As public elementary students move into the secondary school grades, the greatest growth of students over the next ten years will be concentrated in grades 9 to 12. Projections for 1998 through 2008 indicate an additional 1.5 million public high school students over the time period, an 11 percent increase. The next largest increase is projected for grades 6 to 8, where about a half million additional students will enter those grades over the next ten years, a 5 percent increase. Decreases in preschool and lower elementary enrollments are expected before leveling out in the next five to ten years.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Projections of Education Statistics to 2008; and special tabulations.

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[ Figure 2. -- Enrollment in public and private elementary and secondary schools: Fall 1968 to fall 2008 ] [ Table 1. -- Enrollment in prekindergarten/kindergarten, grades 1 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 12 in public elementary and secondary schools: Fall 1983 to fall 2008 ]