Condition of Education 2008 - now available

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released "The Condition of Education 2008," a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the United States. The 43 indicators included in this year's report cover all aspects of education, from early childhood through postsecondary education and from student achievement to school environment and resources. Among the report's findings:

* This year, public school enrollment is expected to approach about 50 million students. Total public school enrollment is projected to set new records each year from 2008 to 2017, at which time it is expected to reach 54.1 million.

* Minority students make up 43 percent of the public school enrollment overall and 48 percent in the South and 55 percent in the West.

* In 2005–06, about a third of Black students and a third of Hispanic students attended high-poverty schools compared with 4 percent of White students.

* Average reading scores of 4th- and 8th-graders were higher in 2007 than in 1992.

* Average mathematics scores increased 27 points for 4th-graders and 19 points for 8th-graders between 1990 and 2007.

* Among public high school students in the class of 2005, about three-fourths graduated on time.

* Since 1970, women's undergraduate enrollment has increased over three times as fast as men's. Currently, women make up 57 percent of undergraduate enrollment.

* In 2006, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned about $11,000 more than those with an associate’s degree, about $16,000 more than those who had completed high school, and more than twice as much than those who did not earn a high school diploma.

The full text of "The Condition of Education 2008," along with related data tables and indicators from previous years, can be viewed at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe