69´«Ã½

School & District Management

Statistics Update: New Trends in Enrollment, Virtual Schooling, and Special Education

By Maya Riser-Kositsky & Debra Viadero — August 03, 2022 1 min read
Conceptual image of allocation.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Here’s a quiz: How many public and private schools are in the United States? What’s the average tenure of a big-city superintendent? How much do states spend on average each year per pupil?

The answers (130,930, six years, and $13,679, respectively) can be found on Education Week’s statistics pages. EdWeek librarians regularly gather statistics like these for both general education and special education and revise them periodically. The most recent revision surfaced new data on virtual schooling, student enrollment, and the share of students in special education.

Here are three changes from the latest go-round:

  • There were 691 virtual schools in 2019-20, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s before the pandemic took hold, so the number has likely changed. But it’s the most recent data available. By comparison, 21 percent of public schools offered online courses in 2017-18.
  • The average enrollment of city and rural schools is inching up. The average number of students in city schools rose from 585 in 2018 to 588 students in 2019, the most recent year available. Rural schools grew from an average of 364 students in 2018 to 368 a year later. Average enrollment in suburban schools, meanwhile, declined, dropping from 656 in 2018 to 654 in 2019.
  • The percent of special education students rose in states with the smallest percentage (Hawaii and Texas with 11.3 percent) and the largest percentage (New York with 20.5 percent) of these students in 2020-21. Texas previously had the smallest share with 10.8 percent of students in special education in 2019-20. New York had the largest, with 19.9 percent.

Finally, just for fun, can you guess the 10 public school districts with the largest enrollments? The chart below has the answers.

RankDistrict nameState Enrollment
1New York CityNY960,484
2Los Angeles UnifiedCA495,255
3ChicagoIL359,476
4Miami-Dade CountyFL350,434
5Clark CountyNV330,225
6Broward CountyFL270,978
7Hillsborough CountyFL220,252
8HoustonTX209,772
9Orange CountyFL208,203
10Palm Beach CountyFL192,533

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management Spooked by Halloween, Some 69´«Ã½ Ban Costumes—But Not Without Pushback
69´«Ã½ are tweaking Halloween traditions to make them more inclusive to all students.
4 min read
A group of elementary school kids sitting on a curb dressed in their Halloween costumes.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management 69´«Ã½ Take a $3 Billion Hit From the Culture Wars. Here’s How It Breaks Down
Culturally divisive conflicts in schools have led to increased legal and security costs, as well as staff time spent on the fallout.
4 min read
Illustration of a businessman with his hands on his head while he watches dollars being sucked down into a dark hole.
DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management Opinion The Blind Spot More Educators Need to Recognize
A simple activity in a training session caused a chain reaction that strengthened an educator's leadership for decades to come.
5 min read
Screen Shot 2024 10 29 at 9.19.10 AM
Canva
School & District Management Opinion 9 Ways 69´«Ã½ Can Improve Life for Teachers and 69´«Ã½
Educators suggest low-cost strategies to improve the education experience for teachers and learners alike.
8 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week