h:\doc\web\2000\04\edstat.txt THE DIGEST OF EDUCATION STATISTICS (1999 edition) was released last week on the web (PDF). It is the Department's main compilation of education statistical information. Published annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Digest presents more than 400 tables, charts, & graphs based on data drawn from various government & private sources on a range of topics, including... * the numbers of schools, colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates * educational attainment, finances, federal funds for education, employment & income of graduates, libraries, & international education. Below is the introduction, which provides a brief overview of current trends in American education. The complete Digest is available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000031 ============================================================== "Introduction" from the "Digest of Education Statistics 1999." National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, March 28, 2000 ============================================================== In the fall of 1999, about 68.1 million persons were enrolled in American schools & colleges. About 3.8 million were employed as elementary & secondary school teachers & as college faculty. Other professional, administrative, & support staff of educational institutions numbered 4.2 million. Thus about 76 million people were involved, directly or indirectly, in providing or receiving formal education. In a nation with a population of about 273 million, more than 1 out of every 4 persons participated in formal education. Elementary/Secondary Enrollment ------------------------------- Since the enrollment rates of kindergarten & elementary school age children have not changed much in recent years, increases in elementary school enrollment have been driven primarily by increases in the number of young people. Enrollment in public elementary & secondary schools rose 20% between 1985 & 1999. The fastest public school growth occurred in the elementary grades, where enrollment rose 25% over the same period, from 27.0 million to a record high of 33.7 million in 1999. Secondary enrollments declined 8% from 1985 to 1990, but then rose by 19% from 1990 to 1999, for a net increase of 9%. Private school enrollment grew more slowly than public school enrollment over this period, rising 7%, from 5.6 million in 1985 to 6.0 million in 1999. As a result, the percent of students enrolled in private schools declined slightly from 12% in 1985 to 11% in 1999. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) forecasts record levels of enrollment for the next several years. The fall 1999 public school enrollment marks a new record & new records are expected every year through the early 2000s. Public elementary enrollment is projected to grow slowly over the next few years & then decline slightly, so that the fall 2009 projection is slightly lower than the 1999 enrollment. In contrast, public secondary school enrollment is expected to have a substantial increase of 9% between 1999 & 2009. Higher Education ---------------- College enrollment hit a record level of 14.6 million in fall 1998 & was expected to reach a new high of 14.9 million in 1999, after falling slightly between 1993 & 1995. Despite decreases in the traditional college-age population during the 1980s & early 1990s, total enrollment has increased because of the high enrollment rate of older women & a rising rate of college attendance for recent high school graduates. Since 1990, the number of full-time students has generally increased at a faster rate than part-time students. Teachers -------- An estimated 3.1 million elementary & secondary school teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in the fall of 1999. This number has risen in recent years, up about 13% since 1989. The number of public school teachers in 1999 was 2.7 million & the number in private schools was about 0.4 million. About 1.9 million teachers taught in elementary schools, while about 1.2 million were teaching at the secondary level.The number of public school teachers has risen slightly faster than the number of students over the past 10 years, resulting in small declines in the pupil/teacher ratio. In the fall of 1998, there were 16.8 public school pupils per teacher compared with 17.3 public school pupils per teacher 10 years earlier. During the same time period, the pupil/teacher ratio in private schools remained relatively stable. Data from the mid 1990s suggest a continuation of the historical trend towards lower pupil/teacher ratios, which had been stable during the late 1980s & early 1990s. The salaries of public school teachers, which lost purchasing power to inflation during the 1970s, rose faster than the inflation rate in the 1980s. The rising salaries reflected an interest by state & local education agencies in boosting teacher salary schedules and, to some extent, an increase in teachers' experience & education levels. Since 1990-91, salaries for teachers have fallen slightly after adjusting for inflation. The average salary for teachers in 1997-98 was $39,385. Public Perception ----------------- Public perception about problems facing the local public schools has shifted over the years. In the 1999 survey, lack