Released by the National Center for Education Statistics, this report presents overview data on the 87,631 elementary and secondary public schools in the US who provided instruction to 46.1 million students during the 1997-98 school year. The thirteen-page report provides statistical information on school districts, public schools, and students in K-12 public schools. Included are seven detailed data tables that profile the total number of students in public schools and in public school districts, the distribution of schools and students by instructional level and urbanicity, the rate of high school dropouts, and several other student characteristics.