Education articles
Get unbiased data and visuals on K-12 students and teachers, education spending, student debt, and higher education.
Who are the nation's teachers? Key insights in five charts
Pre-K-12 teachers made up 3.4% of the workforce in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Demographically, teachers are more likely to be white, a woman, and in their 40s. These patterns vary somewhat by school level but are true across the teaching profession overall. Here’s a snapshot of the nation’s teachers. How old are the nation’s teachers?In 2022, teachers ages 30 to 49 made up over half the teaching workforce. Teachers in their 40s made up most of the teaching pool (26.1%), followed closely by those in their 30s at 25.4%.
Jun 2, 2025How much do teachers get paid in the US?
About $63,000 per year in 2024. That’s the median annual wage for pre-K-12 teachers across the United States, based on estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median marks the middle point—half of teachers earn more and half earn less. The lowest-paid 10% earned $46,800 or less, while the highest-paid 10% earned $102,000 or more.
How universities spend billions in government funds
Aside from student financial aid, the federal government funds universities with grants and contracts. One major way universities use this funding is for research and development (R&D). In FY 2023, federal dollars supported $59.6 billion of university R&D expenses. The fields that received the most funding in 2023 were life sciences and engineering. Life sciences programs, the study of the nature and function of living things, received $33.9 billion, or 56.9% of federal grant and contract funding. Enginering applies math and physics to solve practical problems by designing, building, and improving structures, systems, and processes. Engineering R&D received $10.9 billion, or 18.3% of federal funding.
May 6, 2025Are math and reading scores increasing?
Falling reading scores for fourth and eighth graders since the COVID-19 pandemic continued dropping in 2024, while math scores showed little or no improvement. Scores for both age groups in both subjects remain below pre-pandemic levels. The Nation’s Report Card, or the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), tracks student progress in school subjects like math and reading at both public and private schools. The 2024 assessment examined the math and reading progress of more than 108,000 fourth graders and 111,000 eighth graders. The report scores performance on a scale of 0 to 500.
Apr 17, 2025What does the Department of Education do?
The Department of Education (Education Department, ED) is a cabinet-level executive branch agency responsible for overseeing education policy and administering funding for programs and individuals. The department's functions include supporting state and local education systems, promoting educational equity for all students, and providing grants and loans to higher education institutions and students. It was established in 1980 after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was reorganized into separate entities.
Updates annuallyHow does the federal government support education?
Despite having “education” in its title, the Department of Education (ED) is just one federal entity supporting students (of all ages, we should add). Other agencies, including the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and even the VA, support students, primarily with funding or specialized programs. What does the Department of Education do? What doesn’t it do? According to the Education Department, education is primarily a local and state responsibility rather than a federal one. The department does not mandate curriculum and is prohibited by Congress from doing so. The department is also fairly hands-off when it comes to elementary and secondary education, which are mostly funded by local governments. Meanwhile, state governments support higher education. But the Education Department does supplement funding for K-12 students, college students, and other adults through grants and program funding.
Feb 28, 2025What percentage of public school funding in the US comes from the federal government?
About 13.7% or one in every seven dollars of public school funding during the 2021–22 school year. Local and state governments typically provide most school district funding, with the federal government providing the rest. Federal sources provide as little as 0% and as much as 75% of funding, depending on the district. Federal funding depends on factors such as poverty levels and other student demographics, availability of state and local revenues, and whether a district is urban, suburban, or rural. During 2021–22, which is the latest year of data available, public schools received $124.9 billion, or $2,536 in federal funds per student.
Updates annuallyWhat is IES and what does it do?
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the nonpartisan research, evaluation, and statistics office of the Department of Education. Its main functions are funding research to test new approaches to education, evaluating federal programs for educational effectiveness, and reporting data on how well the nation is educating its students. IES is the smallest component of the Education Department. The department requested $283.8 billion of its fiscal year 2025 budget; the institute accounted for 0.29% of that. In 2024, the Department of Education was the sixth highest-funded federal agency.
Feb 20, 2025What are the most common civil rights violations in education?
