Overview Of Public Elementary And Secondary Schools And Districts PDF Download

This report summarizes information about public elementary and secondary schools and local education agencies in the United States during the 2001-2002 school year. The information is provided by state education agencies through the Common Core of Data survey system. States reported 94,112 public elementary and secondary schools in the 2001-2002 school year, an increase of more than 11% from the totals for fall 1991. Most of these (985) were regular schools, but others focused on special education, vocational/technical education, or alternative programs. About 85% of local education agencies were those typically thought of as "school districts," operated by a local school board. About 8% were supervisory unions or regional education service agencies, and around 7% were operated directly by a state or federal government agency or some other entity. In the 2001-220 school year, the public schools provided instruction to 47.7 million students. Five states enrolled more than two million students in their schools, but, at the other end of the spectrum, the District of Columbia and Wyoming reported fewer than 100,000 students. Schools came in all combinations of grades, and primary schools tended to be smaller than middle schools or high schools. However, student-teacher ratios were higher in the elementary schools, with a median of 16.0 students per teacher. The majority of schools (57%) were in large of midsize cities or accompanying urban fringe areas. These schools accounted for more than two-thirds of all public school students. The report also contains some information on other school characteristics. An appendix contains supplemental tables. (Contains 19 tables.).