Summarizes 1970-85 educational trends and projections. Highlights increasing preschool, minority, and public elementary school enrollment, declining numbers of public elementary schools, increasing numbers of private and middle schools, fewer teachers (until the late 1980s), higher teacher salaries, growing dependency on state revenues, and…

Reviews trends from 1971 to 1982 primarily as revealed by Department of Education statistics. Enrollment, number and size of schools and districts, student-teacher ratios, programs for exceptional children, basic courses, computer applications, revenues, expenditures, cost-cutting, student performance assessment, state provisions to improve…

Discusses recent and projected trends in (1) enrollments in elementary and secondary schools and among special student populations, (2) the numbers and configurations of elementary and secondary schools, (3) teacher employment and salary levels, (4) state and federal aid, and (5) student performance on national mathematics and science tests. (PGD)

Data in this article were compiled from a number of sources by the U. S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Categories covered include: elementary enrollment, pre-primary enrollment, parent and family involvement, international comparisons of fourth and eighth graders' performance in mathematics and science,…