Back to School

Parents Spend How Much??? All the Back-to-School Stats You
Need!
Although it seems like summer's just begun, August has
already arrived and that raises one thought in the minds of millions of kids
(and lots of adults, too) going back to school.  Each new school year gives
you an opportunity to make friends, strengthen skills and expand your knowledge.
Now's the time to get a jumpstart on your education by learning more about
education! The U.S. Census bureau and other agencies keep track of thousands of
fascinating and surprising facts. Here's a rundown on the latest back-to-school
numbers. 

Education dollars
On average for 2012-2013 it's
estimated that $11,467 was spent per student, per year attending public
elementary and secondary schools. Among the states, New York spent the most
($17,173), followed by New Jersey and Alaska. The least? Arizona and Idaho
($6,931). 

How many schools?
For the school year 2009-2010,
there were 98,817 public elementary and secondary schools and 33,366 private.


College costs
For the school year 2010-2011, the average
tuition, room and board for a four-year public institution was $15,918; private
was $32,617. Both are more than double the rate from 1990. 


Graduation rates
For the 2012-2013, about 3.4 million
students graduated from public or private high school. The good news is dropout
rates declined from 11.8 percent in 1998 to 7.4 percent in 2010. Colleges and
universities awarded 937,000 associate's degrees; 1.8 million bachelor's
degrees; 756,000 master's degrees and 174,700 doctorate degrees.

It  pays to stay in school
For the year 2008, the average annual earning of
a worker with an advanced degree was $83,144. Adults with a bachelor's degree
earned an average of $58,613. Compare that to $31,283 for individuals with a
high school diploma and $21,023 for those without a high school diploma.


Student body
In 2010, 16 percent of all college students
were aged 35 and older. An impressive 41 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled
in college, which now includes more women than men. And, if you include all
students from nursery school through college, it's more than 79 million people
heading back to school.
More than 11.8 million school-aged children aged
5 to 17 speak a language other than English at home; 8.5 million of these
children spoke Spanish.

Back-to-school shopping
In 2009,  August clothing sales were $7.2 billion ? that's a lot of school uniforms,
shirts, pants and shoes! Only for the month of December do clothing sales rank
higher. Bookstore sales totaled $2.5 billion. According to the National Retail
Federation this averages out to $700 per student in kindergarten through 12th
grade.
In preparation for returning to the classroom, parents and students
scan newspapers and the internet looking for great deals for their
back-to-school needs.  Looking for a better way to save time and money? Shop 
first at your Twist OP. There you can find the latest
electronics, notebooks, pens, highlighters, organizers and more, everything you
need to start the new school year off right, and at great prices too. Check
them out today at www.twistop.com

1. Public Education Finances: 2008. 2. SU.S. Department
of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of
Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001) 3. U.S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education
Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001). 4. U.S. National Center for Education
Statistics. 5. Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009 6. U.S. Census
Bureau, School Enrollment ? Social and Economic Characteristics of Students  7.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey 8. Monthly Retail Trade and
Food Services.