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[|htt][|ces.ed.gov/fastfacts/index.asp?faq=FFOption3#faqFFOption3]

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1. What are the trends in school age population growth in the United States? -- A pattern of annual increases in total public elementary and secondary school enrollment began in 1985. Between 1985 and 2008, public school enrollment rose 26 percent, from 39.4 million to 49.8 million. Private school enrollment grew more slowly than public school during this period...As a result the percentage of elementary and secondary students enrolled in private schools declined from 12.4 percent (1985) to 10.8 percent (2008). []

2. How many students are enrolled in public schools, charter schools, private or parochial schools? - A pattern of annual increases in total public elementary and secondary school enrollment began in 1985 ( [|table 3] ). Between 1985 and 2008, public school enrollment rose 26 percent, from 39.4 million to 49.8 million ( [|table 2] )Private school enrollment grew more slowly than public school enrollment during this period, rising 9 percent, from 5.6 million to 6.1 million. As a result, the percentage of elementary and secondary students enrolled in private schools declined from 12.4 percent in 1985 to 10.8 percent in 2008. [] From 1999–2000 to 2007–08, the number of students enrolled in charter schools in the United States more than tripled, from 340,000 to 1.3 million students. []

3. How many students are home schooled?

According to http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=91 ... In 2007, the number of homeschooled students was about 1.5 million, an increase from 850,000 in 1999 and 1.1 million in 2003. The percentage of the school-age population that was homeschooled increased from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 2.9 percent in 2007. The increase in the percentage of homeschooled students from 1999 to 2007 represents a 74 percent relative increase over the 8-year period and a 36 percent relative increase since 2003. In 2007, the majority of homeschooled students received all of their education at home (84 percent), but some attended school up to 25 hours per week. Eleven percent of homeschooled students were enrolled in school less than 9 hours per week, and 5 percent were enrolled between 9 and 25 hours per week.

4. What is the demographic breakdown by race, class, gender, ethnicity of those students?

In 2007–08, greater percentages of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students attended high-poverty schools than did White or Asian/Pacific Islander students. Within high-poverty schools, Hispanics and Blacks represented the greatest shares of enrollment at both the elementary and secondary level. Hispanics represented the highest percentage of students at high-poverty elementary and secondary schools in suburban areas and cities, as well as at high-poverty elementary schools in towns. A greater percentage of Black and White students (31 percent each) attended high-poverty elementary schools in rural areas than did students of all other racial/ethnic groups. Black students also represented the greatest percentage of student enrollment at high-poverty secondary schools located in towns and rural areas (44 and 34 percent, respectively) from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/statement/s5.asp

The definitions of racial/ethnic groups also differ across surveys, particularly with respect to whether Hispanic origin is considered an ethnic group regardless of race, or counted separately as a racial/ethnic group. Individual tables note the definitions used in the given studies. from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d08/

There have been declines in the dropout rates for Blacks and Hispanics, although their rates remain higher than those for Whites. [|(source] and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 2008). from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

5. How many students are formally identified with special needs in the United States? In 2007-2008 there were 6,606 (in thousands) of children with all disabilities or special needs. There total enrollment was 13.4 percent.

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6. What percentage of students with disabilities are educated in regular classrooms?

In fall 2007, some 95 percent of 6- to 21-year-old students with disabilities were served in regular schools; 3 percent were served in a separate school for students with disabilities; 1 percent were placed in regular private schools by their parents; and less than 1 percent each were served in one of the following environments: in a separate residential facility, homebound or in a hospital, or in a correctional facility.

[|Chapter 2] .[|ces.ed.gov/fastfacts/index.asp?faq=FFOption3#faqFFOption3] 7. What are the categories of specialness that are chronicled? The categories that are chronicled are: "specific learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, healing impairments, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, visual impairments, multiple disabilities, deaf-blindness, autism, traumatic brain injury, developmental delays, preschool disabled"
 * SOURCE:** U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2010). //Digest of Education Statistics, 2009// (NCES 2010-013),

[|htt][|ces.ed.gov/fastfacts/index.asp?faq=FFOption3#faqFFOption3]

