NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

ISSUE

BRIEF

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

January 1999

The condition of America’s public school facilities is an issue of great

concern to educators and administrators (Honeyman, 1994; Kowalski,

1995). In 1989, the Education Writers Association reported that nearly

half of the public school buildings in America were obsolete and contained environmental hazards (Lewis, 1989). The state of America’s school

facilities continues to be a problem today. In his 1997 State of the Union

Address, President Clinton remarked, “We cannot expect our children to

raise themselves up in schools that are literally falling down. With the

student population at an all time high, and record numbers of school buildings falling into disrepair, this has now become a serious national concern” (Clinton, 1997).

How old are America’s public schools? How recently have public schools

been renovated? Data available from the Fast Response Survey System

(FRSS), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),

can be used to help answer these questions. In 1994, 1995, and 1996,

FRSS queried U.S. public school administrators about the age of their

school buildings and the date of the building’s last renovation. The combined data from these 3 years make it possible to help determine the average age of public schools, where the older and newer public schools are

located, and whether school age is related to other school characteristics.

Data from 1995 provide information on school renovation and Internet

accessibility.

The increase in the construction of schools between 1950 and 1969

corresponds to the years during which the Baby Boom generation was

going to school.

In 1998, the average public school building in the United States was 42

years old. The mean age ranged from 46 years in the Northeast and Central states to 37 years in the Southeast (table 1). On average, schools

located in the Northeast and Central regions of the country were older

than those located in the Southeast and the West. Many of America’s

schools may be at an age where frequent repairs are necessary. According

to Ornstein (1994), when a school is 20 to 30 years old, frequent replacement of equipment is needed. Between 30 and 40 years old, the original

equipment should have been replaced, including the roof and electrical

equipment. After 40 years, a school building begins rapid deterioration,

and after 60 years most schools are abandoned.

About one-fourth (28 percent) of all public schools were built before 1950,

and 45 percent of all public schools were built between 1950 and 1969

(table 1). Seventeen percent of public schools were built between 1970

and 1984, and 10 percent were built after 1985. The increase in the construction of schools between 1950 and 1969 corresponds to the years during which the Baby Boom generation was going to school.

America’s oldest schools have a higher proportion of children in poverty

(table 1). Of schools with less than 20 percent of children eligible for free

or reduced-price school lunch, 20 percent were built before 1950. In

contrast, of schools with 20 to 49 percent and 50 percent or more children

How Old Are America’s Public Schools?

eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch, 29 percent and 34 percent

were built before 1950. The age of a school and its size are also related.

While 40 percent of small schools (enrollments of less than 300) were

built before 1950, 23 percent of large schools (enrollments of 1,000 or

more) were built before 1950.

Table 1.—Year of school construction and mean age of school, by

school characteristics

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast

Response Survey System, “Survey on Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Schools,

Fall 1996,” FRSS 61, 1996; “Survey on Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Schools,

K–12,” FRSS 57, 1995; “Survey on Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Schools,

K–12,” FRSS 51, 1994.

Seventy-three percent of public schools report having undergone at

least one major renovation.

In 1995, FRSS also collected data on the year that schools underwent

their last major renovation. About three-fourths (73 percent) of schools

reported having undergone at least one major renovation; 17 percent reported last undergoing a major renovation prior to 1980, 17 percent reported the last major renovation between 1980 and 1989, and 39 percent

reported the last major renovation between 1990 and 1995 (table 2). Unlike

the age of school buildings, the year since the last major renovation is not

significantly related to the enrollment size, locale, or region (data not

shown). Of the school buildings that have never undergone a major renovation, 50 percent are at least 25 years old.

School characteristic Before 1950

1950

1969

1970

1984

1985 or 

after

Mean 

age

 All public schools 28 45 17 10 42

Instructional level

 Elementary 29 46 15 11 43

 Secondary 24 46 23 8 40

Size of enrollment

 Less than 300 40 39 14 8 48

 300 to 999 24 48 17 11 40

 1,000 or more 23 44 22 11 39

Locale

 City 34 44 13 9 46

 Urban fringe 20 53 17 10 40

 Town 24 47 20 9 40

 Rural 32 38 17 12 42

Region

 Northeast 30 49 15 6 46

 Southeast 23 43 20 14 37

 Central 33 46 14 8 46

 West 25 44 19 13 39

 Less than 20 percent 20 48 20 11 39

 20 to 49 percent 29 44 16 11 41

 50 percent or more 34 42 14 10 44

Year built

(Percent of schools)

Percent of students eligible for free or 

reduced-price school lunch
NCES 1999–048

Issue Briefs present information on education topics of current interest. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. All differences are statistically significant at the 0.05 percent level.

In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.

The data reported in this Issue Brief have been combined from 3 separate independent surveys—1994, 1995, and 1996. There is a potential for a small amount of bias associated with the absence of schools built between

the administration of each of the three surveys and 1998.

