One Million: Key Trends Across the K-12 Population in Missouri

By Amy J. Shelton, Ph.D.

In this report, we bring together multiple publicly-available datasets and examine trends in public and non-public school enrollment over the past 16 years.

Key Points:

• The size of the school-age population (ages 5-17) in Missouri decreased between 2008 and 2019 but has returned to its 2008 level.

• Live birth cohorts have been decreasing in size since 2007.

• Public school enrollment has decreased 3.7% over the past 15 years.

• Non-public school enrollment has increased in recent years even while private school enrollment has decreased, suggesting non-public enrollment increases represent growth in homeschool participation in Missouri