Key numbers from a government report to Congress on the status of US education

WASHINGTON – The American education landscape is shifting.

More U.S. school-age kids live in poverty and need English-language services, according to a report released Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Enrollment in public schools is up, including in charter schools that have grown in popularity. At the same time, smaller numbers of children attend private schools.

Fewer students are dropping out of high school.

And, while more undergraduate students seek financial aid to obtain a four-year degree, college graduates continue to earn more than their peers.

Here’s a by-the-numbers look from the report:

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1 in 5: Proportion of school-age kids living in poverty in 2013, compared with 1 in 7 in 2000.

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65: Percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds enrolled in preschool in 2013 — about the same as a year earlier.

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49.8 million: Number of students enrolled in public schools in 2012-13, up from 49.5 million a year earlier.

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2.3 million: Number of students in 2012-13 attending charter schools, compared with 2.1 million a year earlier.

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9.2: Percentage of English-language learners in the 2012-13 school year, compared with 9.1 per cent a year earlier.

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5.3 million: Number of students enrolled in a private K-12 school in the 2011-12 school year, down from 5.5 million two years earlier.

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7: Percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds not enrolled in school who did not have a high school credential in 2013, down from 11 per cent three years earlier.

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$621 billion: Total expenditures for public schools in 2011-12, compared with $642 billion a year earlier.

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17.5 million: Number of undergraduate students enrolled in postsecondary institutions in 2013-14, compared with 17.7 million a year earlier.

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85: Percentage of fulltime undergraduate students at a 4-year institution receiving financial aid in 2012-13, compared with 80 per cent five years earlier.

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59: Percentage of students who began a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in fall 2007 who completed it within six years.

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$48,500: Median annual earnings for young adult with a bachelor’s degree — more than double the earnings of those without a high school credential.