Unpacking Missouri’s Pandemic-Induced Enrollment Changes

Key Points:

During the 2020-21 school year, public school enrollment across the state of Missouri declined by nearly 30,000 students, representing a 3% decline compared to the 2019-20 school year’s statewide enrollment. In this brief, we examine enrollment changes for the 2020-21 school year, highlighting grades and geographic regions experiencing different changes. We find:

• The largest drops in enrollment occurred in pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten grades, with nearly a 20% and 10% drop, respectively.

• Enrollment in grades 8 through 12 increased from 2020 to 2021.

• Though all regions statewide experienced enrollment declines from 2019-20 to the 2020-21 school year, schools in the St. Louis region experienced the greatest drops.

• While there have been some rebounds in enrollment, Missouri is still below pre-pandemic levels.