8. What is the socioeconomic breakdown in our schools as measured by eligibility for free and reduced lunch? Drawing upon data from various NCES survey collections presented in //The Condition of Education// 2010, this special section provides a descriptive profile of high-poverty public schools in the United States. It examines the characteristics of students who attend these schools, as well as the principals, teachers, and support staff who work in these schools. Using the percentage of a school's enrollment that is eligible for the National School Lunch Program's free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) as the measure of school poverty, the characteristics of high-poverty public schools are as follows:
 * In 2007–08, there were 16,122 schools, or 17 percent of all public schools, that were considered high-poverty schools. That is, in these schools, 75 percent or more of the student enrollment was eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

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9.How many teachers are employed in the United States? `A projected 3.7 million full-time-equivalent (FTE) elementary and secondary school teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in fall 2008 ( [|table 4] ). This number has risen 15 percent since 1998. The 2008 projected number of FTE teachers includes 3.2 million public school teachers and 0.5 million private school teachers. []

10.What is the demographic breakdown of those teachers?

11.What is the high school dropout rate in the United States? according to http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16 the high school drop out rate (16-24 years old) in 2007 was 8.7% and in 2008 lowered to 8%. this is supplemented by http://www.all4ed.org/files/GraduationRates_FactSheet.pdf and http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/obama-takes-aim-at-school-dropout-rates/ that says that about 1.2 million students drop out of high school each year.

12. What is the difference between the dropout rate and the high school completion rate? In the 2006-2007 school year, the dropout rate was 8.7%. This rate is defined by the number of 16-24 year olds who are not enrolled in school and who have not completed a high school program, regardless of when they left school. (People who left school but went on to receive a GED credential are not treated as dropouts.). This information was given by []The high school completion rate for this school year was 75.4%. This rate is defined by the number of students who recieved their high school diploma, even if they didn't recieve it on time (4 years). This information was given by []

13.What is the demographic breadown by race, class, gender and ethnicity of those students who dropout? · The percentage of dropouts among 16- to 24-year-olds has shown some decreases over the past 20 years. Between 1987 and 2007, the status dropout rate declined from 12.6 percent to 8.7 percent. Although the status dropout rate declined for both Blacks and Hispanics during this period, their rates (8.4 and 21.4 percent, respectively) remained higher than the rate for Whites (5.3 percent) in 2007. []

14. How many students are formally identified as gifted and talented? Number of gifted and talented students in public elementary and secondary schools: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_053.asp
 * In 2004: 3,202,760
 * In 2006: 3,236,990

15.How many English language learner (ELL) students are receiving services in U.S. public schools?

Between 1979 and 2008, the number of school-age children (children ages 5-17) who spoke a language other than English at home increased from 3.8 to 10.9 million, or from 9 to 21 percent of the population in this age range. An increase (from 18 to 21 percent) was also evident during the more recent period of 2000 through 2008. After increasing from 3 to 6 percent between 1979 and 2000, the percentage of school-age children who spoke a language other than English at home and who spoke English with difficulty decreased to 5 percent in 2008. [|htt][|ces.ed.gov/fastfacts/index.asp?faq=FFOption3#faqFFOption3]

That there are 5.5 million ELL students in U.S. public schools who speak more than 400 different languages. Eighty percent of ELL students speak Spanish as their first language. This constitutes more than 12 percent of those students in public elementary and secondary schools. http://www.ncpie.org/nclbaction/english_language_learners.html

16. What is the demographic breakdown of the first languages those students speak?

The demographic breakdown below is based on a 2008 study of children ages 5-17 who speak English with difficulty and speak another language at home.
 * Spanish- 1,996,000 children (25% of total population)


 * Other Indo-European (french, german, portuguese)- 279,000 children (18.4%)


 * Asian/Pacific Islander- 311,000 children (26.9%)


 * Other- 87,000 children (20.2%)

