Back-to-School statistics to consider

75.8 million

The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2005, from nursery school to college. That amounts to about one-fourth of the US population 3 and older.

54 percent

Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2005

70 percent

Percentage of children enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2005

55.8 million

The projected number of students to be enrolled in the nation’s elementary and high schools (grades K-12) this fall

11 percent

Projected percentage of elementary and high school students enrolled in private schools this fall (source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2008)

41 percent

Percentage of elementary and high school students who were minorities, as of October 2005

22 percent

Percentage of elementary and high school students with at least one foreign-born parent in October 2005

42 percent

Percentage of children 12 to 17 who participated in sports as of 2003, which was the most popular extracurricular activity. About one-third of children this age participated in club activities and 29 percent in lessons. Lessons include those taken after school or on the weekend in subjects like music, dance, language, computers or religion.

75 percent

Percentage of children 12 to 17 who were enrolled in school and academically “on-track” (i.e., enrolled in school at or above the grade level for peers their age) as of 2003

24 percent

Percentage of children 12 to 17 who were in a special class for gifted students or did advanced work in any subject, such as honors and advanced placement classes, as of 2003

10.5 million

Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a language other than English at home, about one in five in this age group. Most of them (7.5 million) speak Spanish at home.

30.1 million

Average number of children participating each month in the national school lunch program in 2006

18 million

The projected number of students enrolled in the nation’s colleges/universities this fall (up from 12.8 million 20 years ago)

37 percent

Percentage of all college students 25 and older in October 2005. Fifty-six percent of these older students attended school part-time.

69 percent

Percentage of undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges in October 2005. Of those enrolled in such schools, 81 percent attended full-time.

49 percent

Percentage of 18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in college in 2005

56 percent

Percentage of undergraduates who were women in October 2005. Among graduate students, the corresponding percentage was even higher: 59 percent.

21 percent

Percentage of high school students who were employed as of October 2005

50 percent

Percentage of full-time college students who were employed as of October 2005

95,726

Number of public elementary and secondary schools in 2003-04. The corresponding number of private elementary and secondary schools was 28,384.

4,276

Number of institutions of higher learning that granted college degrees in 2005

1.1 million

Number of students who were home-schooled in 2003 (two percent of all students 5 to 17)

Sources

• Upcoming Statistical Abstract of

the United States, 2008

• 2005 American Community

Survey

• http://www.census.gov