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Charter Schools Key Statistics (continued)

Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Topics: Middle Years (5-9), Charter Schools, more...

Schools chartered by different entities varied in terms of the regions of the country in which they were located and in terms of the communities they served. For example, schools chartered by a school district tended to serve students in the Southeast and West, and in central cities and urban fringe/large towns (see table 28-2). Schools chartered by a state board of education most commonly served students in central cities. Schools chartered by a state-chartering agency most commonly served students in the West, and schools chartered by postsecondary institutions served students exclusively in the Central region (especially Michigan).

Schools chartered by a state board of education or a postsecondary institution were more likely to serve Black students than conventional public schools or other types of charter schools (see table 28-3). Schools chartered by a state board of education were also more likely to serve students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch than conventional public schools. Conversely, schools chartered by a school district served a greater percentage of students not eligible for free and reduced-price lunch than conventional public schools.

Number and percentage distribution of public schools by school type and selected student and school characteristics: 2004–05

  Type of public school
Student or school characteristic Conventional Charter

Number of students 47,694,443 887,243
Number of schools 90,001 3,294
     
Student characteristic    
Percentage of students 98.2 1.8
Sex    
  Male 42.1 32.9
  Female 57.9 67.1
Race/ethnicity1    
  White 58.0 42.0
  Black 16.9 31.3
  Hispanic 19.4 21.8
  Asian/Pacific Islander 4.6 3.3
  American Indian/Alaska Native 1.2 1.5
     
School characteristic    
Percentage of schools 96.5 3.5
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch    
  Less than 15 16.0 26.8
  15–29 22.5 27.0
  30–49 17.0 11.5
  50–74 22.7 14.9
  75 or more 21.8 19.8
Enrollment    
  Less than 300 30.9 70.9
  300–999 59.0 26.2
  1,000 or more 10.1 2.9
Instructional level    
  Elementary 57.0 44.4
  Middle 17.8 9.4
  Secondary 19.4 24.3
  Combined 5.8 22.0
Region    
  Northeast 16.2 9.1
  South 27.9 25.1
  Midwest 33.5 26.5
  West 22.4 39.3
Location    
  Central city 25.2 52.4
  Urban fringe/large town 48.0 35.5
  Rural/small town 26.8 12.1

1Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
NOTE: These tabulations exclude schools with no charter status designation and those not reporting membership. See supplemental note 1 for the states included in each region and information on location. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,” 2004–05.

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