School Enrollment Statistics

There are over 15,000 public school systems in the U.S. with an average student enrollment of approximately 3,000. Currently, approximately 85,000 public schools serve the educational needs of more than 42,000,000 students. Private schools enroll approximately 5,000,000 pupils in about 25,000 schools.

Projections indicate an overall 14% increase in both public and private school enrollment by 2005. Enrollment at the elementary level (K-8) is expected to increase by 11%, and enrollment at the secondary level (9-12) is expected to increase by 21%.

Current estimates of average pupil-teacher ratios for public schools are 18.7:1 for elementary grades and 15.1:1 for secondary grades. Average private school ratios are 16.3:1 for the elementary level and 11.5:1 for the secondary level. Projections for 2005 change only slightly. For public schools, the projected average pupil-teacher ratio for elementary grades is 18.5:1, and 14.8:1 for the secondary grades. For private schools, projected ratios are 16.3:1 for the elementary level and 11.2:1 for the secondary level.