Stanford Study: U.S. Public School Enrollment Down More Than a Million Since the Pandemic, School Count Unchanged and Pupil-Teacher Ratio Down 4%

A working paper released on November 9 by Stanford University researchers Thomas S. Dee and Jaymes Pyne analyzes federal data on nearly every U.S. public school from 2010 to 2024. The study finds that the number of students in U.S. public schools has fallen by more than a million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that average school enrollment dropped by about 18 students, or 3%, after the pandemic.

The declines vary sharply. One in four public schools now enrolls at least 15% fewer students than before the pandemic, or at least 70 fewer students for the average elementary school, with the steepest losses in elementary and middle schools. Meanwhile, the number of public schools operating today is effectively the same as in fall 2019, the number of teachers has grown, and the national pupil-teacher ratio has fallen 4% from its prepandemic baseline.

Newer state data from California show the same pattern: the state has lost more than 400,000 students since October 2019 but closed less than 1% of its schools. The study was released as a working paper through EdWorkingPapers, DOI 10.26300/60a8-kk19.

Source: Stanford University

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：Stanford University 主方庭的拱廊与纪念教堂。来源：Jawed，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: The arches of Stanford University Main Quad with Memorial Church in the background. Source: Jawed, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.