With August comes back to school in the United States….
I wanted to take this post to provide you with a quick glimpse into some numbers making up the student population of the country. I think you will come to realize that there are important missiological implications behind these figures.
The following came from the “Census Bureau News — Facts for Features: Back to School: 2010-2011”.
Enrollment
- In 2008, there were 76 million children and adults enrolled in school–nursery school to college, comprising 27% of the population 3 years old and older. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
- In 2008, 53% of 3 and 4 year olds were enrolled in school in 2008. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
- It is projected that 56 million will be the number of students enrolled in U.S. elementary through high school (K-12), this year. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ (Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 214)
Race and Foreign-Born
- In 2008, 43% of elementary through high school students were nonwhite (single race) or Hispanic.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html - In 2008, 22% of elementary through high school students had at least one foreign-born parent in October 2008. Five percent were foreign-born themselves. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
- In 2006, 50% of kindergarten through 12th-grade students in California had at least one foreign-born parent. California led the nation, then Nevada (36%). At least 25% of students in New York, Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, and Hawaii had at least one foreign-born parent.
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/2008-05-08_education.html
Sports
- In 2006, 41% of 6 to 17 year olds participated in sports. This number is up from 34% in 1998. Sports was the most popular extracurricular activity. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb09-182.html
Language
- In 2008, 10.9 million school-age children (5 to 17) that spoke a language other than English at home. 7.8 million of these spoke Spanish at home. http://factfinder.census.gov/
- In 2006, 45% of children enrolled in K-12 in California spoke a language other than English at home. The national average was 21%. Texas came in at 35%, New Mexico at 34%, and Arizona at 32%.
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/2008-05-08_education.html
Lunch Program
- In 2008, 31 million students each month participated in the national school lunch program. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ (Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 558)
College
- 19.1 million is the number of students projected to be enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities this fall. This number is up from 13.8 million from 20 years ago. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ (Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 214)
- In October 2008, 16% of all college students were 35 and older. They comprised 36% of those attending school part-time. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
- In 2008, 64% of undergraduates were enrolled in four-year colleges. Of those who enrolled, 83% attended full time. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
- In 2008, 49% of 18-19 year olds were enrolled in college. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
- In 2008, 55% of college students were women. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2008.html
Other posts
While you are thinking about students, you may want to take a look at two previous posts on this topic: HERE and HERE.
