Table 27a. Percentage distribution of adults ages 25 and over according to highest level of educational attainment, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1996

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities

NCES 2010-015
July 2010

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Table 27a.

Percentage distribution of adults ages 25 and over according to highest level of educational attainment, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1996–2008

Race/ethnicity and year	Less than high school completion	At least high school completion
		Total	High school completion¹	Some college	Associate's degree	At least a bachelor's degree
						Total	Bachelor's degree	Master's degree	Doctorate or first-professional degree
											Total
											1996	18.3	81.7	33.6	17.3	7.2	23.6	15.8	5.4	2.4
2000	15.9	84.1	33.1	17.6	7.8	25.6	17.0	5.9	2.6
2004	14.8	85.2	32.0	17.0	8.4	27.7	18.1	6.7	2.9
2008	13.4	86.6	31.2	17.2	8.8	29.4	19.1	7.5	2.8

White
1996	14.0	86.0	34.7	17.8	7.6	25.9	17.2	6.0	2.7
2000	11.6	88.4	34.1	17.9	8.4	28.1	18.6	6.5	2.9
2004	10.0	90.0	32.8	17.6	9.0	30.6	19.8	7.6	3.2
2008	8.5	91.5	31.6	17.9	9.3	32.6	21.1	8.4	3.1

Black
1996	25.4	74.6	35.3	18.8	6.7	13.8	10.1	2.9	0.8
2000	21.1	78.9	35.3	20.1	6.8	16.6	11.5	4.2	0.9
2004	18.9	81.1	36.2	19.3	7.9	17.7	12.4	4.1	1.2
2008	16.7	83.3	35.1	19.6	8.9	19.7	13.6	4.9	1.3

Hispanic
1996	46.9	53.1	26.0	13.2	4.6	9.3	6.7	1.8	0.9
2000	43.0	57.0	27.9	13.5	5.0	10.6	7.3	2.2	1.2
2004	41.6	58.4	27.7	13.2	5.4	12.1	8.8	2.2	1.1
2008	37.7	62.3	29.6	13.3	6.1	13.3	9.4	2.9	1.0

Asian/Pacific Islander
1996	16.5	83.5	21.7	12.1	7.3	42.3	27.8	9.2	5.3
2000	14.3	85.7	22.0	12.4	7.0	44.4	28.9	9.5	5.9
2004	13.1	86.9	20.3	10.6	7.2	48.9	29.7	11.9	7.2
2008	11.0	89.0	20.0	10.2	6.9	51.9	31.6	14.0	6.4

American Indian/Alaska Native
1996	27.6	72.4	33.6	20.4	7.2	11.2	5.9	3.7	1.6	!
2000	24.1	75.9	33.2	20.2	9.0	13.6	9.7	2.9	1.0	!
2004	22.2	77.8	31.0	21.5	11.0	14.3	9.2	3.6	1.5	!
2008	21.6	78.4	33.4	21.7	8.4	14.9	9.8	3.6	1.4
! Interpret data with caution. ¹ Includes high school diploma or equivalent. NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Demographic Supplement, 1996, 2000, 2004, and Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2008.