STATISTICAL PROFILE OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES INCLUDES COMPARISONS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

                     U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
            OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT
               NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

                               JUNE 1991

   STATISTICAL PROFILE OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES
             INCLUDES COMPARISONS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Contact: Marilyn Miles McMillen at 202-219-1754

Since 1852, when Massachusetts enacted the first compulsory
school attendance law, two schooling traditionsone public, one
private-have become mainstays in American education.  A new
statistical report from the National Center for Education
Statistics provides an overview of basic private school data
primarily for the school years 1980-81 through l985-86.  PRIVATE
SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES: A STATISTICAL PROFILE, WITH
COMPARISONS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, a baseline historical document,
gives priority to those studies that either compare public and
private schools or make it possible to compare several private
school subgroups, or both.  The report uses national data with
sample sizes sufficient to draw reliable national estimates.

The report has estimates and trends for private schools; number
and characteristics of private school students, teachers, and
other staff; curriculum, resources, and student outcomes;
national data on parental choice; and a review of upcoming NCES
private school research efforts.

Highlights include: 

o    In the mid-1980s, private elementary and secondary schools
     accounted for approximately 25 percent of all schools,
     between 12 and 13 percent of all students, and about 14
     percent of all teachers in the United States.

o    During the first half of the 1980s, the number of private
     schools increased by 14 percent.

o    Eight out of 10 private schools had a religious orientation,
     and about 85 percent of all private school students attended
     schools with a religious orientation.

o    Catholic schools enrolled about 60 percent of all private
     school students.

One interesting note:  At least two-thirds of all secondary
teachers in public and private schools indicated that their
colleagues shared their beliefs and values on school mission, the
school staff maintained high standards of performance, and
cooperative effort existed among staff.  Despite these shared
appraisals, significantly fewer public than private school
teachers gave good ratings on school spirit and a sense of
familial bond within the school.

Copies of Private Schools in the United States: A STATISTICAL
PROFILE, WITH COMPARISONS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS are available from
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402-9325.  The stock number is 065-000-00441-1,
and the price is $9.50.  Please print out and complete the following
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