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), a branch of the Department of Education charged with investigating claims of discrimination in schools and other programs the department funds, received a record-high 19,201 complaints in 2023. This was up 2% from 2022. The OCR enforces a range of civil rights laws, including Titles II, VI, and IX. Anyone can file a discrimination complaint, whether they were the victim themselves or are filing on behalf of someone else. What is a civil rights violation? A variety of civil rights laws, and in some cases, the US Constitution, protect Americans against discrimination based on protected categories: race, disability, religion, immigration or citizenship status, language and national origin, age, genetic identification, servicemember status, and familial status (which includes marital, parental, and pregnancy status). They protect people in settings including housing, healthcare, the workplace, public spaces, businesses, polling places — and education. Which civil rights laws does the Department of Education’s OCR enforce?The OCR responds to alleged violations of: Title VI, barring discrimination based on race, color, or national origin Title IX, barring discrimination based on sex Section 504 and Title II, barring discrimination based on disability Age Discrimination Act of 1975, barring discrimination based on age (does not include employment) Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act prohibiting access discrimination by school facilities In fiscal year 2023, 96% of complaints fell under three of these: Sex-based discrimination under Title IX (42.5%), disability-based discrimination under Section 504 and Title II (35.1%), and race, color, and national origin-based discrimination under Title VI (18.4%). The remaining four percent of complaints were related to age or equal access discrimination.
Feb 14, 2025What are schools doing to support teacher and staff mental health?
In March 2024, 15% of public schools nationwide reported that there were no mental health services available for teachers and staff. In other words, depending on the school, anywhere from one in ten to one in five have no mental health resources for employees.A survey cited by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that 84% of respondents said their workplace conditions contributed to a mental health challenge. HHS also highlights that supporting mental health can help prevent declines in workplace performance.
Feb 5, 2025What matters most to parents when choosing a school?
School choice policies and programs allow parents to select an educational setting for their children from among public, charter, magnet, and private schools, or to choose homeschooling. Enrollment in charter schools has been increasing since they were first introduced in the 1990s.A 2019 study by the Education Department highlighted the key factors parents consider when picking a school. About four in five parents \who considered switching their child’s school reported quality of teachers and staff to be “very important” to their decision.How many parents consider changing the school that their child attends?Thirty-five percent of the parents of K-12 students considered schools other than the one their child attended; this doubles to 72% for parents whose kids went to a nonreligious private school. Parents sending their kids to their assigned public schools were least likely to consider alternatives, at 30%.
Oct 16, 2024How do college and career courses vary across public schools?
Whether or not your local public high school offers college and career readiness courses depends on several factors, including its location in the country and the racial makeup of the student body.Advanced courses are most common in Northeast public schools: 89% of schools serving students in ninth grade or above offer such courses. Eighty-eight percent of public schools in the South and West offer career and technical education (CTE), higher than the 86% of schools nationwide.Both advanced academic courses and CTE programs are more commonly offered in schools where less than 25% of the student body are students of color.What are advanced courses?Advanced courses provide learning opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. These courses include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), pre-AP, and dual enrollment, offering academic experiences similar to institutions of higher learning, in some cases translating to college credit.What is career and technical education?CTE instructs students in technical and vocational subjects, such as auto repair, healthcare, and culinary arts. CTE programs offer high school students opportunities to develop both academic and technical skills for various job markets.How do college and career readiness programs vary across the US?Most US public high schools offer both advanced courses and CTE. However, the availability of each varies by region.According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 73% of public high schools reported offering some type of advanced course. As of January 2024, Northeast public schools had the highest percentage at 89%. The Midwest had the lowest: 69%. Southern public schools matched the national average, while 72% of Western public schools offered them.Meanwhile, 86% of public schools in the US offered CTE programs. Southern and Western schools offered CTE courses at the highest rate — 88% of public high schools. Schools in the Northeast were least likely to offer such programs, still 82% did so. Eighty-five percent of schools in the Midwest did.
Sep 6, 2024Who are school resource officers, and what do they do for school safety?
