Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States

Indicator 3: Status Completion Rate

Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) can be used to calculate the status completion rate, the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds not enrolled in high school or a lower education level who hold a high school diploma or an alternative credential, such as a GED. This rate includes all civilian, noninstitutionalized individuals 18 to 24 years old who have completed high school, including individuals who completed their education outside of the United States. While the graduation rates in Indicators 4 and 5 focus on a particular cohort of students in the U.S. secondary school system who graduated with a high school diploma, the status completion rate, presented in this indicator, describes the educational attainment of individuals in a given age range. Moreover, the status completion rate counts both high school diploma recipients and alternative credential recipients as high school completers.

The status completion rate is not the opposite of the status dropout rate, and the two rates do not add up to 100 percent. The rates are based on different age ranges: the status dropout rate is reported for 16- to 24-year-olds, and the status completion rate is reported for 18- to 24-year-olds. The denominator of the status completion rate excludes current high school students, whereas the denominator of the status dropout rate includes high school students.

Total status completion rates

Of the 27.6 million 18- to 24-year-olds who were not enrolled in high school in October 2017, approximately 25.8 million (93.3 percent) held a high school diploma or an alternative credential (figure 3.1 and table 3.1). This percentage represents a 9.7 percentage point increase, compared to 83.6 percent in 1977,¹ 40 years earlier (figure 3.2 and table 3.2). More recently, the status completion rate increased by 4.4 percentage points over the past 10 years, from 89.0 percent in 2007.

Figure 3.1. Status completion rates of 18- to 24-year-olds, by race/ethnicity, sex, and disability status: October 2017

NOTE: The status completion rate is the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are high school completers as a percentage of the total number of 18- to 24-year olds who are not enrolled in high school or a lower level of education. High school completers include those with a high school diploma, as well as those with an alternative credential such as a GED. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Individuals identified as having a disability reported difficulty in at least one of the following: hearing, seeing even when wearing glasses, walking or climbing stairs, dressing or bathing, doing errands alone, concentrating, remembering, or making decisions. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons in the military and persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities).
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October 2017. See table 3.1.

Status completion rates by race/ethnicity

In 2017, the status completion rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was higher for those who were Asian (98.6 percent) than for those of any racial/ethnic group except those who were of Two or more races (96.4 percent) and Pacific Islanders (89.2 percent), with whom no measurable differences were observed. In addition, the rates were higher for 18- to 24-year-olds who were of Two or more races, White (94.8 percent) and Black (93.8 percent) than for those who were Hispanic (88.3 percent) and American Indian/Alaska Native (86.3 percent). The rate for Pacific Islander 18- to 24-year-olds was not measurably different from the rate for any racial/ethnic group.

Figure 3.2. Status completion rates of 18- to 24-year-olds, by race/ethnicity: October 1977 through 2017

¹ Includes other racial/ethnic categories not separately shown.
NOTE: The status completion rate is the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are high school completers as a percentage of the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in high school or a lower level of education. High school completers include those with a high school diploma, as well as those with an alternative credential such as a GED. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. White and Black exclude persons of Two or more races after 2002. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons in the military and persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Because of changes in data collection procedures, data for years 1992 and later may not be comparable with figures for years prior to 1992.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 1977 through 2017. See table 3.2.

The general upward trend in status completion rates from 1977 to 2017 observed in the overall 18- to 24-year-old population was also found among White, Black, and Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds (figure 3.2 and table 3.2). During this period, the White status completion rate increased from 86.7 percent to 94.8 percent, the Black status completion rate increased from 73.9 percent to 93.8 percent, and the Hispanic status completion rate rose from 58.6 percent to 88.3 percent. During the most recent ten year period, the White status completion rate increased from 93.5 percent to 94.8 percent, the Black status completion rate increased from 88.8 percent to 93.8 percent, and the Hispanic status completion rate increased from 72.7 percent to 88.3 percent. The status completion rates for Asian 18- to 24-year-olds are not available prior to 1989. Between 2007 and 2017, the Asian status completion rate increased from 92.8 percent to 98.6 percent.

