A Child's Day: 2003

Quick facts and statistics according to a report on children’s well-being and daily activities titled A Child's Day: 2003

• Seventy-five percent of students 12 to 17-years old were academically “on track” (at or above the grade level for peers their age) in 2003, up 6 percentage points since 1994, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Jan. 11.
• Nearly 1 in 4 children ages 12-17 were in a special class for gifted students or did advanced work in an academic subject.
• Eleven percent (2.7 million) of children 12-17 had been expelled or suspended from school at least once in 2003. Boys (14 percent) were more likely than girls (8 percent) to have been suspended.
• Aside from normal progression within a school system, 24 percent of children ages 6-11 and 41 percent of those 12-17 had changed schools at some time since first grade.
• About 30 million children participated in the national school lunch program in 2003, including 1.6 million children under 6, 15 million ages 6-11, and 13.4 million ages 12-17.