sources and in the publications cited in the table source notes.

Enrollment

Total enrollment in public and private elementary and secondary schools (prekindergarten through grade 12) grew rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a peak year in 1971 (table A, table 3, and figure 2). This enrollment rise was caused by what is known as the "baby boom," a dramatic increase in births following World War II. From 1971 to 1984, total elementary and secondary school enrollment decreased every year, reflecting the decline in the size of the school-age population over that period. After these years of decline, enrollment in elementary and secondary schools started increasing in fall 1985, began hitting new record levels in the mid-1990s, and continued to reach new record levels every year through 2006. Enrollment in fall 2008 (55.2 million) was slightly lower than in fall 2006 (55.3 million); however, enrollment in fall 2008 was higher than in fall 2007, and enrollments are projected to continue rising.

DIGEST OF EDUCATION STATISTICS 2010

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10 CHAPTER 1: All Levels of Education

Table A. Total elementary and secondary school enrollment, by overall trends: Selected years, 1949?50 to fall 2009

Trend and year

Number of students (in millions)

"Baby boom" increases

1949?50 school year ............................................................

28.5

Fall 1959 ...............................................................................

40.9

Fall 1969 ...............................................................................

51.1

Fall 1971 (peak)....................................................................

51.3

13 years with annual declines

Fall 1972 (first year of decline)..............................................

50.7

Fall 1984 (final year of decline).............................................

44.9

Annual increases from 1985 to 2006

Fall 1985 ...............................................................................

45.0

Fall 1996 (new record highs begin).......................................

51.5

Fall 2006 (final year of record highs) ....................................

55.3

Slight decline followed by increases

Fall 2007 ...............................................................................

55.2

Fall 2008 ...............................................................................

55.2

Fall 2009 ...............................................................................

55.3

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1949?50; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1959 through 1972; Common Core of Data (CCD), 1984 through 2008; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1997?98 through 2007?08; and Projections of Education Statistics to 2019.

From 1985 to 2009, total public and private school enrollment rates changed by 2 percentage points or less for 5- and 6-year-olds (96 percent in 1985 vs. 94 percent in 2009), 7- to 13-year-olds (99 percent in 1985 vs. 98 percent in 2009), and 14- to 17-year-olds (95 percent in 1985 vs. 96 percent in 2009) (table 7). Since these enrollment rates remained relatively steady between 1985 and 2009, increases in public and private elementary and secondary school enrollment have been driven primarily by increases in the number of children in these age groups. Between 1985 and 2009, the number of 5- and 6-year-olds increased by 20 percent, the number of 7to 13-year-olds increased by 23 percent, and the number of 14- to 17-year-olds increased by 13 percent (table 20). Increases in the enrollment rate of prekindergarten age children (ages 3 and 4) from 39 percent in 1985 to 52 percent in 2009 (table 7) and in the number of 3- and 4-year-olds from 7.1 million to 8.4 million (table 20) also contributed to overall prekindergarten through grade 12 enrollment increases.

Public school enrollment at the elementary level (prekindergarten through grade 8) rose from 29.9 million in fall 1990 to 34.2 million in fall 2003 (table 3). After a decrease of less than 1 percent between fall 2003 and fall 2004, elementary enrollment generally increased to a projected total of 34.7 million for fall 2010. Public elementary enrollment is projected to continue a pattern of annual increases through 2019 (the last year for which NCES has projected school enrollment). Public school enrollment at the secondary level (grades 9 through 12) rose from 11.3 million in 1990 to 15.0 million in 2008, with a projected enrollment of 14.7 million for 2010. Public secondary enrollment is projected to show a decrease of 3 percent between 2008 and 2011, and then increase again through 2019. Public secondary school enrollment in 2019 is expected to be about 4 percent higher than in 2010. Total public elementary and secondary

enrollment is projected to set new records every year from 2010 to 2019.

The percentage of students in private elementary and secondary schools declined from 11.4 percent in fall 1998 to 10.8 percent in fall 2008 (table 3). In fall 2010, a projected 6.0 million students were enrolled in private schools at the elementary and secondary levels.

Total public and private college and university enrollment reached 14.5 million in fall 1992 and decreased to 14.3 million in fall 1995 (table 3). Total college and university enrollment increased 43 percent between 1995 and 2009 (to 20.4 million), and a further increase of 15 percent is expected between fall 2009 and fall 2019. The percentage of college and university students who attended private colleges and universities rose from 24 to 27 percent between 1999 and 2009. In fall 2009, about 5.6 million students attended private colleges and universities, with about 3.8 million in not-forprofit institutions and 1.9 million in for-profit institutions (table 197). Enrollment increases in colleges and universities have been driven by both increases in population and increases in enrollment rates. For example, the percentage of 18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in colleges and universities rose from 44 to 50 percent between 1999 and 2009, while the enrollment rate of 20- to 24-year-olds rose from 33 percent to 39 percent (table 7). During the same period, the number of 18- and 19-year-olds rose 10 percent, and the number of 20to 24-year-olds rose 16 percent (table 20).

