120 Years of - National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

120 Years of

American Education:

A Statistical Portrait

Editor

Thomas D. Snyder

Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Lamar Alexander

Secretary

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

Diane Ravitch

Assistant Secretary

National Center for Education Statistics

Emerson J. Elliott

Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics

¡®¡®The purpose of the Center shall be to collect, analyze,

and disseminate statistics and other data related to education in the United States and in other nations.¡¯¡¯¡ªSection 406(b) of the General Education Provisions Act,

as amended (20 U.S.C. 1221e¨C1).

January 1993

Foreword

Emerson J. Elliott

Commissioner of Education Statistics

NCES statistics and reports are used for myriad

purposes. Congress, federal agencies, state and

local officials, business leaders, scholars and researchers, the news media, and the general public

use our data to formulate programs, apportion resources, monitor services, research issues, and inform and make decisions.

Since 1870, the federal government has collected

statistics on the condition and progress of American

education. In the beginning, data were collected on

very basic items, such as public elementary and secondary school enrollment, attendance, teachers and

their salaries, high school graduates, and expenditures. Over the years, the level of detail has gradually increased. Today, the National Center for Education Statistics has a staff of approximately 130 who

collect information through nearly 40 surveys and

studies and produce more than 175 publications per

year.

Statistics paint a portrait of our Nation. By looking

at changes in the data over time¡ªlike number of

schools, participation rates, completion rates, and expenditures¡ªwe see how our Nation has progressed.

But the questions, too, have changed. Illiteracy, for

example, is defined differently today than it was in

earlier years. While we once looked only at whether

a person could read or write, today we are concerned with how well a person can function in a

modern society. Recent additions to the long-term

data series contain more qualitative information, especially on student performance and classroom activities.

During the period in which this report was prepared, Diane Ravitch, an educational historian by

profession, was Assistant Secretary for Educational

Research and Improvement. Dr. Ravitch knows the

importance of the record that America¡¯s education

data collections form, and it was her personal interest and initiative that prompted preparation of this report. Her support, both as Assistant Secretary and as

an historian of education, has been invaluable to the

production of this volume and in all other efforts of

NCES.

The Assistant Secretary¡¯s Introduction to this volume states that an historical perspective is indispensable for a full understanding of American education

and the changes it has undergone. Such a perspective will help supply that meaning, understanding,

and judgment needed to help improve education in

America.

I join her in thanking Vance Grant of OERI and

Tom Snyder of NCES for producing this work. We

will benefit from the better understanding of our past

that these education statistics bring to us.

This work supplements other major compilations of

education statistics, including the annual Digest and

the Condition of Education reports, and reaffirms the

mission of the National Center for Education Statistics to provide the Nation with data on the condition

and progress of education. Our goal is to make education data accessible, useful, and meaningful to our

many publics. I welcome comments for improvements to our data collections and publications.

iii

Acknowledgments

Many people have contributed in one way or another to the development of 120 Years of American

Education. Foremost among these contributors is W.

Vance Grant, who has served as an education statistics expert since 1955. Thomas D. Snyder was responsible for the overall development and preparation of 120 Years of American Education, which was

prepared under the general direction of Jeanne E.

Griffith, Associate Commissioner for Data Development.

William Sonnenberg served as a statistical consultant in all phases of 120 Years of American Education

and was responsible for chapter 2, ¡®¡®Elementary and

Secondary Education.¡¯¡¯ Irene Baden Harwarth developed a table on higher education enrollment and was

responsible for developing charts for the report.

Charlene Hoffman developed tables on degrees conferred and managed the typesetting. Carol Sue

Fromboluti managed the review process of the publication. Celestine Davis provided statistical assistance.

A number of people outside the Center also expended large amounts of time and effort on 120

Years of American Education. James J. Corina and

Robert Craig of Pinkerton Computer Consultants,

Inc., provided computer support. Louise Woerner,

Barbara Robinson, Jeannette Bernardo, and Jeffrey

Sisson of HCR provided research assistance. Nancy

Floyd copyedited this book, and Margery Martin and

Wilma Greene provided editorial assistance. Annie

Lunsford designed the cover. Jerry Fairbanks and

Kim Stiles of the U.S. Government Printing Office

provided typesetting assistance.

120 Years of American Education has received extensive reviews by individuals within and outside the

Department of Education. We wish to thank them for

their time and expert advice. In the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), Diane

Ravitch, Maris Vinovskis, Mary Frase, W. Vance

Grant, Fred Beamer, Frank Morgan, John Sietsema,

and Irene Baden Harwarth reviewed the entire manuscript. Rosemary Clark and Dave Fleck of the Bureau of the Census also reviewed the entire document. Agency reviews were conducted by the Office

of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Office of

Policy and Planning, Office of Private Education, and

Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.

OERI Deputy Assistant Secretary Francie Alexander and NCES Chief of Staff Paul R. Hall provided

leadership and gave enthusiastic support to this

project.

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