School resource officers (SROs) are law enforcement officers tasked with ensuring safety and preventing crime in schools.Like regular police officers, SROs can make arrests, respond to service calls, and document incidents within their jurisdiction.Additionally, SROs serve as educators, emergency managers, and mentors.A 2023 Justice Department report surveyed SROs in the 2019–2020 school year about actions they performed within 30 days prior to being surveyed.How many SROs are there?As of the 2019–2020 school year, there were 23,426 SROs in US schools. These officers aren’t employed by schools, but by local police departments (49.1% of SROs), sheriffs' offices (32.3%), and school district police departments (18.6%).According to the Department of Justice, “SRO candidates should be sworn law enforcement officers or deputies with at least three years’ work experience and an interest in developing positive, community-oriented relationships with youth and the school community.”About 69% of SROs reported that they had responded to an incident in a classroom within the past 30 days when surveyed during the 2019–2020 school year.What do SROs do? SROs perform various duties that can be categorized into investigative, enforcement, patrol and response, security, mentoring, and teaching activities.SROs have four major roles:Law enforcementSROs play a role in maintaining a secure environment within and around school premises. They strive to employ non-punitive approaches when interacting with students, reserving citations and arrests as a last resort, applicable only in narrowly defined circumstances.Informal counselorSROs serve as liaisons to community services that support the well-being of youth and their families.EducatorSROs help educate students on crime prevention, safety measures (such as school shooter drills), drug awareness, conflict resolution strategies, and insights into the legal system and law enforcement operations.Emergency managerSROs help develop and implement emergency preparedness policies and school safety plans. They collaborate with first responders during emergencies and sit on school threat assessment teams.Investigative activitiesSROs conduct various investigative activities within schools. Of the surveyed SROs, 54.4% conducted searches, such as locker inspections or pat downs of students, 54.6% interviewed students regarding safety issues without a parent or guardian present, and 58.7% interviewed students in the presence of a parent or guardian.
Aug 2, 2024Where are students moving to attend college?
Although college enrollment dipped during the pandemic, about 63% of recent high school graduates were enrolled in a college program for fall 2020. Where did that population of college enrollees attend school?It’s no surprise that states with the largest populations also have the most college students enrolled. College enrollment strongly correlates with the number of postsecondary universities in a state, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The more populated and geographically large a state is, the more capacity it has to enroll students.In fall 2020, six states enrolled more than 100,000 incoming college students. California, Texas, Florida, and New York had the most college students overall.
Apr 12, 2023Which states are the most educated?
Over the past decade, Americans have become more educated. The rate of residents receiving a high school diploma or GED is on an upward trend.In 2011, 28% of Americans had not graduated high school or received a GED – the same percentage that had received a bachelor’s degree or higher. As of 2021, 35% of Americans have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 26% of Americans without a high school diploma or GED.Data from the US Census Bureau’s American Communities Survey collects information on maximum educational attainment by age group, location and gender. The data used here highlights the maximum educational attainment of the population 25 and older.
May 14, 2023How did the US reach $1.6 trillion in student debt?
Forty-two million people, or one in six American adults, currently carry a federal student loan. The nation’s overall student debt reached $1.6 trillion in June 2019. What’s behind this large number?According to data from the Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2017, approximately 46% of all full-time, first-time undergraduate students had student loans. Students attending public institutions, which have lower tuition on average, were less likely to be awarded loans, whereas more than 60% of students at private for-profit and non-profit institutions were awarded loans.
Mar 15, 2021How often do teacher strikes happen?
In March 2023, nearly 30,000 public school employees went on a three-day strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). This was the most recent large-scale school strike in the US, and it impacted over half a million students. The strikers included teacher aides, bus drivers, custodians, administrators, and other school workers.However, strikes among school employees have become more frequent in the last few years. The LAUSD strike was the latest of 75 strikes over the past 30 years, with 27 happening since 2018. This figure includesall coordinated work stoppages involving 1,000 or more K-12 public school workers and lasting at least one day.Although the LAUSD strike was not carried out by non-teaching staff, teachers calling for better working conditions have led most of the recent strikes.Are teacher strikes becoming more common?In 2018, teachers helped cultivate a grassroots movement called Red for Ed. Across the country, teachers walked out of schools calling for better wages and resources. From 2018 to 2019, groups of 1,000 or more school employees launched 19 different strikes. This included a walkout in North Carolina of 123,000 employees, an 81,000-person walkout in Arizona, and a 63,000-person walkout in Colorado. Smaller walkouts not tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also occurred across the nation.
Apr 5, 2023What role do schools play in addressing youth mental health?
Children and teens across America are struggling with their mental health, and the problem, including the amount of youth with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, is getting worse, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Twenty-eight percent of students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2011. In 2021, 42% of students reported these feelings. The percentage of male students experiencing these feelings increased from 21% in 2011 to 29% in 2021. For female students, percentages rose from 36% in 2011 to 57% in 2021, according to a 2021 CDC survey.Multiple government agencies have identified schools as important places of support when it comes to providing mental health resources to children and teens. So what resources do they offer, how equipped are they to offer this support, and what’s stopping them from doing more?Do schools need to address student mental health?In 2022, 76% of public schools reported an increase in staff “expressing concerns about student depression, anxiety, and other disturbances since the start of the pandemic.”This is according to a survey done in April 2022 by the Institute of Education Sciences, which conducts research on behalf of the Department of Education. The study represents a national sample of elementary, middle, high, and combined-grade public schools.The survey found that 69% of all public schools also reported an increase in the percentage of students seeking mental health services from school since the start of the pandemic. Schools in the suburbs and schools with more than 1,000 students reported the largest increases at 77% and 87%, respectively.How do schools address mental health?The most common mental health services provided by schools are individual-based intervention (84% of public schools), case management (69%), external referrals (66%), group-based intervention (56%), and a needs assessment (53%).Schools expanded mental health support efforts during the pandemic, the most common action taken being to encourage staff to address student social and emotional well-being and mental health. Schools also offered professional development opportunities to teachers on how to help struggling students.
Aug 10, 2023How many student immigrants come to the US and what countries do they come from?
About 2.6 million authorized immigrants entered the US in 2022, mostly with visas, rebounding after a nearly 40% decline from 2019 to 2021, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State.Work was the most common reason for immigration, accounting for 1.1 million or 41% of new immigrant arrivals that year.How many immigrants come to the US for school?School is the second most common reason new immigrants come to the US. In 2022, 701,945 people came to the US as students. This is comparable to 2019, when 728,739 students arrived.
Oct 31, 2023Men far outnumber women on coaching staffs in college sports
Title IX, introduced in 1972, aimed to eliminate gender discrimination in college athletics. While Title IX requires colleges to provide equitable opportunity to men and women to participate in sports through roster numbers, scholarship funds, and competitive opportunities, it does not have any regulations on gender equity in coaching.In 2020, 95% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s sports teams had head coaches identifying as men, according to the Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics data. By comparison, less than half of women’s teams had head coaches identifying as women.The gender disparity remains in the assistant coaching ranks in college athletics, making it more difficult for women to move up to a head coaching position in the future.Which sports have the most women in head coaching positions?Among the top eight college sports by revenue, women were less than 15% of head coaches in men’s sports. Across the 1,000 NCAA colleges, there were no women as head coaches for men’s football, soccer, baseball, or basketball teams. By comparison, men were 66% of women’s soccer head coaches, 33% of softball head coaches, and 43% of women’s basketball head coaches.
May 6, 2023Which states have the highest and lowest adult literacy rates?
Adult literacy in the United States has remained stagnant based on the most recent surveys, fielded in 2012, 2014, and 2017. Overall average scores for adults were “not measurably different in literacy,” between these years according to adult competency survey results.This recurring survey, called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), measures the competency of working-age adults ages 16–65 in three areas: literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving.How many people in the US have low levels of literacy?Twenty-one percent, or 43 million US adults, find it difficult to compare and contrast information, paraphrase, or make low-level inferences, and, according to the PIAAC survey, have low literacy skills.The survey defines literacy as “understanding, evaluating, using and engaging with written text to participate in the society, to achieve one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential.” All US PIAAC literacy results are for English literacy.The scores are based on the amount of points a respondent gets from completing tasks of increasing difficulty. The more tasks respondents can complete at a higher difficulty level, the higher literacy score they receive.There are six levels of literacy in the PIAAC scoring system, ranging from below level one to level five.
Sep 5, 2023How much does the government spend on getting kids to school?
