EMBARGOED UNTIL: 10 A.M. EDT, OCTOBER 24, 1996 (THURSDAY) Public Information Office CB96-179 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Rosalind Bruno 301-457-2464 NATION'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT GROWING RAPIDLY Almost 31.5 million students were enrolled in elementary school (grades 1-8) in the fall of 1994, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. These elementary school students represent about 46 percent of the 69.3 million students enrolled in all levels--nursery to college. The report, entitled "School Enrollment--Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 1994," P20-487, shows that there will be at least one million more elementary students in the nation's school system by the year 2000, if the enrollment rates for persons ages six to 13 remain stable. Report author Rosalind Bruno says, "Elementary enrollment peaked during the 1968 to 1970 time period and then declined as the baby boom generation moved through school. In the late 1980s, the number of elementary students began to grow again, as the "echo-boom" generation entered school." Others findings from the report include: - About 14.6 million students were enrolled in high school in 1994. High school drop out rates for White and African American students were not significantly different in 1994, at around 5 percent. However, the rate for Hispanic students was higher at 9 percent, which is significantly different from White students, but not from African American students. - Of the 15 million college students in 1994, nearly one in five were age 35 or older, compared with one in 10 in 1974. - In 1994, 34 percent of all elementary and high school students were minority, compared with 22 percent in 1974. About 13 percent of elementary and high school enrollment was composed of Hispanic students in 1994, double the proportion (6 percent) in 1974.-X-The Census Bureau--preeminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries, and institutions.
