Nearly two-thirds of 3-to 5-year-olds were enrolled in preschool in 2012, and 60 percent of them were in full-day programs, according to the latest “2014 Condition of Education” report from the National Center for Education Statistics which tracks developments and trends in the U.S. education system.
Among this year’s other key findings:
- The report notes that, as of 2013, about 90 percent of young adults ages 25 to 29 held high school or equivalent diplomas and 34 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree. It also noted that individuals in this age group with a bachelor’s degree earned more than twice as much as high school dropouts.
- At the elementary and secondary levels, 50 million public school students were enrolled in 2011. Over 2 million of these students were enrolled in charter schools.
- In 2012, one in five school-age children lived in poverty. This percentage has increased in the past decade: In 2000, this number was closer to one in seven.
- In the 2011-2012 school year, 81 percent of public high school students, about 3.1 million total, graduated high school on time with a regular diploma.
So while public school graduation rates improve, the number of students living in poverty has increased.