More than half of all students in the US use private transportation to get to school each day. And it’s not always the traditional yellow bus either.The cost of school transportation is on the rise, whether it’s a bus or not.Over the past 50 years, school transportation costs have more than doubled after adjusting for inflation. More recently, the average cost per student for transportation rose 27% from 2008 to 2018.Transportation costs added up to 3.5% of all K-12 expenditures in the 2017-2018 school year. The COVID-19 pandemic likely impacted these costs, but that data is not yet available.How do kids travel to school?Of the 50 million students ages 5 to 17 who traveled to school, 54.2% took a private vehicle, 33.2% took a school bus, and 10.4% walked, according to at 2017 National Household Travel survey — the most recent one available
Mar 1, 2022How much money do states spend on education?
The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act required states to publish school-level per-pupil expenditure data every fiscal year. Preliminary Census Bureau data for 41 states and Washington, DC, shows a range of expenditures, from $9,670 to $27,504 per public school student in federal fiscal year 2022.How much do states spend on education per student?Among the 41 states with reported data, New York schools led the nation in per-pupil spending in 2021 and 2022, spending $26,571 in 2021 and $27,504 in 2022. Idaho spent the least, with $9,053 in 2021 and $9,670 in 2022, respectively.This data will be updated to include all states in spring 2024.
Dec 20, 2023How many Black male teachers are there in the US?
While the racial and ethnic diversity of America’s teachers increased in recent decades, Black men remain among the most underrepresented demographics in teaching compared to their percentage of the general population — and the student population.How many Black male teachers are there?In the 2020–2021 school year, Black, non-Hispanic men accounted for 1.3% of the nation’s 3.8 million public school teachers, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’s National Teacher and Principal Survey. Overall, Black, non-Hispanic men are 6.1% of the general US population.Black women, meanwhile, made up 4.8% of all public school teachers and 6.5% of the general population. Together, Black men and women comprise 6.1% of all public school teachers and 12.6% of the US population.How has the number of Black male teachers changed in recent years?The proportion of public school teachers who are Black men has been declining, from 6.5% in the 2017-2018 school year to 1.3% in 2020-2021. Overall, the percentage of Black, non-Hispanic teachers declined from 7% to 6% from 2011 to 2021.What are the race and gender demographics of the teaching profession?The majority of US public school teachers are white women. In the 2020–2021 school year, women accounted for 76.8% of all public school teachers.Ignoring sex, an even larger share of teachers are white. In 2020–2021, 79.9% of public school teachers were white, 9.4% were Hispanic, 6.1% were Black, 2.4% were Asian, and 1.6% were multiracial. Less than one-half of 1% were American Indian/Alaska Natives or Pacific Islanders.Where do Black male teachers work?Cities and southern states have the biggest proportion of Black male teachers. About two-thirds of all Black teachers (including Hispanic) in the US teach in the South, according to NCES.In the 2017–2018 school year, about 5% of Louisiana's teachers were non-Hispanic Black men — the largest share among all states with data reported in that year’s survey. Next was Virginia and Georgia, where 4% of teachers were Black men.
Nov 6, 2023How many students are harassed or bullied?
Over 29,000 public school students reported harassment or bullying based on their sex, race, or disability during the 2020–2021 school year, according to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).Data shows that this kind of bullying and harassment was down 84% from the 2011–2012 school year to 2020–2021. In that decade, the number of full-time school counselors nationwide increased by 83%, from 69,358.91 in 2011–2012 to 127,201.09 in 2020–2021.Which students are more susceptible to harassment or bullying?In 2020–2021, female students made 63% of reports of harassment or bullying based on sex; 78% of the students disciplined for this harassment/bullying were male.
Feb 14, 2024The latest government data on school shootings
In the wake of the school shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, USAFacts has collected recent data about school shootings in the United States. Here’s what current data has to say about these incidents.The Center for Homeland Defense and Security maintains a collection of metrics on school shootings: the K–12 School Shooting Database (or K–12 SSDB).
Feb 20, 2024Are fewer students taking the SAT?
