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Recent Study
Private School Participants in Programs under the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Private School and Public School Perspectives.
Statistics About Non-Public Education in the United States
About 13 percent of elementary and secondary students in the United States are enrolled in nonpublic school educational settings. This includes children educated in private schools and those who are educated at home.
Private Schools
Schools and Enrollment
In the fall of 2005, there were an estimated
- 28,996 private elementary and secondary schools, with
- 5,057,520 students, and
- 435,485 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers.
In 2005, private schools comprised almost 24 percent of elementary and secondary schools and approximately 11 percent of elementary and secondary school enrollments in the United States.
Private Schools in the U.S.
Number and Percentage by NCES Typology
2005-06
| Catholic | Parochial | Diocesan | Private |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,634 | 3,669 | 2,972 | 993 |
| (26.3%) | (12.7%) | (10.2%) | (3.4%) |
| Other religious | Conservative Christian | Affiliated | Unaffiliated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14,445 | 5,704 | 3,655 | 5,086 |
| (49.8%) | (19.7%) | (12.6%) | (17.5%) |
| Nonsectarian | Regular | Special Emphasis | Special Education |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6,916 | 2,770 | 2,626 | 1,521 |
| (23.9%) | (9.6%) | (9.1%) | (5.2%) |
| Elementary | Secondary | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| 16,812 | 2,927 | 9,257 |
| (58%) | (10.1%) | (31.9%) |
Private School Students in the U.S.
Number and Percentage by NCES Typology
2005-06
| Catholic | Parochial | Diocesan | Private |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,246240 | 982,380 | 895,840 | 368,020 |
| (44.4%) | (19.4%) | (17.7%) | (7.4%) |
| Other religious | Conservative Christian | Affiliated | Unaffiliated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,884,616 | 823,696 | 584,979 | 475,942 |
| (37.3%) | (16.3%) | (11.6%) | (9.4%) |
| Nonsectarian | Regular | Special Emphasis | Special Education |
|---|---|---|---|
| 926,664 | 604,383 | 218,123 | 104,158 |
| (18.3%) | (12.0%) | (4.3%) | (2.1%) |
| Elementary | Secondary | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| 2,551,196 | 859,453 | 1,646,871 |
| (50.4%) | (17.0%) | (32.6%) |
Tuition
For the 2003-2004 school year, private school tuition averages were:
- $5,049 for elementary schools;
- $8,412 for secondary schools; and
- $8,302 for combined schools.
Homeschooling
In the spring of 2003, an estimated 1,096,000 students were being educated at home in the United States. This represents a 29 percent increase from the estimated 850,000 students who were being homeschooled in the spring of 1999. In addition, the estimated homeschooling rate-the percentage of the school-aged population being homeschooled-rose from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 2.2 percent in 2003.
Parents give various reasons for the decision to educate their children at home. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) study Homeschooling in the United States: 2003, 31 percent of homeschooled children had parents who cited concern about the environment of other schools (including concerns about safety, drugs, and negative peer pressure) as their most important reason for homeschooling, 30 percent had parents who said the most important reason was to provide religious or moral instruction, and 16 percent had parents who said dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools was their most important reason.
Helpful Links
Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Sources
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results from the 2005-2006 Private School Universe Survey
U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 2003-04
U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Homeschooling in the United States: 2003
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