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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 104.90. Percentage distribution of spring 2002 high school sophomores, by highest level of education completed through 2012 and selected student characteristics: 2012
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected student characteristic Total Less than high school completion High school completion Some post-
secondary (no credential)
Postsecondary certificate Associate's
degree
Bachelor's
degree
Master's or higher degree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Total, all students 100.0 (†) 3.1   (0.23) 12.6   (0.44) 32.3   (0.47) 10.1   (0.32) 8.7   (0.35) 26.6   (0.65) 6.7   (0.26)
Sex                                              
Male 100.0 (†) 3.7   (0.31) 16.0   (0.67) 33.9   (0.72) 8.4   (0.43) 8.0   (0.46) 25.1   (0.87) 4.9   (0.31)
Female 100.0 (†) 2.5   (0.26) 9.3   (0.51) 30.7   (0.68) 11.8   (0.46) 9.4   (0.50) 28.1   (0.80) 8.3   (0.42)
                                               
Race/ethnicity                                              
White 100.0 (†) 1.8   (0.22) 11.7   (0.51) 28.9   (0.60) 8.7   (0.40) 9.1   (0.47) 31.6   (0.80) 8.2   (0.36)
Black 100.0 (†) 4.7   (0.70) 13.2   (1.10) 40.2   (1.31) 14.6   (0.93) 7.5   (0.80) 16.1   (1.07) 3.7   (0.56)
Hispanic 100.0 (†) 6.6   (0.75) 14.6   (1.10) 38.7   (1.27) 12.3   (0.84) 9.1   (0.87) 15.8   (1.26) 2.8   (0.49)
Asian 100.0 (†) 1.6   (0.46) 5.9   (0.96) 27.6   (1.60) 8.5   (0.93) 5.6   (0.87) 39.8   (2.08) 11.1   (0.97)
Pacific Islander 100.0 (†) #   (†) 22.7 ! (8.56) 35.0   (8.93)   (†)   (†) 29.5 ! (10.0)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska                                              
Native 100.0 (†) 8.1 ! (3.31) 22.7   (5.00) 33.7   (4.82) 11.3 ! (3.57) 7.1 ! (2.59) 13.7 ! (4.28)   (†)
Two or more races 100.0 (†) 3.4   (0.89) 18.5   (2.00) 32.6   (2.69) 9.0   (1.51) 8.6   (1.60) 22.2   (2.12) 5.7   (1.20)
                                               
Parents' educational attainment
     in 2002
                                             
High school completion or less 100.0 (†) 6.4   (0.53) 21.1   (0.80) 33.5   (0.81) 12.5   (0.72) 9.3   (0.63) 14.7   (0.80) 2.5   (0.32)
Some college 100.0 (†) 2.2   (0.27) 13.4   (0.65) 36.8   (0.83) 12.1   (0.57) 9.5   (0.53) 21.7   (0.82) 4.3   (0.38)
Bachelor's degree 100.0 (†) 1.6   (0.30) 6.6   (0.58) 30.2   (1.13) 7.5   (0.58) 8.5   (0.74) 36.4   (1.21) 9.2   (0.76)
Master's or higher degree 100.0 (†) 1.3   (0.30) 4.4   (0.62) 23.5   (1.24) 5.5   (0.64) 6.1   (0.65) 44.0   (1.41) 15.1   (0.85)
                                               
Parents' socioeconomic status
     in 20121
                                             
Low quartile 100.0 (†) 7.0   (0.58) 21.3   (0.92) 36.2   (1.03) 12.8   (0.72) 8.2   (0.63) 12.3   (0.86) 2.2   (0.30)
Middle two quartiles 100.0 (†) 2.4   (0.26) 12.9   (0.54) 34.7   (0.68) 11.1   (0.48) 9.9   (0.52) 24.2   (0.78) 4.9   (0.32)
High quartile 100.0 (†) 0.5   (0.15) 3.1   (0.41) 23.6   (1.07) 5.4   (0.51) 6.7   (0.58) 45.9   (1.13) 14.7   (0.70)
                                               
