Education Statistics: Facts About American Schools via EdWeek - NCES

Education Statistics: Facts About American Schools

EdWeek: 1.03.2019 by Maya Riser-Kositsky

How many K-12 public schools, districts, and students are there? What does the American student population look like? And how much are we, as a nation, spending on the education of these youth?

These data points can give perspective to the implications and potential impact of education policies. The Education Week library provides answers to these questions, and some other enlightening facts, below.

This page will be updated when new federal data becomes available.

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Schools and Districts | Students | Teachers and Principals | School Spending

SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS

How many schools are there in the U.S.?

There are 132,853 K-12 schools in the U.S., according to 2015-16 data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Here's how they break down:

All: 132,853

Elementary schools: 88,665

Secondary schools: 26,986

Combined schools: 16,511

Other*: 691

*Includes special education, alternative, and other schools not classified by grade span.

How many are traditional public schools, public charter schools, or private schools?

While charter schools are often the topic of debate, they make up only a small portion of all schools.

Traditional public schools: 91,422 (2015-16, Source)

Public charter schools: 6,855 (2015-16, Source)

Private schools: 34,576 (2015-16, Source)

For more on charters, including how they work and who oversees them, read this explainer.

What is the average public school size?

The average public school enrollment is 526 students, according to data from 2015. That's up 6 students from the average school size in 2011, according to NCES.  READ MORE >>

Education & School Reports & Statistics

Ongoing

Condition of Education, NCES
Digest of Education Statistics, American education: pre k-graduate school, NCES
Diplomas Count, Education Week
Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States, USDE, IES, NCES
Education Fast Facts, NCES
Homeschooling in the United States, USDE, IES, NCES

Nation’s Report Card– Reading NAEP, NCES
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PIRLS
Program for International Student Assessment PISA