Education in the U.S.

Education is very much a part of our daily lives with more than one in four people in the U.S. aged 3 and older enrolled in school in 2000. The 76.6 million students in 2000 included 5.0 million enrolled in nursery school, 4.2 million in kindergarten, 33.7 million in elementary school, 16.4 million in high school, 14.4 million in college (undergraduate) and 3.1 million in graduate school.

Academic Achievement

Children's academic achievement can be analyzed by considering outcomes, such as being academically "on-track" (i.e., enrolled in school at or above the modal grade level for their age), taking classes for gifted students, changing schools, repeating grades, and being suspended. Nationally, in 2000, 72 percent of children 12 to 17 years old were academically on-track for their age. Girls were more likely to be on-track than boys - 79 percent and 69 percent, respectively.

Thirteen percent of children 6 to 11 years old and 22 percent of children 12 to 17 years old were in a special class for gifted students or did advanced work in any subjects, which included honors and advanced placement classes in high school. Half (49 percent) of children 12 to 17 years old whose parent had an advanced degree were in gifted classes, compared to only 14 percent of children whose parent had attained a high school education or lower. The proportion in gifted classes was also higher for children aged 12 to 17 whose parents were married (24 percent) than for children living with separated, divorced, or widowed parents, or never-married parents (17 percent and 12 percent, respectively).

One-tenth of U.S. Students in First-through-Twelfth Grade Attend Private Schools

In April 2000, 5.2 million first-through-twelfth graders attended private schools, or 10.4 percent of students in those grades. Differences in private school attendance rates among groups reflect several factors, including economic ability to afford the cost of private school tuition, religious affiliation, and quality of the local public schools. The difference in proportions of boys and girls enrolled in private schools was minimal, whereas differences were more noticeable by race and Hispanic origin. Non-Hispanic White children (13 percent), Asian children (10 percent) and children of Two or more races (9 percent) were most likely to attend private schools in 2000.

Americans More Educated Than Ever

In 2003, over four-fifths (85 percent) of all adults 25 years or older reported they had completed at least high school; over one in four adults (27 percent) had attained at least a bachelor's degree; both measures are all time highs. In 2003, the percentage of the adult population who had completed high school increased for the first time since 2000, when it was 84 percent.

- Abridged from State Dept. Publications and other U.S. government materials

General Overviews

No Child Left Behind Act