of discipline was cited as a major problem by 18% of the population; fighting, gangs, & violence was cited by 11%; & the lack of financial support was cited as a major problem by 9% of the population. Use of drugs & large schools/overcrowding were cited as major problems by 8% of the population. Faculty & Staff ----------------- During the fall of 1995, there were 932,000 faculty members in higher education institutions. Making up this figure were 551,000 full-time & 381,000 part-time faculty. In 1992, full-time instructors generally taught more hours & more students than part- time instructors, with 61% of full-time instructors teaching 8 or more hours per week & two-thirds teaching 50 or more students. About 30% of part-time instructors taught 8 or more hours per week & 30% taught 50 or more students. White males constituted a disproportionate share of full-time college faculty in 1995. Overall, about 57% of full-time faculty were white males. However, this distribution varied substantially by rank of faculty. Among full professors, the proportion of white males was 75%. The proportion was somewhat lower among the lower- ranked faculty, with white males making up 39% of the lecturers. Student Performance ------------------- * Reading Overall, the reading achievement scores for the country's 9-, 13- & 17-year-old students are mixed. Reading performance scores for 9- & 13-year-olds were somewhat higher in 1996 than they were in 1971. However, there has been little change since the mid-1980s. The reading performance of 17-year-olds was about the same in 1996 as it was in 1971. Black 13- & 17-year-olds exhibited higher reading performance in 1996 than in 1971. Black 9-year-olds' performance improved significantly between 1971 & 1980, but it has not improved further. The performance levels of white 9- & 13-year olds also rose between 1971 & 1996. Separate data for Hispanics were not gathered in 1971, but changes between 1975 & 1996 indicate an increase among 9-year-olds. There was no significant difference between the 1975 & 1996 reading performance of 13- & 17-year-old Hispanics. * Mathematics Results from assessments of mathematics proficiency indicate that 9- & 13-year-old students improved their performance between 1973 & 1996. However, there has been no significant change for 9-year-olds since 1990, & the performance of older students on advanced mathematical operations has been stable. The proportion of 17-year-olds, who demonstrated skill with moderately complex procedures & reasoning, rose from 52% in 1978 to 60% in 1996. During the same time period, the proportion of 17-year-olds with skill in multi-step problem solving & algebra remained unchanged. White, black, & Hispanic students improved their mathematics performance between 1973 & 1996, among all three age groups. Mathematics scores for white, black, & Hispanic 9-, 13- & 17-year-olds improved between 1986 & 1996. A 1996 voluntary assessment of the states found that mathematics proficiency varied widely among 8th graders in the 42 jurisdictions (40 states, Guam, & the District of Columbia) that participated in the program. Overall, 62% of these 8th grade students performed at or above the basic level in mathematics. Only four states, the District of Columbia, & Guam had fewer than 50% of students performing at least at the basic level in math. Ten states had 70% or more of their students performing at or above the basic level. * Science Long-term changes in science performance have been mixed, though changes over the past 10 years have been generally positive. In 1996, science performance among 17-year-olds was lower than in 1970, but higher than in 1986. The science performance level of 13-year-olds was higher in 1996 than in 1986, recouping earlier declines. The science performance of 9-year-olds increased between 1986 & 1996, after showing no significant change between 1970 & 1986. The science performance of white 9- & 13-year-olds was about the same in 1996 as it was in 1970, & the performance of 17-year-olds was lower in 1996. However, the performance at each of the three age groups was higher in 1996 than in 1986. Black & Hispanic 9- & 13-year-olds had higher science performance in 1996 than in the 1970s. Black 17-year-olds showed a decline through 1982 & then an increase by 1996. Despite significant gains by younger black & Hispanic students, their average performance remains lower than for white students. Although the performance gap between black & white students has narrowed, the science performance for black 13-year-olds was slightly lower than the average for white 9-year-olds in 1996. * International Comparisons The results of a 1995 international assessment in math & science show that U.S. 4th & 8th graders compare more favorably with other countries in science than in mathematics. In mathematics, U.S. 8th graders scored below the international average, falling below 20 of the 41 countries tested. Fourth graders performed above the international average of 26 countries tested, scoring below seven countries, including Singapore, Korea, & Japan. Students at both the 4th & 8th grade levels scored above the international average in science. Eighth grade students in the U.S. were outperformed by nine out of 41 countries. Fourth grade students once again