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/section1/table-lsm-2.asp

17. In what ways do public and private schools differ?
 * Selected School Characteristics**
 * In the 2007–08 school year, there were an estimated 119,150 K–12 schools in the United States: 87,190 traditional public, 3,560 public charter, 180 Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE), and 28,220 private schools. Among these schools, 52 percent of traditional public, 55 percent of charter, 85 percent of BIE-funded, and 19 percent of private schools enrolled students receiving Title I services.
 * The racial and ethnic composition of students enrolled in public schools was 58 percent non-Hispanic White, 20 percent Hispanic (regardless of race), 16 percent non-Hispanic Black, 4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1 percent American Indian/Alaska Native. Among private schools, the racial and ethnic composition was 74 percent non-Hispanic White, 10 percent non-Hispanic Black, 9 percent Hispanic (regardless of race), 6 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1 percent American Indian/Alaska Native.
 * About 63 percent of public and 37 percent of private schools employed staff with academic specialist or coaching assignments. A higher percentage of public elementary schools had staff with academic specialist or coaching assignments (73 percent) compared to private elementary (37 percent), public secondary (42 percent), and combined public schools (46 percent).
 * SOURCE:** U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). //[|Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary Schools in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey]// (NCES 2009-321).
 * Selected Teacher Characteristics**
 * As reported by teachers in 2007–08, among public school teachers of self-contained classes in elementary schools, the average class size was 20.3 students per class. Among private school teachers of self-contained classes in elementary schools, the average class size was 18.1 students per class.
 * In 2007–08, the average annual base salary of regular full-time public school teachers ($49,600) was higher than the average annual base salary of regular full-time private school teachers ($36,300).
 * SOURCE:** U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). //[|Characteristics of Public, Private, and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary Teachers in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey]// (NCES 2009-324).

18. What are the trends in vocational education? In 2005, public high school graduates earned more credits on average and concentrated more often in five occupational program areas than in 1990: computer technology, health care, communications technology, child care and education, and protective services. In contrast, 2005 graduates earned fewer credits on average and concentrated less often than 1990 graduates in three occupational program areas: business services, materials production, and other precision production.

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19. What are the trends in the educational level of the United States population? []
 * A projected 3.7 million full-time-equivalent (FTE) elementary and secondary school teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in fall 2009. This number has risen 12 percent since 1999. The 2009 projected number of FTE teachers includes 3.2 million public school teachers and 0.5 million private school teachers.
 * In 2007–08, some 76 percent of public school teachers were female, 44 percent were under age 40, and 52 percent had a master’s or higher degreee. Compared with public school teachers, a lower percentage of private school teachers were female (74 percent), were under age 40 (39 percent), and had a master’s or higher degree (38 percent).
 * For public schools, the number of pupils per teacher—that is, the pupil/teacher ratio —declined from 22.3 in 1970 to 17.9 in 1985. After 1985, the public school pupil/teacher ratio continued to decline, reaching 17.2 in 1989. After a period of relative stability during the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, the ratio declined from 17.3 in 1995 to 16.0 in 2000. Decreases have continued since then, and the public school pupil/teacher ratio was 15.5 in 2007. By comparison, the pupil/teacher ratio for private schools was 13.0 in 2007. The average class size in 2007–08 was 20.0 pupils for public elementary schools and 23.4 pupils for public secondary schools.
 * The number of public school teachers has risen faster than the number of public school students over the past 10 years, resulting in declines in the pupil/teacher ratio (table 64). In the fall of 2009, there were a projected 15.3 public school pupils per teacher, compared with 16.1 public school pupils per teacher 10 years earlier.
 * The average salary for public school teachers in 2008–09 was $53,910, about 2 percent higher than in 1998–99, after adjustment for inflation. The salaries of public school teachers have generally maintained pace with inflation since 1990–91.
 * At the end of the 2003–04 school year, 17 percent of the elementary and secondary teacher workforce (or 621,000 teachers) left the public and private schools where they had been teaching.
 * Almost half of this teacher turnover was due to transfers: 8 percent of the teacher workforce (or 289,000 teachers) transferred to a different school. The remainder (9 percent of the teacher workforce or 333,000 teachers) was due to teachers who left teaching: teachers who took a job in a field other than elementary or secondary teaching (4 percent), returned to school for further education (0.3 percent), left for family reasons (e.g., to raise children or take care of other family members) (1 percent), retired (2 percent), and left for miscellaneous “other”1 reasons (1 percent).
 * The percentage of teacher turnover at the end of 2003–04 was larger than at the end of 1987–88, 1990–91, and 1993–94 but was not measurably different from that at the end of 1999–2000.
 * In public schools, the turnover rate for high-poverty schools was greater than for low-poverty schools at the end of 2003–04 (21 vs. 14 percent).
 * SOURCE:** U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). //Digest of Education Statistics, 2009// (NCES 2010-013), [|Introduction] and [|Chapter 2].

