Annual Reports and Information Staff (Annual Reports)

Educational Attainment

“Education is a critically important way for individuals to pursue their goals in life. With a high-quality education, individuals are better prepared to choose a path toward productive and purposeful adulthood, whether that path is 2- or 4-year college, the labor force, or the armed forces. Collectively, a high-quality education for all means better informed and more productive citizens, which has consequences for the overall economic, physical, and civic health and well-being of the country. Research consistently shows between-group differences in educational attainment related to people’s race, ethnicity, and gender.”¹

Research shows that higher educational attainment is associated with better life outcomes, including better economic and financial outcomes² and better health outcomes.^3,4 In particular, those without a high school diploma tend to face more negative outcomes including higher rates of joblessness and incarceration.^5,⁶ This domain, Educational Attainment, is examined in relation to two indicators— on-time graduation and postsecondary readiness—using data from EDFacts and the Current Population Survey (CPS). These indicators are based on recommendations in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) framework. The NASEM report notes that some of the recommended indicators have limitations. Currently, the Equity in Education Dashboard provides data based on published products. Because data in our published products do not always perfectly align with the recommended indicators in the NASEM report, we have indicated where our data differ from recommendations in the report. More findings will be added to the Equity in Education Dashboard over time. Specific to this domain, whereas the NASEM report measures postsecondary readiness with enrollment in college, entry into the workforce, and enlistment in the military, this domain uses immediate enrollment in college and neither enrolled in school nor working. Although these are imperfect measures of postsecondary readiness, immediate enrollment in college and being neither enrolled in school nor working still provide some insight into disparities in postsecondary readiness. Group differences in this domain are examined across the following educational equity dimensions: race/ethnicity, age group, sex, disability status, English learner status, and economically disadvantaged status, wherever the data allow.^7,⁸

Key Findings on Educational Attainment

The On-time Graduation indicator examines one construct: the adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) of high school students.

There are racial/ethnic disparities in the on-time graduation rates of public high school students.

In 2019‐20, the adjusted cohort graduation rates (ACGR) for American Indian/Alaska Native,⁹ Black, and Hispanic public high school students were below the U.S. average ACGR of 87 percent, while the ACGRs for Asian/Pacific Islander¹⁰ and White students were above the U.S. average.

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The Postsecondary Readiness indicator consists of three constructs: enrollment in college, entry into the workforce, and enlistment in the military. In this indicator, only immediate enrollment in college and being neither enrolled in school nor working are discussed.

In 2021, disparities existed, by both sex and race/ethnicity, in the rates of postsecondary readiness, as measured by immediate enrollment in college among 16- to 24-year-olds.¹¹

The overall immediate college enrollment rate, in 2021, for male students (55 percent) was lower than the rate for female students (70 percent).
The immediate college enrollment rate for Asian students was higher than the rates for White, Black, and Hispanic students.¹²

In 2021, disparities existed, by both age group and race/ethnicity, in rates of being neither enrolled in school nor working among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Some 16 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds were neither enrolled in school nor working. This percentage was higher for 20- to 24-year-olds than for 18- and 19-year-olds.
The percentage who were neither enrolled in school nor working was higher for those who were American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, or Hispanic than for those who were White, of Two or more races, or Asian. In addition, this percentage was higher for those who were Pacific Islander or White than for those who were Asian.

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¹National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Monitoring Educational Equity (pp. 7-8). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25389.

²Day, J. C., and Newburger, E.C. (2002). The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2002/demo/p23-210.pdf.

³Currie, J. (2009). Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development. Journal of Economic Literature, 47(1), 87‐122. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w13987/w13987.pdf.

⁴Zajacova, A., & Lawrence, E. M. (2018). The Relationship Between Education and Health: Reducing Disparities Through a Contextual Approach. Annual Review of Public Health, 39, 273‐289. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031816-044628.

⁵Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Education pays. Retrieved July 14, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm.

⁶Harlow, C.W. (2003). Education and Correctional Populations (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report).Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED477377.pdf.

⁷This domain presents a compilation of data from various sources crossing several periods of time. Within each indicator, the term “gender” or “sex” is used as presented by the original data source at the time.

⁸Not all equity dimensions, such as race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, English learner status, and disability status, are examined for all constructs.

⁹Estimated assuming a count of zero American Indian/Alaska Native students for Hawaii.

¹⁰Reporting practices for data on Asian and Pacific Islander students vary by state. Asian/Pacific Islander data in this indicator represent either the value reported by the state for the “Asian/Pacific Islander” group or an aggregation of separate values reported by the state for “Asian” and “Pacific Islander.” “Asian/Pacific Islander” includes the “Filipino” group, which only California and Hawaii report separately.

¹¹Immediate college enrollment is defined as enrollment in college as of October of each year for individuals ages 16 to 24 who had completed high school earlier in the calendar year.

¹²Estimates for racial/ethnic groups discussed in this indicator reflect data for the year 2021.

Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) College Enrollment High school completer High school diploma Postsecondary institutions (basic classification by level) Racial/ethnic group

Current Population Survey (CPS): This survey, sponsored jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is the primary source of labor force statistics for the U.S. population, including data on college enrollment.
EDFacts: This site provides access to the adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) files for 2010 and later.
America’s Young Adults Special Issue, 2014: This report focuses on the characteristics of young adults, the opportunities and challenges they face, and the implications of possible trajectories for their futures and their families.
Military Service and Educational Attainment of High School Sophomores After 9/11: This NCES Statistics in Brief examines 2002 high school sophomores’ entrance into military service through 2012, up to 8 years after most graduated from high school in 2004.