The COVID-19 pandemic altered how high school students receive education, including how students prove college readiness through standardized tests.The two primary standardized tests used by colleges in the admissions process are the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing test, or ACT.As SAT and ACT tests moved online, several colleges stopped requiring these tests as part of student applications. In the second year of the pandemic, many colleges permanently made the tests optional for admission including the University of Virginia, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Cornell University along with other institutions.The University of California system, which oversees nine schools offering undergraduate degrees, is among the systems that no longer require standardized tests. According to the university, it initially eliminated standardized test requirements because of the outbreak of the virus. The system’s Board of Regents voted to permanently drop the SAT and ACT tests as admission requirements through 2024 and replace them with a new, different test. Some colleges and universities went test-optional before the pandemic including Salisbury University in Maryland, Gettysburg University in Pennsylvania, Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and Wesleyan University in Connecticut.How many students take standardized tests?About 1.5 million high school students took the SAT at least once in 2021, down 700,000 from 2020, or a 30% decrease. From 2019 to 2020, the number of students taking the SAT remained flat.The number of students taking the ACT also fell from 2020 to 2021, with 22% fewer students taking the test.
Jun 24, 2022How many women graduate with STEM degrees?
The number of STEM degrees women received increased 66.3% since the 2008-2009 academic year, according to the latest data available from the US Department of Education. Still, women accounted for only 32.4% of all STEM degree recipients during the 2017-2018 school year.During the 2017-2018 academic year, women earned 237,874 science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees at colleges and universities nationwide, up from 143,018 in the 2008-2009 year. Overall, the number of STEM degrees earned during that time increased 55.3%, 472,262 to 733,445.
Oct 28, 2020The price of college is rising faster than wages for people with degrees
The average college student paid $24,623 for tuition, fees, and room and board for a year of school in 2019, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. That is an increase of 59% compared to 2000, when the inflation-adjusted price was $15,485. Wages have not kept pace. Between 2000 and 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings for people with a bachelor’s degree rose 5%.Tuition for the average student across all types of institutions has risen faster than tuition for students at four-year or two-year colleges, where prices have increased 53% and 42%, respectively. Part of the rise in attendance cost is a shift towards four-year colleges.
May 18, 2021College tuition has increased — but what’s the actual cost?
More and more Americans are going to college. According to data from the Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 1980, 50% of high school graduates between the ages of 16 and 24 were enrolled in college; in 2016, it was 70%. In 2016, 19.3 million undergraduate students were enrolled in higher education institutions. 70% were enrolled at public schools, 23% at private non-profits schools and 7% at private for-profit schools. The cost of going to college has also changed since 1980 — however, how much it has changed depends on whether you look at the “sticker price” or the net price after financial aid.Tuition is an increasingly important revenue sourceAfter adjusting for inflation, the average undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board has more than doubled since 1964, from $10,040 to $23,835 in 2018. Tuition has recently grown the fastest at public and private non-profit institutions, for which tuition has gone up 65% and 50%, respectively, since 2000. Tuition at private for-profit institutions has only increased 11%. However, as we describe below, the sticker price (our term for full tuition without aid) only reflects what one shrinking group of students pays for college.
Mar 23, 2023How many US children receive a free or reduced-price school lunch?
In federal fiscal year 2022, 30.1 million students — over 60% of all public school students — received a free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).In fiscal year 2021, the number of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch dropped to 11 million due to school closures during by the pandemic. Despite this, the percentage of all students getting meals through the program rose over the past four years. In FY 2022, 94.8% of all National School Lunch Program (NSLP) students received a free lunch, up 26.4 percentage points from fiscal year 2019. This increase is partly attributed to a pandemic waiver that allowed all students to receive free meals.
Oct 26, 2023How many children are enrolled in pre-primary programs?
Presidential candidate Joe Biden released a $775 billion plan addressing child and elder care, including a proposal to offer universal preschool for three-and four-year-olds. In light of this proposal, what is the current state of pre-primary education in the US?According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around 54% of all three-and four-year-old children were enrolled in pre-primary programs in 2018, including part-day and full-day preschool and kindergarten programs. This means that out of 8.1 million children in this age group, 3.7 million were not enrolled in pre-primary programs.Of the 4.4 million three- and four-year-olds that were enrolled in 2018, 55.3% were in full-day programs while just under half were in part-day programs. About 7.5% of those enrolled were in kindergarten. Since 2000, pre-primary enrollment rates have remained relatively stable among all age groups, with enrollment among three-and four-year-olds staying around 53% over the time period.