20. What is Title I and what type of students does it most benefit?

This program provides financial assistance through state educational agencies (SEAs) to local educational agencies (LEAs) and public schools with high numbers or percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.

Title I services on children who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet state academic standards.

Low-income students are defined as those meeting free or reduced-price lunch criteria. Schools in poverty are defined by the percentage of low-income students. A Title I school must have: 1) a percentage of low-income students that is at least as high as the district's overall percentage; or 2) have at least 35 percent low-income students (whichever is the lower of the two figures). Only about one-third of the schools eligible for Title I are funded nationwide.

**//Sources://** U.S. Department of Education. [|//Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies (Title I, Part A)//].
[]; []

21. How much money does the United States spend on public elementary and secondary schools?

School districts had total expenditures of approximately $562.3 billion in 2006–07, including about $476.8 billion in current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education. Of the remaining expenditures, $62.9 billion was spent on capital outlay, $14.7 billion on interest payments on debt, and $7.8 billion on other programs (programs such as community services and adult education, which are not a part of public elementary and secondary education). After adjustment for inflation, current expenditures per student in fall enrollment at public schools rose during the 1980s, remained stable during the first part of the 1990s, and rose again after 1992–93. There was an increase of 37 percent from 1980–81 to 1990–91; a change of less than 1 percent from 1990–91 to 1994–95 (which resulted from small decreases at the beginning of this period, followed by small increases after 1992–93); and an increase of 29 percent from 1994–95 to 2006–07. In 2006–07, current expenditures per student in fall enrollment were $9,683 in unadjusted dollars. In 2006–07, some 56 percent of students in public schools were transported at public expense at a cost of $779 per pupil, also in unadjusted dollars.

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66 http://www.census.gov/govs/school/

22. What percentage of elementary and secondary schools offer distance education? During the 12-month 2004�05 school year, 37 percent of public school districts and 10 percent of all public schools nationwide had students enrolled in technology-based distance education courses. This represents an estimated 5,670 public school districts and 9,050 public schools. The number of enrollments in technology-based distance education courses increased from an estimated 317,070 enrollments in 2002�03 to 506,950 in 2004�05.

[|htt][|ces.ed.gov/fastfacts/index.asp?faq=FFOption3#faqFFOption3] http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=79

23. What are schools doing for violence prevention? During the 2007-2008 school year, the School Survey on Crime and Safety was conducted, questioning how schools dealt with violence prevention. Questions asked included the use of metal detectors and drug dogs, along with teacher training in how to deal with violent situations. They also asked about programs to help guide students away from violence and if there are programs to deal with behavioral issues.

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010334.pdf

24. What percentage of students are transported at public expense and how much does the public spend on transportation on a per pupil basis? In 2006–07, some 56 percent of students in public schools were transported at public expense at a cost of $779 per pupil, in unadjusted dollars.

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=67

25.How many schools in the U.S. have access to the Internet? In fall 2005, nearly 100 percent of public schools in the United States had access to the Internet, compared with 35 percent in 1994. In 2005, no differences in school Internet access were observed by any school characteristics, which is consistent with data reported previously. There have been virtually no differences in school access to the Internet by school characteristics since 1999. [|source.]

26. How do U.S. students generally rank in international comparisons? []

On the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the average mathematics score of U.S. 4th-graders exceeded the international average for the 25 participating educational systems ([|table 406]). U.S. 4th-graders outscored students in 13 educational systems, but were outperformed by students in 11 educational systems. Also on the 2003 TIMSS, U.S. 8th-graders exceeded the international average score for the 45 educational systems participating at the 8th-grade level ([|table 407]). U.S. 8th-graders outscored students in 25 educational systems, and were outperformed by students in 9 educational systems. On the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the average score of U.S. 15-year-olds in mathematics literacy was 474, which was lower than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 498 ([|table 403]). (Possible scores on PISA assessments range from 0 to 1,000.) The average mathematics literacy score in the United States was lower than the average score in 23 of the other 29 OECD countries for which comparable PISA results were reported, higher than the average score in 4 of the other OECD countries, and not measurably different from the average score in 2 of the OECD countries. In science literacy, the average score of 15-year-olds in the United States was lower than the average score in 16 of the other 29 OECD countries, higher than the average score in 5 of the other OECD countries, and not measurably different from the average score in 8 of the OECD countries.