MEDIA RELEASE

By August, summertime will be winding down and vacations will be coming to an end, signaling that back-to-school time is near. It’s a time that many children eagerly anticipate — catching up with old friends, making new ones and settling into a new daily routine. This edition of Facts for Features highlights the many statistics associated with the return to classrooms by our nation’s students and teachers.

Back-to-School Shopping

$7.2 billion
The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2009. Only in December were sales significantly higher. Similarly, sales at bookstores in August 2009 totaled $2.5 billion, an amount approached in 2009 only by sales in January.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services
http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html

For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2007, there were 27,326 family clothing stores, 7,036 children and infants clothing stores, 27,213 shoe stores, 9,754 office supply and stationery stores, 23,756 sporting goods stores, 10,635 bookstores and 10,116 department stores.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2007 http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/

Students

76 million
The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2008 — from nursery school to college. They comprised 27 percent of the entire population 3 and older.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

Pre-K through 12 Enrollment

53%
Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

72%
Percentage of children 3 to 6 enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

56 million
The projected number of students to be enrolled in the nation’s elementary through high schools (grades K-12) this fall.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 214
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

11%
Projected percentage of elementary through high school students enrolled in private schools this fall.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 214
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

43%
Percentage of elementary through high school students who were nonwhite (single race) or Hispanic, as of October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

22%
Percentage of elementary through high school students who had at least one foreign-born parent in October 2008. Five percent were foreign-born themselves.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

50%
Percentage of kindergarten through 12th-grade students in California who had at least one foreign-born parent in 2006. California led the nation, followed by Nevada with 36 percent. New York, Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey and Hawaii were some of the states that also had at least one-quarter of students this age with at least one foreign-born parent.
Source: School Enrollment in the United States: 2006
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/2008-05-08_education.html

Nearly 80%
Percentage of students ages 12 to 17 who were academically on-track in 2006, up 8 percentage points from 1998. The odds of being on-track were 48 percent higher for these students if they were in a gifted class and 34 percent higher if they had never been suspended or expelled from school. (Students were considered to be academically on-track if they were enrolled in school at or above the grade level appropriate for their age.)
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb09-182.html

52%
Percentage of 12- to 17-year-olds who were highly engaged in school in 2006, up 5 percentage points from 1998. For 6- to 11-year-olds, the respective increase was from 56 percent to 59 percent.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb09-182.html

41%
Percentage of 6- to 17-year-olds who participated in sports in 2006, up from 34 percent in 1998. Participation in sports was the most popular extracurricular activity.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb09-182.html

Languages

10.9 million
Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who spoke a language other than English at home in 2008; 7.8 million of these children spoke Spanish at home.
Source: 2008 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/

45%
Percentage of children enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade in California who spoke a language other than English at home in 2006. California, which led all states, was followed by Texas (35 percent), New Mexico (34 percent) and Arizona (32 percent). The national average was 21 percent. (The percentages for Texas and New Mexico were not significantly different from one another.)
Source: School Enrollment in the United States: 2006
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/2008-05-08_education.html

Lunchtime

31 million
Average number of children participating each month in the national school lunch program in 2008.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 558
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

10 billion
The nation’s total apple production, in pounds, in 2009. The chances are good that the apples your children present to their teachers or enjoy for lunch were grown in Washington state, which accounted for more than half of the nation’s total production.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1113

College

19.1 million
The projected number of students enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities this fall. This is up from 13.8 million 20 years ago.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 214
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

16%
Percentage of all college students 35 and older in October 2008. They made up 36 percent of those attending school part time.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

64%
Percentage of undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges in October 2008. Of those enrolled in such schools, 83 percent attended full time.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

49%
Percentage of 18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in college in 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

55%
Percentage of college students who were women in October 2008.
Source: School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2008
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html

40%
Percentage of New Jersey residents who were college freshmen and attended school in-state, the lowest rate in the nation among states (as of fall 2006). Utah, at 90 percent, had the highest rate. (The District of Columbia had a rate of 29 percent.)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 277
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

26%
Among freshmen enrolled in colleges and universities in Rhode Island, the percentage enrolled in their home state ─ the lowest percentage in the nation among states in 2006. Texas (92 percent) had the highest percentage in 2006. (The District of Columbia had a rate of 7 percent.)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 277
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

How Many Schools?

98,793
Number of public schools in 2006-07. In 2007-08, there were 28,218 private schools.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Tables 234 and 255
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
(Note: Data for public and private schools pertain to different years because they were collected from separate surveys.)

4,352
Number of institutions of higher education in 2007.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 269
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

3,970
The number of public charter schools nationwide in 2006-07. These schools, exempt from selected state and local rules and regulations, enrolled 1.2 million students.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 233
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Teachers and Other School Personnel

7.2 million
Number of teachers in the United States in 2008. Almost 3 million taught at the elementary and middle school level. The remainder included those teaching at the postsecondary, secondary, preschool and kindergarten levels.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 603
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

$63,640
Average annual salary of public school teachers in California as of the 2006-2007 school year — the highest of any state. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest pay — $35,378. The national average was $50,758. High school principals earned $97,486 annually in 2007-08.
Source: National Education Association and Educational Research Service as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Tables 247 and 250
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

$16.56
Average hourly wage for the nation’s school bus drivers in 2007-08. Custodians earned $14.19, while cafeteria workers made $11.60.
Source: Educational Research Service as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 250
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Technology

14.2 million
Number of computers available for classroom use in the nation’s schools as of the 2005-2006 school year. That works out to one computer for every four students.
Source: Market Data Retrieval as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 254
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

The Rising Cost of College

$14,915
Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an academic year (2007-08). That was more than double the cost in 1990.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 282
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

$40,640
Average tuition, room and board at the nation’s four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year (2007-08). That also was more than double the 1990 figure.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 282
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

The Rewards of Staying in School

$83,144
Average annual 2008 earnings of workers 18 and older with an advanced degree. This compares with $21,023 for those without a high school diploma. In addition, those with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $58,613 in 2008, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,283.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html

$75,621
Average starting salary offered to bachelor’s degree candidates in petroleum engineering in 2008, among the highest of any field of study. At the other end of the spectrum were those majoring in a social science, who were offered an average of $39,476.
Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 287
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Graduation

3.3 million
Projected number of high school diplomas that will be awarded in the 2010-11 school year. Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 216
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

3.3 million
Number of college degrees expected to be conferred in the 2010-11 school year.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 216
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Government Spending on Public Education

$9,666
The per-pupil expenditure on public elementary and secondary education nationally in 2007. New York ($15,981) spent the most among states or state equivalents, followed by New Jersey ($15,691) and the District of Columbia ($14,324). Utah ($5,683) spent the least per student, followed by Idaho ($6,625) and Tennessee ($7,113).
Source: Public Education Finances: 2007
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/cb09-113.html

Parental Involvement
89%
Among K-12 students, the percentage with a parent or other household member who attended a general school or PTO/PTA meeting during the 2006-07 school year. Additionally, 65 percent had such a relative who participated in school fundraising and 46 percent who volunteered to serve on a school committee.
Source: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010,Table 243
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/