Enrollment in pre-K-12 public schools fell 0.2% in fall 2023 compared to fall 2022 and 2.5% from pre-pandemic times in fall 2019, the National Center for Education Statistics reported Thursday.
Schools showed the greatest declines at the pre-K-8 grade level, where enrollment dropped by 4.5% between fall 2019 and fall 2023. By contrast, grades 9-12 saw an enrollment boost of about 2% between fall 2019 and fall 2023.
"The data provide relevant insight into the shifting education landscape,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr in a statement. “NCES’s ongoing efforts will enhance our understanding of these patterns and support evidenced-based policymaking to benefit schools, students, and parents.”
Carr is referring to improvements at NCES to shorten by about 16 months the gap between when states submit nonfiscal data to the center and when the center releases the data.
Having current data is especially important for understanding trends and supporting evidenced-based practices that benefit schools, students and parents, Carr added.
Decreasing school enrollment can impact school budgets, as much of public school funding is calculated on a per-student basis. Data released in August by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the number of births in the U.S. fell by 71,741, or 2%, from 2022 to 2023.
Here's a closer look at NCES' most recent school enrollment data:
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