Student's educational
     expectation in 10th grade
                                             
High school completion or less 100.0 (†) 12.3   (1.44) 36.0   (1.88) 31.5   (1.94) 11.3   (1.38) 5.3   (0.92) 3.3   (0.70)   (†)
Some college 100.0 (†) 5.7   (0.88) 22.8   (1.45) 37.5   (1.70) 14.5   (1.31) 10.7   (1.16) 7.9   (0.91) 1.0 ! (0.36)
Bachelor's degree 100.0 (†) 1.7   (0.27) 10.3   (0.66) 33.3   (0.88) 10.6   (0.57) 10.0   (0.64) 29.0   (0.92) 5.0   (0.37)
Master's or higher degree 100.0 (†) 1.0   (0.19) 4.1   (0.40) 29.3   (0.79) 8.0   (0.53) 7.7   (0.47) 37.9   (0.88) 12.1   (0.57)
Don't know 100.0 (†) 5.0   (0.88) 21.2   (1.58) 36.7   (1.92) 11.5   (1.06) 7.7   (0.98) 14.7   (1.38) 3.2   (0.66)
                                               
2002 high school type                                              
Public 100.0 (†) 3.3   (0.25) 13.4   (0.47) 33.0   (0.49) 10.4   (0.35) 8.8   (0.37) 25.0   (0.69) 6.1   (0.28)
Catholic 100.0 (†)   (†) 1.6   (0.45) 23.7   (1.26) 6.4   (0.66) 6.2   (0.68) 47.3   (1.76) 14.6   (1.15)
Other private 100.0 (†)   (†) 3.9   (0.98) 23.9   (2.00) 6.4   (1.01) 8.5   (1.26) 44.3   (2.44) 12.8   (1.38)
                                               
Cumulative high school grade
     point average
                                             
0.00-1.99 100.0 (†) 11.3   (0.90) 25.7   (1.22) 41.8   (1.29) 12.5   (0.79) 5.4   (0.58) 3.1   (0.46)   (†)
2.00-2.49 100.0 (†) 2.4   (0.47) 18.3   (1.00) 44.5   (1.11) 12.5   (0.77) 9.9   (0.79) 11.4   (0.83) 1.0   (0.24)
2.50-2.99 100.0 (†) 0.6   (0.17) 11.1   (0.91) 35.8   (1.21) 12.4   (0.86) 12.5   (0.90) 24.1   (1.13) 3.5   (0.50)
3.00-3.49 100.0 (†)   (†) 5.0   (0.54) 25.9   (1.06) 9.0   (0.66) 9.8   (0.83) 41.9   (1.22) 8.2   (0.69)
3.50+ 100.0 (†)   (†) 1.6   (0.32) 13.1   (0.85) 2.9   (0.42) 5.7   (0.61) 55.0   (1.34) 21.7   (0.99)
                                               
                                               
Students with subsequent
     postsecondary enrollment
                                             
                                               
Timing of first postsecondary
     enrollment
                                             
Within 3 months of high
     school completion
100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 28.8   (0.65) 8.5   (0.40) 10.2   (0.48) 41.9   (0.80) 10.7   (0.42)
Between 4 and 12 months of
     high school completion
100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 45.2   (1.65) 17.8   (1.52) 10.7   (1.05) 21.2   (1.41) 5.1   (0.80)
13 or more months after
     high school completion
100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 65.7   (1.27) 18.4   (1.05) 9.9   (0.85) 5.5   (0.74) 0.5 ! (0.17)
                                               
Type of postsecondary
     institution first attended
                                             
Public 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 40.1   (0.67) 10.6   (0.43) 10.9   (0.50) 31.5   (0.75) 6.9   (0.33)
Private nonprofit 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 24.2   (1.31) 5.1   (0.65) 4.7   (0.65) 49.1   (1.42) 17.0   (0.98)
Private for-profit 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 46.8   (2.13) 30.4   (2.13) 15.5   (1.59) 6.6   (1.01) 0.7 ! (0.35)
                                               
Selectivity and level of
     postsecondary institution
     first attended
                                             
Highly selective 4-year 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 14.8   (1.02) 2.5   (0.45) 1.7   (0.37) 60.7   (1.39) 20.3   (0.98)
Moderately selective 4-year 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 26.1   (1.17) 5.0   (0.42) 5.7   (0.62) 49.4   (1.19) 13.7   (0.91)
Inclusive 4-year 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 40.9   (2.01) 7.3   (1.04) 10.9   (1.51) 33.0   (2.06) 7.8   (1.08)
2-year 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 51.7   (0.92) 15.8   (0.71) 16.1   (0.79) 15.2   (0.78) 1.3   (0.20)
Less-than-2-year 100.0 (†)   (†)   (†) 41.8   (3.14) 51.9   (3.19) 4.9   (1.07) 1.3 ! (0.64)   (†)
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by a composite score on parental education and occupations, and family income.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), Third Follow-up. (This table was prepared May 2014.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest