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Liaison to the nonpublic school community for the U.S. Department of Education
Statistics About Nonpublic Education in the United States
Private Schools
Schools and Enrollment
Private School Universe Survey 2013-14
In the fall of 2013, there were an estimated:
- 33,619 private elementary and secondary schools with,
- 4,576,410 students, and
- 441,496 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers.
Note: These estimates include schools for which kindergarten is the highest grade.
Catholic | Parochial | Diocesan | Private |
6,695 | 2,715 | 2,997 | 1,007 |
(19.9%) | (8.1%) | (8.9%) | (3.0%) |
Other religious | Conservative Christian | Affiliated | Unaffiliated |
16,387 | 4,255 | 3,035 | 9,098 |
(48.7%) | (12.7%) | (9%) | (27.1%) |
Nonsectarian | Regular | Special Emphasis | Special Education |
10,537 | 5,229 | 3,701 | 1,607 |
(31.3%) | (15.6%) | (11.0%) | (4.8%) |
Elementary | Secondary | Combined |
---|---|---|
22,509 | 2,701 | 8,409 |
(67.0%) | (8.0%) | (25.0%) |
Catholic | Parochial | Diocesan | Private |
1,891,387 | 663,992 | 62,926 | 364,469 |
(41.3%) | (14.5%) | (18.9%) | (8.0%) |
Other religious | Conservative Christian | Other affiliated | Unaffiliated |
1,711,348 | 613,713 | 489,209 | 608,426 |
(37.4%) | (13.4%) | (10.7%) | (13.3%) |
Nonsectarian | Regular | Special emphasis | Special education |
973,675 | 667,208 | 207,188 | 99,280 |
(21.3%) | (14.6%) | (4.5%) | (2.2%) |
Elementary | Secondary | Combined |
---|---|---|
2,154,815 | 737,863 | 1,683,732 |
(47.1%) | (16.1%) | (36.8%) |
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Tuition
For the 2011-2012 school year, private school full tuition averages were:
- $7,770 for elementary schools;
- $13,030 for secondary schools; and
- $13,640 for combined schools.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Private School Data File," 1999-2000, 2003-04, 2007-08 and 2011-12. (This table was prepared in June 2013.)
Homeschooling
In 2012, there were an estimated 1.8 million homeschooled students in the United States, which is an increase from 850,000 in 1999, when estimates were first reported. In addition, the estimated percentage of the school-age population that was homeschooled increased from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 3.4 percent in 2012.
Parents give various reasons for the decision to educate their children at home.
Reason | 2011-2012 |
---|---|
A desire to provide religious instruction | 64 |
A desire to provide moral instruction | 77 |
A concern about environment of other schools | 91 |
A dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools | 74 |
A desire to provide a nontraditional approach to child's education | 44 |
Child has other special needs | 16 |
Child has a physical or mental health problem | 15 |
Other reasons | 37 |
Other Resources
Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
List of Sources
U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2013-14 Private School Universe Survey (NCES 2013-316).
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Private School Questionnaire," 1999-2000, 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Homeschooling in the United States: 2012-(NCES 2016096).
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