Oct 16, 2020How much student debt do Americans owe?
Forty-three million Americans — or about one in six adults — owe some form of federal student loans. Data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finance shows that as of 2019, the median US household owed $25,180 in loans.President Joe Biden announced a one-time student loan cancelation plan in fall 2022 that would forgive $10,000 in student debt for many Americans with government-held loans. The amount of relief doubles to $20,000 for those with Pell grants who qualify.So far, 26 million borrowers have applied for relief or have been approved for student loan forgiveness. But the student loan relief plan is on hold while the Supreme Court reviews legal challenges.The Department of Education paused all student loan repayment, interest, and collections in March 2020, and has renewed that pause several times over the pandemic. That pause ends June 30, 2023, unless the Supreme Court makes a final decision on debt forgiveness before then.Student debt by the numbersFamily and individual median student debt has more than tripled since 1989, according to 2019 data, but the median debt owed varies by household type. While median US household student debt was $25,180 in 2019, it was $34,340 for Black families.Black families’ student loan balances rose 96% between 2010 and 2019, compared to a 44% increase for all families.
Feb 17, 2023What does the National Science Foundation do?
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent executive branch agency responsible for supporting science and engineering nationwide for the purpose of scientific progress, advancement of national health and welfare, and national security. The agency fulfills this objective primarily through making grants, funding approximately 25% of all federally supported research conducted by US colleges and universities. It was established in 1950.
Updates annuallyTeachers in the US face low pay relative to their level of education
Teachers in the US are paid less than the average full-time worker, are underpaid for their level of education, and have experienced real wage declines for the past decade.While real median earnings for full-time workers increased by 2.6% from 2010 to 2019, median earnings for teachers declined by 4.4% for high school teachers and 8.4% for elementary and middle school teachers.In 2018, teachers from over 300 school districts participated in a teacher strike movement called #RedforEd to call for higher wages. In 2022, teachers went on strikes for higher wages and better teaching conditions in many states, including in California, Minnesota, and Washington. Despite these advocacy movements, teachers continue to see comparably low wages across the country.How much are teachers paid?According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average public teacher salary in 2021 was $65,090. This figure was lower than the 2021 average pay of all full-time, year-round workers, $75,203.
Mar 28, 2023Which states have the most students enrolled in charter schools?
The number of students attending public charter schools more than doubled between 2010 and 2020. In 2010, there were only 1.8 million students enrolled, but by the end of the decade, that number had grown to 3.7 million.On the other hand, the number of students attending traditional public schools decreased by 109,000, while the percentage of all public-school students attending public charter schools increased from 3.6% to 7.5% during that same time period.Charter schools are public, independently run schools that operate under different regulations than traditional public schools. For example, charter schools cannot charge tuition or be affiliated with a religious institution, but, depending on the state, could hire teachers with non-traditional backgrounds or ask for different licensing requirements. Most charter schools are sponsored by local and state organizations that monitor school quality, and hold them accountable for academic results and responsible fiscal practices, according to the Department of Education.
May 25, 2023Is there a national teacher shortage?
As students returned to the classroom this fall, some schools had difficulty finding enough teachers for the year. In Missouri and Texas, a small number of districts shortened their school weeks to four days to attract more teachers.Department of Education data shows that student-to-teacher ratios in public and private schools are relatively consistent. Public school ratios increased from 15.4 to 15.9 between 2008 and 2020, while private school ratios decreased from 12.8 to 12.5.
Mar 23, 2023How has COVID-19 impacted Gen Z’s education?
Members of Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, are between 12 and 27 years old this year: The youngest are now in sixth grade, and the oldest would have graduated from a four-year college five years ago. Across the board, their educational experience has been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and the integration of remote learning.What has this changing educational landscape meant? How educated is Gen Z, and how did the pandemic impact education?How much of Gen Z is college-educated?In 2022, the oldest of Gen Z would have turned 25, and would have been two or three years removed from a four-year college, if they began college right after high school. In reality, 53% of people ages 18–24 had at least some higher education, including 13.4% who earned a bachelor’s degree and 39.6% who earned an associate’s degree or had completed some college courses. Of the remaining 47%, 35.4% graduated from high school (or earned a high-school equivalent) and stopped there, and 11.6% had less than that.
Apr 4, 2024How are public schools funded?
Public schools in the US serve about 49.5 million students from pre-K to 12th grade. But how does it all get funded?It's primarily a combination of funding from local and state governments, along with a smaller percentage from the federal government. Here's a breakdown.Where does school funding come from?In the 2019-2020 school year, 47.5% of funding came from state governments, 44.9% came from local governments, and the federal government provided about 7.6% of school funding.
Jul 21, 2023What can McKinney-Vento Act data reveal about youth homelessness?
In the 2020–2021 school year, around 1.1 million public school students, or 2.2% of all enrolled students, were identified as experiencing homelessness. This count comes from the Department of Education, which tracks children and youth homelessness through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.The McKinney-Vento Act is the primary federal law providing educational access for homeless youth, allocating $92 million to public school districts in 2019. It is used to fund everything from personal school supplies, transportation to school, and fees for class projects. In the process, it collects data on student homelessness. The data reveals challenges in identifying students experiencing homelessness, especially after the school shutdowns following COVID-19, as well as getting resources to these students and preventing adverse outcomes.How does the McKinney-Vento Act define homelessness?The act defines homeless children and youths as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” This includes situations such as:Staying with friends or relatives due to economic hardshipLiving in hotels, motels, trailer parks, or camping grounds without a choiceStaying in emergency or transitional sheltersLiving in public spaces such as parks or abandoned buildingsMigratory studentsThis definition is broader than other governmental definitions of homelessness. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development only counts youth living with relatives as homeless if there is documentation that they will lose housing within 14 days. The act’s more expansive definition allows more students to access services, such as transportation to and from school or basic school supplies.How many students experience homelessness?In the 2020–2021 school year, 1.1 million public school students were identified as experiencing homelessness. Of these students, 76.8% lived temporarily with others due to loss of their own housing, (known as “doubled-up"); 10.9% lived in shelters and 7.8% lived in hotels or motels.
May 15, 202365% of households with children report the use of online learning during pandemic
The US Census Bureau has conducted its Household Pulse Survey since April to measure how people’s lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s how the virus is affecting K-12 education, using results from the edition of the survey collected from October 14 to October 26.
Dec 10, 2020What are the average salaries for four-year college graduates?
In 2022, the average earnings for prime-working age people with bachelor’s degrees — people aged 25 to 64 working full-time jobs — were $100,311, according to Census Bureau estimates.The Bureau of Labor Statistics also collects wage data, which it shares as weekly medians rather than annual averages. According to BLS data, people working full-time whose highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree made a median of $1,432 per week in 2022. No matter which way you choose to look at it, people in the prime age group with bachelor’s degrees earn more than people without any post-secondary education, at least when they’re working full-time.
Jan 19, 2024Money matters: Charter schools with education department grants are more likely to succeed
A recent analysis from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that over a 12-year span, charter schools that received special grants (charter school program awards) from the Department of Education were more likely to succeed compared to similar schools that did not receive the grant.Charter schools with these federal grants were 1.6 times more likely to remain running five years after opening — no matter the school’s race and ethnicity make-up, grade level, locale, or poverty break-down.What are charter schools and charter school program grants?Charter schools are independently run public schools that operate under different regulations than traditional public schools. Charter schools cannot charge tuition or be affiliated with a religious institution, but, depending on the state, have flexibility to hire teachers with non-traditional backgrounds or have different licensing requirements.The Department of Education awards some charter schools with charter school program (CSP) grants. The money is used to help establish new charter schools, replicate or expand high-quality charter schools, share best practices, and increase opportunities for historically marginalized students to attend, according to the GAO report.In fiscal year 2020, the Education Department funded about $440 million to charter schools through CSP awards.The GAO analysis — which looked at charter school growth between 2006 and 2020 — found that enrollment numbers in CSP-grant-recipient schools grew more than sixfold from 213,576 to 1.38 million students.
May 16, 2023