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Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities
NCES 2010-015
July 2010


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.