This Issue Brief was prepared by Cassandra Rowand. To obtain standard errors or definitions of terms for this Issue Brief, or to obtain additional information about the Fast Response Survey System or the FRSS

telecommunications surveys, contact Edie McArthur at NCES 202-219-1442. To order additional copies of this Issue Brief or other NCES publications, call 1-800-424-1616. NCES publications are available on the Internet

at http://www.ed.gov/NCES/pubs.

A measure combining age of school and year of renovation represents a

rough approximation of “condition” of schools, assuming that all other

building conditions were equal. Thus, schools built before 1970 and either never renovated or renovated prior to 1980 would be in the “oldest

condition”—29 percent of all public schools fell into this category. Those

schools built before 1970 and renovated 1980 or later or built between

1970 and 1985 may be considered to be in “moderate condition”—61

percent of all schools were in this category. The remaining schools, those

built 1984 or after, are in the “newest condition”—10 percent of America’s

public schools fell into this category in 1995 (table 2).

● Almost half (45 percent) of U.S. public schools were built between

1950 and 1969.

● Seventy-three percent of school buildings reported having had at least

one major renovation.

● Of schools built in 1985 or later, 59 percent were connected to the

Internet in 1995, whereas 42 percent were connected among schools

built before 1969 and renovated before 1980 (or never renovated).

Other References and Related Publications

Clinton, W.J. (1997). 1997 State of the Union Address. Available on the Internet

at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/SOU97.

Honeyman, D.S. 1994. “Finances and the problems of America’s school buildings.” The Clearing House, 68:95–97.

Kowalski, T. 1995. “Chasing the wolves from the schoolhouse door.” Phi Delta

Kappan, 76:486–489.

Ornstein, A.C. 1994. “School finance and the condition of schools.” Theory into

Practice, 33:118–125.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. 1997.

“The Impact of the Baby Boom Echo on U.S. Public School Enrollments.” Issue

Brief. NCES 98–039.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. 1998.

“Internet Access in Public Schools.” Issue Brief. NCES 98–031.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. “Internet

Access in Public Schools: 1994–1998.” Issue Brief. Forthcoming.

Table 2.—Percent of schools in oldest, moderate, and newest

condition, by the year built and last major building

renovation

Schools in the “oldest” condition.

Schools in the “newest” condition.

— Not applicable.

* Percentages sum to 30 rather than 29 due to rounding.

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast

Response Survey System, “Survey on Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Schools,

K–12,” FRSS 57, 1995.

The percentage of schools in the “oldest” condition (i.e., 29 percent are

more than 25 years old, or were renovated almost 20 years ago) is a concern to educators and policymakers. While newer schools are more likely

to be built with convenient connections to the Internet, there is reason for

concern that schools in the “oldest” condition may be lagging behind in

the nationwide push to connect all schools to the Internet by the year

2000. In fact, of schools in the “oldest” condition, 42 percent were connected to the Internet in 1995, whereas of schools in the “newest” condition, 59 percent were connected to the Internet (data not shown). Schools

located on the urban fringe and in the Central region of the country were

more likely to be in the “oldest” condition than schools located in towns

and in the Southeast region, respectively (table 3; 36 percent compared to

22 percent and 36 percent compared to 21 percent). In contrast, schools

in the West region were more likely to be in the “newest” condition than

schools located in the Northeast and Central regions (15 percent compared to 5 and 6 percent, respectively). No differences were found among

schools in the likelihood of being in the “oldest” and “newest” condition

in terms of the percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Summary

A number of important findings regarding the age of schools buildings

were gleaned from the Fast Response Surveys.

● The average age of public school buildings in the United States is 42

years.

Table 3.—Condition of school, by school characteristics: 1995

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast

Response Survey System, “Survey on Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Schools,

K–12, FRSS 57, 1995.”

School characteristic Oldest Moderate Newest

 All public schools 29 61 10

Instructional level

 Elementary 30 60 10

 Secondary 28 65 7

Size of enrollment

 Less than 300 36 58 6

 300999 27 62 11

 1,000 or more 25 64 12

Locale

 City 32 57 11

 Urban fringe 36 54 10

 Town 22 71 7

 Rural 28 61 11

Region

 Northeast 33 62 5

 Southeast 21 68 11

 Central 36 57 6

 West 25 59 15

 Less than 20 percent 28 61 11

 2049 percent 31 59 10

 50 percent or more 29 63 7

Condition of school

Percent of students eligible for free 

or reduced-price school lunch

Year of last major renovation Total

Before 

1950

1950

1969

1970

1984

1985 or 

after

 Total 100 26 46 19 10

Never 27 2 12 8 6

Before 1980 17 9 7 1 

19801989 17 5 8 3 1

19901995 39 10 19 7 2

*

Year built