Educational Attainment

The percentages of adults 25 years old and over completing high school and higher education have been rising. In 2010, some 87 percent of the population 25 years old and over had completed at least high school, and 30 percent had completed a bachelor's or higher degree (table 8 and figure 3). These percentages are higher than in 2000, when 84 percent had completed at least high school and 26 percent had completed a bachelor's or higher degree. In 2010, about 8 percent of people 25 years old or over held a master's degree as their highest degree, 2 percent held a professional degree (e.g., medicine or law), and 1 percent held a doctor's degree (table 9 and figure 5).

Teachers and Faculty

A projected 3.6 million elementary and secondary school full-time-equivalent (FTE) teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in the fall of 2010 (table 4), an increase of about 8 percent over 2000. The number of FTE public school teachers in 2010 was about 3.2 million, and the number of FTE private school teachers was about 0.5 million. FTE faculty at postsecondary degree-granting institutions totaled a projected 1.0 million in 2010, including 0.6 million at public institutions and 0.3 million at private institutions (table 1).

Expenditures

Expenditures of educational institutions rose to an estimated $1.1 trillion for the 2009?10 school year (table 29). Elementary

DIGEST OF EDUCATION STATISTICS 2010

CHAPTER 1: All Levels of Education 11

and secondary schools spent about 59 percent of this total ($650 billion), and colleges and universities spent the remaining 41 percent ($461 billion). After adjustment for inflation, total expenditures of all educational institutions rose by an estimated 34 percent between 1999?2000 and 2009?10. Inflation-

adjusted expenditures of elementary and secondary schools rose by an estimated 23 percent during this period, while those of colleges and universities rose by an estimated 52 percent. In 2009?10, expenditures of educational institutions were an estimated 7.9 percent of the gross domestic product (table 28).

Figure 1. The structure of education in the United States Postdoctoral study and research

Postsecondary education (college, university, professional, vocational,

technical)

Ph.D. or advanced professional degree

Master's degree

Bachelor's degree

Associate's degree or certificate

Doctor's degree study Master's degree study

Vocational/ technical institutions

2-year institutions

Professional

7

schools

(medicine,

6

theology,

law, etc.)

5

4

3

4-year

undergraduate programs

2

1

Secondary education (academic, vocational, technical)

High school

17

diploma 16

15

14

13

12

11

4-year high schools

Middle schools

Senior high schools

Junior high schools

12

11

Combined junior/

10

senior

9

high

schools

8

7

6

10

5

Elementary (or primary) education

9

4

8

Typical grade configurations of

3

7

elementary (or primary) schools

2

6

1

5

Kindergartens

4

3

K

PK Nursery schools

Age

Grade/year

of college

NOTE: Figure is not intended to show relative number of institutions nor relative size of enrollment for the different levels of education. Figure reflects typical patterns of progression rather than all possible variations. Adult education programs, while not separately delineated above, may provide instruction at the adult basic, adult secondary, or postsecondary education levels.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Annual Reports Program.

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12 CHAPTER 1: All Levels of Education

Figure 2. Enrollment, total expenditures in constant dollars, and expenditures as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), by level of education: Selected years, 1965?66 through 2009?10

Enrollment, in millions 80

70

60

Total

50

40

30

20

10

0 1965

1970

1975

Elementary and secondary

Degree-granting institutions

1980

1985

1990

School year beginning

1995

2000

2005 2009

Expenditures, in billions of constant 2008?09 dollars

$1,200 1,100 1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

Total

Elementary and secondary

Degree-granting institutions

1990

1995

2000

2005 2009

School year beginning

Percent of GDP 8.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0 1965

1970

1975

Total Elementary and secondary Degree-granting institutions

1980

1985

1990

School year beginning

1995

2000

2005 2009

NOTE: Expenditure data for school years 2008 and 2009 (2008?09 and 2009?10) are estimated. Enrollment data for school year 2009 (2009?10) for elementary and secondary are projected. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of State School Systems, 1965?66 through 1969?70; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1965 through 1980; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, 1970?71 through 1986?87; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education," 1985?86 through 2008?09; "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1986?87 through 2007?08; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1970?71 through 1979?80; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989?90 through 2007?08; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), Fall Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education, 1965?66 through 1985?86; Financial Statistics of Institutions of Higher Education, 1965?66 through 1985?86; 1986?87 through 2009?10 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:86?99), "Finance Survey" (IPEDS-F:FY87?99), and Spring 2001 through Spring 2010; and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts Tables, retrieved September 17, 2010, from .

DIGEST OF EDUCATION STATISTICS 2010

CHAPTER 1: All Levels of Education 13

Figure 3. Percentage of persons 25 years old and over, by highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1940 through 2010

Percent 100

80

Less than high school completion

60 High school completion or higher

40

20 Bachelor's or higher degree

0 1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Year

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, U.S. Census of Population: 1960, Vol. I, Part 1; J.K. Folger and C.B. Nam, Education of the American Population (1960 Census Monograph); Current Population Reports, Series P-20, various years; and Current Population Survey (CPS), March 1961 through March 2010.

Figure 4. Percentage of persons 25 through 29 years old, by highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1940 through 2010

Percent 100

80

High school completion or higher

60

Less than high school completion 40

20 Bachelor's or higher degree

0 1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Year

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, U.S. Census of Population: 1960, Vol. I, Part 1; J.K. Folger and C.B. Nam, Education of the American Population (1960 Census Monograph); Current Population Reports, Series P-20, various years; and Current Population Survey (CPS), March 1961 through March 2010.

DIGEST OF EDUCATION STATISTICS 2010

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