Past trends and projected future changes in the composition of enrollment across levels of education and regions of the country, as well as between public and private schools, indicate the amount of resources the nation's schools will require. This report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total (public and private) elementary and secondary school enrollment increased during the late 1980s and 1990s, reaching an all-time high of 52.7 million in 1998. This increase followed declining total enrollment in elementary and secondary schools during the 1970s and early 1980s (from 51.3 million in 1971 to 44.9 million in 1984). Total elementary and secondary school enrollment is estimated to increase by 3 percent to 54.3 million between 1998 and 2008. Secondary school enrollments are projected to increase by 11 percent for both public and private schools between 1998 and 2008, while enrollment in prekindergarten through grade 8 is projected to decrease slightly. Total public school enrollment is estimated to increase in the South and West by 4 and 11 percent, respectively, but to decrease in the Northeast and Midwest by 1 and 3 percent, respectively, between 1998 and 2008. (DFR)