PrivateSchools.com | Characteristics of Private vs. Public Schools

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Characteristics of Private vs. Public Schools

Private elementary schools have average enrollments of 114.9 students, compared with 282.0 at private secondary schools and 193.8 at combined schools. 64.8% of private schools are elementary schools, 8.7% are secondary schools and 26.5% are combined schools.

Two-thirds (67.9%) of private schools have a religious focus, representing 80.6% of students. 22.2% of private schools are Roman Catholic, 42.0% are other Christian faiths (including 3.1% Amish), 3.0% are Jewish and 0.7% are Islamic. Most private schools (96.0%) are coeducational, with only 1.8% all-girl and 2.2% all-boy schools. The remaining 32.1% of private schools are nonsectarian.

At public schools, 34.4 million students are enrolled in pre-K through grade 8 and 14.9 million students are enrolled in grades 9-12. Student-teacher ratios at public schools range from 10.5 in Vermont to 23.7 in Utah. There were also 108,000 guidance counselors, yielding a student load of about 457 per guidance counselor. (When the calculations are limited to high schools, the average guidance counselor load drops to 284 students.)

Key Characteristics of Public and Private Schools
Characteristic	Public Schools	Private Schools
Number of Schools	86,792 (74.7%)	29,429 (25.3%)
Student Enrollment	49.3 million (90.6%)	5.1 million (9.4%)
Average School Enrollment	568 students	150 students
Enrollment: < 50	4.0%	42.6%
Enrollment: 50-149	8.9%	25.2%
Enrollment: 150-299	16.2%	17.7%
Enrollment: 300+	70.9%	14.5%
Teachers	3.2 million	456,000
Student-Teacher Ratio	15.4	11.1
Graduation Rate (High School Seniors)	81.2%	93.8%
4-year College Enrollment Rate	39.5%	66.5%

Racial Composition of Public and Private Schools
Characteristic	Public Schools	Private Schools
Diversity (Non-White)	45.1%	25.5%
White	54.9%	74.5%
Hispanic	21.5%	9.6%
African-American	17.0%	9.8%
Asian/Pacific Islander	5.0%	5.4%
American Indian/Alaska Native	1.2%	0.6%

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