Back to School Facts:
Can you believe it's already back to school time? In America, we spend $7.6 billion on clothes and $2.4 billion in bookstores in August, in large part for back to school, according to a report by the Census Bureau.
This fall, back to school includes 76 million children and adults -- the total number enrolled from nursery school through college. That's 27 percent of the entire population older than 3 years.
About 14.2 million computers are in the nation's classrooms, one computer for every four students, as of the 2005-06 school year.
Children Going Back to School:
If your kids are among the 56 million U.S. students in elementary through high school this fall, you may be interested to know:
- 55 percent of 3- and 4-year olds in the U.S. were enrolled in school in October 2007.
- 71 percent of 3- to 6-year olds enrolled in kindergarten attended full-day programs that October.
- 42 percent of kindergarten through high school students were minorities.
- 23 percent of K-12 students had at least one foreign-born parent.
- 12 percent of children 6 through 11 years old participated in lessons, sports and clubs in 2006.
- 11 percent of K-12 students chose private school this fall.
School Changes, Challenges and Conquests:
School isn't always smooth sailing. About 6 percent of children aged 6 to 11 and 11 percent of kids aged 12 to 17 had repeated at least one grade, as of 2006.
26 percent of children 6 to 11 and 42 percent of children 12 to 17 had changed school at some point, not including the normal progression from elementary and middle school.
Still, 67 percent of children 6 to 17 often like school, according to their parents.
About 3.3 million high school diplomas and 3.2 million college degrees are estimated to be awarded in the 2009-10 school year.
College Students:
About 19 million students will be enrolled in a U.S. college or university this fall, of which about 15 percent are 35 and older. 66 percent of undergraduates were in 4-year colleges in October 2007.
Half of the 18 and 19 year olds were enrolled in college and 55 percent were women, as of October 2007. Women comprised 60 percent of graduate students.
The average cost of tuition, room and board was $14,915 at 4-year public colleges and $40,640 at private institutions for the academic year 2007-08.
How Many Schools?:
There are nearly 98,800 public schools and more than 28,200 private schools in the U.S. About 1.2 million children attend the nearly 4,000 public charter schools. Over 4,300 institutions grant college degrees.
Of the 7.2 million teachers, 2.9 million work at elementary and middle school levels. On average, public school teachers got a salary of $50,758 in the 2006-07 school year and principals earned $97,486 in 2007-08.
The average hourly wage for school bus drivers was $16.56, for custodians was $14.19 and for cafeteria workers was $11.60.
The government spent about $9,138 per pupil in 2006.
Source: the Census Bureau
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