compared more favorably with their international counterparts than 8th grade students. Out of 26 countries who participated in the 4th grade assessment, only one country outperformed the U.S. students in science. The international standing of U.S. students was stronger at the 8th grade than at the 12th grade in both mathematics & science among the countries that participated in the assessments at both grade levels. U.S. 12th graders performed below the international average & among the lowest scoring of the 21 countries on the assessment of mathematics general knowledge. U.S. students were outperformed by those in 14 countries, & outperformed those in two countries. U.S. 12th graders also performed below the international average & among the lowest scoring of the 21 countries on the assessment of science general knowledge. U.S. students were outperformed by students in 11 countries, & they outperformed students in two countries. Our students' scores were not significantly different from those of seven countries, including France, Germany, Italy & the Russian Federation (Pursuing Excellence, 12th grade, pages 17 & 18). Graduates & Degrees --------------------- The number of high school graduates in 1998-99 totaled about 2.8 million. Approximately 2.5 million graduated from public schools & less than 0.3 million graduated from private schools. The number of high school graduates has declined from its peak in 1976-77 when 3.2 million people earned their diplomas. In contrast, the number of GED credentials issued rose from 337,000 in 1976 to 496,000 in 1998. The dropout rate also declined over this period, from 14% of all 16- to 24-year-olds in 1977 to 12% in 1998. The number of degrees conferred by institutions of higher education during the 1998-99 school year by degree level has been projected: 563,000 associate degrees; 1,166,000 bachelor's degrees; 385,000 master's degrees; 76,300 first-professional degrees; & 44,100 doctor's degrees. The Bureau of the Census has collected annual statistics on the educational attainment of the population in terms of years of school completed. Between 1980 & 1998, the proportion of the adult population 25 years of age & over with 4 years of high school or more rose from 69% to 83%, & the proportion of adults with at least 4 years of college increased from 17% to 24%. In contrast, the proportion of young adults (25- to 29-year-olds) completing high school showed a small increase of about 3 percent points to 88% in 1998. Expenditures ------------ Expenditures for public & private education, from preprimary through graduate school, are estimated at $619 billion for 1998-99. The expenditures of elementary & secondary schools are expected to total about $372 billion for 1998-99, while those of institutions of higher education will be about $247 billion. Viewed in another context, the total expenditures for education are expected to amount to about 7.3% of the gross domestic product in 1998-99, about the same percent as in the recent past. Summary ------- The statistical highlights in this section of the report provide a quantitative description of the current American education scene. Clearly, from the large number of participants, the number of years that people spend in school, & the large sums expended by educational institutions, it is evident that the American people have a high regard for education. Assessment data indicate that there have been improvements in mathematics & science performance between 1986 & 1996. A high proportion of high school graduates are going on to college. Yet, wide variations in student proficiency from state to state & mediocre mathematics scores of American students in international assessments pose challenges. =========================================================== To subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) EDInfo, address an email message to: listproc@inet.ed.gov Then write either SUBSCRIBE EDINFO YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME in the message, or write UNSUBSCRIBE EDINFO (if you have a signature block, please turn it off) Then send it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Past EDInfo messages: http://www.ed.gov/MailingLists/EDInfo/ Search: http://www.ed.gov/MailingLists/EDInfo/search.html Past ED Initiatives: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EDInitiatives/ =========================================================== Jerry Malitz, Peter Kickbush, & Kirk Winters U.S. Department of Education kirk_winters@ed.gov ===================================================================== EDUCATION CONSUMERS CLEARINGHOUSE online networking and information for parents, taxpayers, and policymakers on the internet Website & Archives: http://education-consumers.com You are currently subscribed to education-consumers as: arthurhu@halcyon.com TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a blank email to leave-education-consumers-989462S@lists.dundee.net ===================================================================== To post messages, send to For less mail, use the following link and choose 1) a daily digest, 2) a daily list of subjects, or 3) no mail (read postings on Web) http://lists.dundee.net/scripts/lyris.pl?enter=education-consumers For more help & info: http://www.lyris.com/help or