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Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 216.30. Number and percentage distribution of public elementary and secondary students and schools, by traditional or charter school status and selected characteristics: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2014-15
Selected characteristic 1999-2000 2004-05 Charter schools 2014-15
Total, all public schools Traditional (noncharter) schools Charter schools Total, all public schools Traditional (noncharter) schools Charter schools 2009-10 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total, all public schools Traditional (noncharter) schools Charter schools
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Fall enrollment (in thousands) 46,689 46,350 340 48,584 47,696 887 1,610 2,058 2,269 2,522 50,010 47,288 2,722
                           
Percentage distribution
      of students
                         
Sex 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Male 51.4 51.4 51.0 51.4 51.4 50.1 49.5 49.6 49.6 49.6 51.4 51.5 49.6
Female 48.6 48.6 49.0 48.6 48.6 49.9 50.5 50.4 50.4 50.4 48.6 48.5 50.4
                           
Race/ethnicity 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 61.8 61.9 42.5 57.7 58.0 42.0 37.3 35.6 35.3 34.9 49.6 50.5 34.0
Black 17.1 16.9 33.5 17.1 16.9 31.3 30.3 28.7 27.7 27.1 15.5 14.9 27.0
Hispanic 15.9 15.9 19.6 19.4 19.4 21.8 26.0 28.0 29.2 30.0 25.4 25.1 30.8
Asian/Pacific Islander 4.1 4.1 2.8 4.5 4.6 3.3 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.1 5.3 5.3 4.2
American Indian/
      Alaska Native
1.2 1.2 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8
Two or more races 1.4 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.3
                           
Percent of students eligible
      for free or reduced-price
      lunch program1
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 to 25.0 44.9 45.0 36.9 33.3 33.3 32.1 20.6 21.9 19.2 20.0 20.4 20.4 20.8
25.1 to 50.0 25.4 25.5 12.7 26.7 26.9 17.4 18.8 18.4 19.9 19.0 27.5 28.1 17.2
50.1 to 75.0 16.0 16.1 13.0 19.0 19.0 17.4 20.2 21.0 22.4 21.7 27.5 27.8 22.4
More than 75.0 12.2 12.2 14.3 13.8 13.7 20.3 30.7 30.8 36.1 37.1 24.3 23.7 35.3
Missing/school does not
      participate
1.4 1.2 23.2 7.2 7.1 12.8 9.7 7.9 2.3 2.2 0.3 0.1 4.3
                           
Number of teachers2 2,636,277 2,622,678 13,599 2,971,995 2,928,535 43,461 84,983 107,929 116,384 127,500 2,874,654 2,745,487 129,167
Pupil/teacher ratio2 16.6 16.6 18.8 16.2 16.2 17.0 17.3 17.6 17.8 18.0 16.2 16.1 17.4
                           
Total number of schools 92,012 90,488 1,524 96,513 93,114 3,399 4,952 5,696 6,079 6,465 98,176 91,429 6,747
                           
Percentage distribution
      of schools
                         
School level 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Elementary3 69.7 70.0 54.6 68.4 69.0 51.9 54.1 54.9 55.7 56.2 68.3 69.1 57.1
Secondary4 24.3 24.3 25.9 24.3 24.2 27.2 26.8 24.9 24.1 23.5 24.6 24.7 23.2
Combined5 4.4 4.2 18.6 5.8 5.3 19.8 18.8 19.5 19.8 19.6 6.5 5.5 19.7
Other 1.6 1.6 0.9 1.6 1.6 1.1 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 #
                           
Size of enrollment 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 300 31.4 30.7 77.1 32.4 31.0 71.1 61.5 55.8 54.0 51.8 30.2 28.7 50.1
300 to 499 26.4 26.7 12.0 26.7 27.1 15.9 20.8 23.1 23.6 24.3 27.4 27.6 24.7
500 to 999 32.6 33.0 8.6 31.0 31.7 10.1 14.0 17.0 18.0 19.0 33.2 34.2 20.0
1,000 or more 9.5 9.7 2.4 9.9 10.1 2.9 3.7 4.2 4.4 5.0 9.2 9.5 5.3
                           
Racial/ethnic concentration                          
More than 50 percent White 70.9 71.2 51.1 66.2 66.9 48.5 40.3 37.5 36.6 35.8 57.3 59.0 35.7
More than 50 percent Black 11.1 10.8 26.5 11.5 11.0 24.9 25.8 25.3 24.9 24.3 10.0 9.0 23.6
More than 50 percent Hispanic 8.8 8.7 11.4 11.4 11.3 14.4 19.8 21.8 22.5 23.4 16.3 15.7 23.9
                           
Percent of students eligible
      for free or reduced-price
      lunch program1
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 to 25.0 42.3 42.3 44.5 27.9 27.8 29.0 19.3 18.7 18.3 18.4 19.0 19.0 19.4
25.1 to 50.0 25.6 25.9 11.1 26.1 26.5 15.4 17.2 17.9 18.7 18.2 25.9 26.6 17.1
50.1 to 75.0 16.8 16.9 10.2 19.7 19.9 16.3 20.9 19.9 21.2 20.6 27.6 28.1 21.7
More than 75.0 11.9 11.9 12.4 14.9 14.6 21.8 32.8 33.8 37.7 39.3 24.8 24.0 36.4
Missing/school does not
      participate
3.3 3.0 21.9 11.4 11.2 17.6 9.8 9.7 4.0 3.5 2.6 2.4 5.5
                           
Locale 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
City 26.0 25.1 51.4 54.8 55.4 56.7 56.5 27.1 24.9 56.0
Suburban 27.7 27.9 22.7 21.1 21.2 25.5 26.1 31.7 32.1 26.2
Town 15.1 15.3 9.7 8.0 7.4 7.0 7.0 13.6 14.1 6.9
Rural 31.1 31.7 16.1 16.1 16.0 10.8 10.4 27.6 28.9 10.8
                           
Region 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Northeast 16.1 16.3 7.2 15.8 16.0 9.0 9.1 9.7 10.0 10.1 15.6 16.0 10.1
Midwest 28.9 29.0 24.9 28.1 28.1 25.7 24.0 22.3 21.9 21.7 25.8 26.1 21.2
South 33.1 33.2 28.9 33.6 33.9 26.5 29.5 30.8 30.7 31.2 34.8 35.0 31.6
West 21.8 21.6 38.9 22.6 22.0 38.9 37.4 37.2 37.3 37.0 23.8 22.8 37.1
—Not available.
#Rounds to zero.
1 The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program. To be eligible for free lunch under the program, a student must be from a household with an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty threshold; to be eligible for reduced-price lunch, a student must be from a household with an income between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty threshold.
2 Pupil/teacher ratio based on schools that reported both enrollment and teacher data.
3 Includes schools beginning with grade 6 or below and with no grade higher than 8.  
4 Includes schools with no grade lower than 7.
5 Includes schools beginning with grade 6 or below and ending with grade 9 or above.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1999-2000 through 2014-15. (This table was prepared October 2016.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest