This article is part of the following categories:   Back to School Just for Fun

Back to School: Fun Facts

Back-to-School Shopping

$7.5 billion
The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2007. Only in November and December—the holiday shopping season—were sales significantly higher. Similarly, sales at bookstores in August 2007 totaled $2.3 billion, an amount approached in 2007 only by sales in January and December.

For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2005, there were 24,659 family clothing stores, 6,305 children and infants clothing stores, 26,416 shoe stores, 9,501 office supply and stationery stores, 23,195 sporting goods stores, 11,077 bookstores, and 9,589 department stores.

Students

75.2 million
The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2006—from nursery school to college.

PreK through 12 Enrollment

56%
Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2006.

72%
Percentage of children 3 to 6 enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2006.

56 million
The projected number of students to be enrolled in the nation’s elementary through high schools (grades K-12) this fall.

11%
Projected percentage of elementary through high school students enrolled in private schools this fall.

41%
Percentage of elementary through high school students who are minorities, as of October 2006.

23%
Percentage of elementary through high school students, as of October 2006, who have at least one foreign-born parent; 5 percent of these students were foreign-born themselves.

33%
Percentage of children 6 to 11 who participate in lessons, as of 2004. Lessons include those taken after school or on the weekend in subjects such as music, dance, language, computers, or religion. The corresponding percentage a decade earlier was 24 percent.

26%
Percentage of children 6 to 11 who have ever attended or been enrolled in 1st grade or higher and had changed schools at some point, as of 2004, down from 30 percent a decade earlier. For children 12 to 17, the corresponding rate declined from 52 percent to 42 percent over that period.

7%
Percentage of children 6 to 11 who had ever repeated a grade as of 2004, unchanged from a decade earlier. For children 12 to 17, the rate declined from 16 percent to 11 percent over that period.

Languages

10.9 million
Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a language other than English at home; 7.8 million of these children speak Spanish at home.

Lunchtime

30.5 million
Average number of children participating each month in the national school lunch program in 2007.

9.3 billion
The nation’s total apple production, in pounds, in 2007, down from 9.9 billion in 2006. The chances are good that the apples your children present to their teachers or enjoy for lunch were grown in Washington state, which accounted for more than half of the nation’s total production.

How Many Schools?

97,382
Number of public schools in 2005–06. The corresponding number of private schools was 28,996 in 2005–06.

3,690
Number of public charter schools nationwide in 2005-06. These schools, exempt from selected state and local rules and regulations, enrolled 1 million students.

Teachers and Other School Personnel

7.1 million
Number of teachers in the United States in 2007. Some 2.9 million teach at the elementary and middle school levels. The remainder includes those teaching at the postsecondary, secondary, preschool, and kindergarten levels.

$59,825
Average annual salary of public school teachers in California as of the 2005–06 school year—the highest of any state. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest pay—$34,709. The national average was $49,026. High school principals earned $92,965 annually in 2006–07.

$15.48
Average hourly wage for the nation’s school bus drivers in 2006–07. Custodians earned $13.78, while cafeteria workers made $11.16.

Technology

14.2 million
Number of computers available for classroom use in the nation’s schools as of the 2005-06 school year. That works out to one computer for every four students.

The Rising Cost of College

$14,203
Average cost of tuition, room, and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year (2006–07). That is more than double the corresponding figure in 1990.

$38,400
Average cost of tuition, room, and board at the nation’s four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year (2006–07). That is also more than double the corresponding 1990 figure.

The Rewards of Staying in School

$82,320
Average annual earnings in 2006 of workers 18 and older with an advanced degree. This compares with $20,873 for those without a high school diploma. In addition, those with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $56,788 in 2006, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,071.

$59,408
Average starting salary offered to bachelor’s degree candidates in petroleum engineering in 2007, among the highest of any field of study. At the other end of the spectrum were those majoring in the humanities, who were offered an average of $31,345.

$5,992
Average monthly earnings for full-time workers 18 and older who had a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

$3,431
Average monthly earnings for full-time workers 18 and older who had a bachelor’s degree in education.

Graduation

3.3 million
Projected number of high school diplomas that will be awarded in the 2008–09 school year.

3.1 million
Number of college degrees expected to be conferred in the 2008–09 school year.

Government Spending on Public Education

$9,138
The per-pupil expenditure on public elementary and secondary education nationally in 2006. New York ($14,884) spent the most among states or state equivalents, followed by New Jersey ($14,630) and the District of Columbia ($13,446). Utah ($5,437) spent the least per student, followed by Idaho ($6,440) and Arizona ($6,472).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau