School & District Management Interactive

Enrollment Data: How Many Students Went Missing in Your State?

A look at state enrollment data during the 2020-21 school year
By Eesha Pendharkar & Maya Riser-Kositsky — July 02, 2021 | Updated: February 01, 2022 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Updated: This page was updated with new data from Illinois on July 9, 2021. It was updated with new data from Delaware, Illinois (special education data), and New Jersey (special education data) on July 22, 2021. It was updated with new data from Alabama, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, and North Carolina on Dec. 6, 2021. It was updated with new data from Tennessee on Jan. 13, 2022. Data for Nebraska (English-language learners, special education students, and free and reduced price meal enrollment) was updated on Feb. 1, 2022.

America’s public school system lost more than 1.3 million students in the 2020-21 school year, according to an Education Week analysis of state data.

The loss was spread out across the nation, touching almost every demographic group and concentrated in lower grades. It will likely have academic, financial and staffing repercussions for years to come.

Education Week reached out to 51 state departments of education in order to collect a more comprehensive picture of enrollment losses across the country.

See Also

Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Photo courtesy of Woodland Pond School

Contact Information

For media or research inquiries about this data, contact library@educationweek.org.

How to Cite This Page

Enrollment Data: How Many Students Went Missing in Your State? (2021, July 2). Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/enrollment-data-how-many-students-went-missing-in-your-state/2021/07

Holly Peele, Library Director contributed to this article.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
3 Key Strategies for Prepping for State Tests & Building Long-Term Formative Practices
Boost state test success with data-driven strategies. Join our webinar for actionable steps, collaboration tips & funding insights.
Content provided by Instructure
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Promoting Integrity and AI Readiness in High Schools
Learn how to update school academic integrity guidelines and prepare students for the age of AI.
Content provided by Turnitin

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management How Superintendents Can Prioritize the Political Part of the Job
The superintendency is increasingly a political role, experts said.
4 min read
a red paper airplane winds around obstacles made of wadded up pieces of paper
iStock/Getty
School & District Management How Principals Are Shaping Education Policy Through Advocacy
Principals share advice for advocating to state and federal lawmakers on behalf of schools.
6 min read
Elementary, middle, high school principals from Missouri met senior staffers at R-Rep. Eric Schmitt's office on March 12, 2025.
Principals from Missouri met senior staffers at Republican Rep. Eric Schmitt's office on March 12, 2025. School leaders say advocacy is an important part of their job.
Courtesy of Jenny Hayes
School & District Management What the Future Holds for Summer School as Federal Aid Dries Up
Summer programs have been a go-to strategy to catch kids up and accelerate their learning. Will districts keep them with no more relief aid?
5 min read
Photo of high school students walking into class.
E+
School & District Management Infographic 9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
3 min read
Illustration of Covid-19 impacting 3 years of school
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty Images