For the first time in 40 years, the status completion rate for Black 18- to 24-year-olds was not measurably different from that of White 18- to 24-year-olds (table 3.2). From 1977 to 2016 the status completion rate for White 18- to 24-year-olds was consistently higher than the rate for Black 18- to 24-year-olds. In addition, the status completion rates for White and Black 18- to 24-year-olds were consistently higher than for Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds. Gaps in status completion rates between some racial/ethnic groups narrowed during this period. Specifically, the White-Black gap was 12.8 percentage points in 1977, but no longer statistically significant in 2017, and the White-Hispanic gap narrowed from 28.1 percentage points in 1977 to 6.4 percentage points in 2017. In addition, the Black-Hispanic gap narrowed from 15.3 percentage points in 1977 to 5.5 percentage points in 2017.

Figure 3.3. Status completion rates of 18- to 24-year-olds, by sex: October 1977 through 2017

Status completion rates by sex

In 2017, the status completion rate was higher for female 18- to 24-year-olds (94.3 percent) than for their male peers (92.3 percent; figure 3.1 and table 3.1). Between 1977 and 2017, the status completion rate for male 18- to 24-year-olds increased from 82.8 percent to 92.3 percent, and the rate for female 18- to 24-year-olds increased from 84.4 percent to 94.3 percent (figure 3.3 and table 3.2). More recently, between 2007 and 2017 the status completion rate increased from 87.4 to 92.3 percent for male 18- to 24-year-olds and from 90.6 to 94.3 percent for female 18- to 24-year-olds.

Status completion rates by race/ethnicity and sex

In 2017, the overall pattern of higher status completion rates for female 18- to 24-year-olds than for male 18- to 24-year-olds was also observed for Hispanic (90.7 vs. 85.9 percent) 18- to 24-year-olds. There was no measurable difference between female and male status completion rates for 18- to 24-year-olds who were White, Black, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, or of Two or more races (table 3.1).²

Status completion rate by disability status

In 2017, the status completion rate for 18- to 24-year-olds with disabilities was lower than that of their peers without disabilities (84.8 vs. 93.6 percent; figure 3.1 and table 3.1).

Figure 3.4. Status completion rates of 18- to 24-year-olds, by recency of immigration and ethnicity: October 2017

NOTE: The status completion rate is the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are high school completers as a percentage of the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in high school or a lower level of education. High school completers include those with a high school diploma, as well as those with an alternative credential such as a GED. United States refers to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas. Children born abroad to U.S.-citizen parents are counted as born in the United States. Individuals defined as “first generation” were born in the United States, but one or both of their parents were born outside the United States. Individuals defined as “second generation or higher” were born in the United States, as were both of their parents. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons in the military and persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities).
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October 2017. See table 3.1.

Status completion rates by recency of immigration

Status completion rates of foreign-born and U.S.-born 18- to 24-year-olds can also be compared.³ Among Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds, the status completion rate for those who were foreign born was 78.1 percent, which was lower than the rates for those who were first generation (91.7 percent) and those who were second generation or higher (90.8 percent; figure 3.4 and table 3.1). The status completion rate for first-generation Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds was not measurably different from the rate for Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds who were second generation or higher.

Among non-Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds, the status completion rate for those who were foreign born (94.7 percent) was lower than the rate for those who were first generation (97.9 percent) but was not measurably different from the rate for those who were second generation or higher (94.5 percent). The status completion rate for those who were first generation was higher than for those who were second generation or higher. The status completion rate for those who were first generation was also higher than the U.S. total (93.3 percent).

Among 18- to 24-year-olds who were foreign born, first generation, and second generation or higher, status completion rates were lower for Hispanics than for non-Hispanics.

Status completion rates by region

In 2017, individuals in the Northeast had a higher status completion rate (94.9 percent) than their peers in the South (92.8 percent; table 3.1). The status completion rates between the other U.S. geographic regions defined by the U.S. Census Bureau were not measurably different from one another.

¹ Because of changes in data collection procedures, use caution when comparing data for 1992 and later years to earlier data. For more information on the data collection changes, see Kaufman, Alt, and Chapman (2004).
² Reliable estimates were not available for male and female Pacific Islanders.
³ The following recency of immigration categories are used in this analysis: (1) individuals born outside the United States (those who were born abroad to U.S.-citizen parents are counted as born in the United States); (2) first-generation individuals (those who were born in the United States but have at least one parent born outside of the United States); and (3) individuals who are second generation or higher (those who were born in the United States and whose parents were both born in the United States).