The Condition of Education 2005

The Condition of Education 2005
National Center for Education Statistics
June 2005

The latest edition of NCES's Condition of Education (COE) is now available. Below are "Highlights" from this year's report. As always, a must-read. -Angela

 
Introduction

Annual Progress Report on American Education Shows Growth and Diversity

A just released annual report on education in the United States provides a picture of both growth and diversity in education. According to The Condition of Education 2005, released today by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences, enrollments in both public and private elementary and secondary schools have increased, with public school enrollments increasing at a faster rate.

Concurrent with the increase in total enrollment, the percentage of public school students who are considered part of a racial or ethnic minority group has increased while the percentage who are White has decreased (indicator 4). This trend is most evident in the West, which, in 2003, became the first region of the country where the minority public school enrollment exceeded the White public school enrollment. This same trend also is evident in the fact that the percentage of school-age children who spoke a language at home other than English increased from 9 percent in 1979 to 19 percent in 2003 (indicator 5).

While the proportion of private school students in Catholic schools has decreased, the proportion in Conservative Christian schools has increased (indicator 2). In addition, the number of homeschooled students has grown in recent years—in 2003 there were 1.1 million homeschooled students, representing 2.2 percent of all school-age children (indicator 3).

This congressionally mandated report conveys current information on 40 indicators that address the success of the education system in the United States. These indicators cover all aspects of education, including trends in enrollments, student achievement, school environment, dropout rates, degree attainment, and long-term outcomes of education. Indicators in this new edition are also provided on the context of elementary and postsecondary education and the financial support for schooling at these levels.