Private school enrollment in prekindergarten through grade 12 increased from 5.9 million in 1995 to 6.3 million in 2001, and then decreased to 5.9 million in 2007. About 11 percent of all elementary and secondary school students were in private schools in 2007.

Private school enrollment in prekindergarten through grade 12 increased from 5.9 million in 1995 to 6.3 million in 2001, and then decreased to 5.9 million in 2007. About 11 percent of all elementary and secondary school students were in private schools in 2007 (see tables A-5-1 and A-5-2).

Between 1995 and 2003, Roman Catholic schools maintained the largest share of total private school enrollment, but the percentage of all private school students enrolled in Roman Catholic schools decreased from 45 percent in 1995 to 39 percent in 2007 (see table A-5-1). This decrease stemmed from the decline in the percentage of these students enrolled in parochial schools (those run by a parish, not by a diocese or independently). In contrast, the percentage of students in Conservative Christian schools increased from 13 to 15 percent of all private school students between 1995 and 2007. The percentage of students enrolled in nonsectarian schools increased from 20 to 22 percent during this period.

In 2007, most private school students were enrolled in schools with a regular program emphasis (85 percent; see table A-5-3). Of the remaining students, 5 percent were enrolled in early childhood schools, 4 percent in Montessori schools, 2 percent in schools with a special program emphasis, 2 percent in special education schools, and 1 percent in alternative schools. The student composition of private schools varied by type of program emphasis. Private schools with a special education or an alternative emphasis had the highest percentages of enrollment (39 and 35 percent, respectively) coming from one or more of the Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaska Native racial/ethnic groups. About 25 percent of students in private schools with a regular program emphasis were from these groups.

In 2007, the percentage of all students who were enrolled in private schools was higher in the Northeast (15 percent) than in the Midwest (11 percent), the South (10 percent), and the West (9 percent) (see table A-5-2). Looking at changes over time, in the Midwest and West, the percentage of students enrolled in private schools was lower in 2007 than in 1995. The percentage of students in the Northeast who were enrolled in private schools in 2007 (15 percent) was similar to the percentage enrolled in 1995 (16 percent). In the South, the percentages of students enrolled in private schools remained around 10 percent from 1995 to 2007.

There were differences in the racial/ethnic composition of private school enrollments (data from 2007) compared with public school enrollments (data from 2006). Whites made up a greater share of private school enrollment than of public school enrollment (75 vs. 57 percent), while the opposite was true for Blacks (10 vs. 17 percent) and Hispanics (10 vs. 20 percent) (see table A-5-3 and NCES 2008-022, table 41). Asians/Pacific Islanders made up 5 percent of both public and private school enrollments, and American Indians/Alaska Natives made up 1 percent of each.

Technical Notes

Other religious schools are those with a religious orientation or purpose, but are not Roman Catholic. Conservative Christian schools are those with membership in at least 1 of 4 associations, and affiliated schools are those with membership in 1 of 12 associations. Unaffiliated schools are those that have a more general religious orientation or purpose, but are not classified as Conservative Christian or affiliated with a specific religion. Nonsectarian schools do not have a religious orientation or purpose. Vocational schools are included with special program emphasis schools. Calculations were revised and estimates may differ from previously published data. Estimates from the Private School Survey (PSS) may differ from those derived from the National Household Education Survey (NHES) because of differences in survey methodology. For more information on private schools, private school program emphases, NHES, and the PSS, see supplemental note 3. The distribution of private school students by race/ethnicity excludes prekindergarten students. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. For more information on geographic region and race/ethnicity, see supplemental note 1. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.