Percentage of 1972, 1982, and 1992 12th-graders who entered postsecondary education, and among those who earned more than 10 credits, percentage who earned a bachelor’s degree within 8.5 years, and average time to degree, by sex and race/ethnicity

Student Effort and Educational Progress: Tables

Postsecondary Participation and Attainment Among Traditional-Age Students

Table 22-1. Percentage of 1972, 1982, and 1992 12th-graders who entered postsecondary education, and among those who earned more than 10 credits, percentage who earned a bachelor’s degree within 8.5 years, and average time to degree, by sex and race/ethnicity

	Participated in postsecondary education			Earned at least a bachelor’s degree
Sex and race/ethnicity	Entered at least one postsecondary institution	Earned more than 10 credits	Earned more than 10 credits and any credits from a 4-year institution	Among those who earned more than 10 credits	Among those who earned more than 10 credits and any credits from a 4-year institution	Of those who earned bachelor’s degrees, average time to degree¹

Total
1972	55.4	48.0	35.2	45.5	62.7	4.3
1982	59.0	51.6	35.7	42.5	61.7	4.5
1992	77.3	67.5	50.7	50.3	67.1	4.6
Sex
Male
1972	57.8	50.1	37.5	47.2	63.1	4.5
1982	55.2	48.6	34.3	43.8	62.4	4.6
1992	74.6	64.8	48.8	46.8	62.2	4.7
Female
1972	52.9	46.0	32.8	43.7	62.3	4.2
1982	62.8	54.5	37.1	41.4	61.2	4.4
1992	79.9	70.3	52.6	53.4	71.4	4.5
Race/ethnicity²
Asian
1972	71.8	65.2	51.0	60.2	77.4	4.5
1982	75.5	69.0	52.3	55.4	72.8	4.6
1992	91.6	82.0	68.3	57.5	68.9	4.6
Black
1972	46.8	38.2	27.2	31.7	45.6	4.4
1982	47.2	39.0	24.5	23.0	37.5	4.6
1992	69.5	54.2	37.2	38.7	56.3	4.7
White
1972	57.5	50.3	37.3	47.8	64.9	4.3
1982	62.4	55.2	39.1	46.0	65.0	4.4
1992	79.4	71.4	55.2	53.9	69.8	4.5
Hispanic
1972	46.9	38.5	22.6	23.3	41.0	5.1
1982	44.2	34.3	18.7	24.5	44.4	4.7
1992	70.0	55.8	33.2	29.4	49.6	5.1

¹ Elapsed calendar years from date of entry.
² Asian includes Pacific Islander, Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin unless specified.
NOTE: The 8.5 is relative to the modal high school graduation date (June) for the cohort, not the individual’s graduation date. For example, the end point for the 1992 graduates is the end of 2000. See supplemental note 3 for more information about the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88/2000). See supplemental note 6 for more information about transcript studies.
SOURCE: Adelman, C. (2004). Principal Indicators of Student Academic Histories in Postsecondary Education, 1972–2000, table 2.3, and U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, “Fifth Follow-up” (NLS:72/86), High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study of 1980 Sophomores, “Postsecondary Education Transcript Study” (HS&B-So:PETS), and National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88/2000), “Fourth Follow-up, Postsecondary Transcript Survey, 2000,” previously unpublished tabulation (November 2004).

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