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| The Condition o Education 2007
Section 1—Participation in EducationIndicator 1
FOR MORE INFORMATION:Supplemental Note 2Supplemental Table 1-1Education Commission of theStates 2005a, 2005b
Between 1970 and 2005, enrollment rates increased among those between ages 18 and 34, the period when individuals typically enroll in postsecondary education. For thoseages 18–19, the enrollment rate increased from 48 to 68 percent.
All Ages
Enrollment Trends by Age
Changes in the number o students enrolledcan stem rom fuctuations in population sizeor shits in enrollment rates. This indicator ex-amines the enrollment rates o individuals ages3–34 to identiy changes in enrollment behavior,which may refect changes in attendance require-ments, the perceived value or cost o education,or the time taken to complete degrees.Between 1970 and 2005, the enrollment rate o children ages 3–4 (the typical preschool ages)increased rom 20 to 54 percent. While someo this increase may refect changes in the datacollection method in 1994,
1
the rate o preschoolattendance had already doubled beore then (seesupplemental table 1-1). The enrollment rate o children ages 5–6 (the typical kindergarten
2
or 1st-grade ages) increased rom 90 percent in 1970 to96 percent in 1977 and has since remained roughlylevel. Because state law requires youth ages 7–13to enroll in elementary or secondary education,their enrollment rate has been very high (between98 and 99 percent) over the past 35 years. Themaximum compulsory age o school attendancevaries by state between ages 16 and 18; that maybe refected in the lower enrollment rates or 14- to17-year-olds (between 93 and 97 percent) com-pared with those or 7- to 13-year-olds (EducationCommission o the States 2005b).Youth ages 18–19 are typically transitioninginto postsecondary education or the workorce.Between 1970 and 2005, the enrollment rate orthese youth increased at the elementary/secondarylevel (rom 10 to 18 percent) and at the postsec-ondary level (rom 37 to 49 percent), raising theoverall rate o 18- to 19-year-olds rom 48 to 68percent. This overall rate or 2005 is up rom 61percent o students in this age group in 2000.Adults ages 20–34 who are enrolled in schoolare usually enrolled in postsecondary education.Between 1970 and 2005, the enrollment rate o young adults, ages 20–24, increased rom 22 to36 percent, up rom 32 percent in 2000. Withinthis age group, the enrollment rate o those ages20–21 increased rom 32 to 49 percent, and theenrollment rate o those ages 22–24 increased rom15 to 27 percent. Among the older age groups, theenrollment rate increased rom 8 to 12 percent orthose ages 25–29 and rom 4 to 7 percent or thoseages 30–34 during this period.
ENROLLMENT RATES: Percentage of the population ages 3–34 enrolled in school, by age group: October 1970–2005
1
Beginning in 1994, new procedures were usedto collect preprimary enrollment data.As a result,data from before 1994 may not be comparable todata from 1994 or later.
2
As of April 2005, there were 36 states or jurisdic-tions that did not require kindergarten attendance;however, most mandate that school districts offerkindergarten programs (Education Commission of the States 2005a).NOTE:Includes enrollment in any type of publicor private school, nursery school, kindergarten,elementary school, high school, college, univer-sity, and professional school. Attendance maybe on either a full-time or part-time basis andduring the day or night.Excludes homeschooledstudents and enrollment in less-than-2-yearpostsecondary institutions.See
supplemental note 2
for more information on the Current PopulationSurvey (CPS).SOURCE:U.S.Department of Education, NationalCenter for Education Statistics,
Digest of Educa-tion Statistics, 2006
(NCES 2007-017), table 7,data from U.S.Department of Commerce, CensusBureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), OctoberSupplement, 1970–2005.
020406080100Ages 7–132000199019801970 2005 20052000199019801970
Percent
Ages3–19 Ages18–34
YearAges 30–34Ages 20–24Ages 14–17Ages 5–6Ages 18–19Ages 18–19Ages 3–4
1
Ages 25–29
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