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Education is not just our future. It is very much a part of our daily lives with more than one in four people in the U.S. aged 3 and older enrolled in school in 2000. The 76.6 million students in 2000 included 5.0 million enrolled in nursery school, 4.2 million in kindergarten, 33.7 million in elementary school, 16.4 million in high school, 14.4 million in college (undergraduate) and 3.1 million in graduate school.
Children's academic achievement can be analyzed by considering outcomes, such as being academically "on-track" (i.e., enrolled in school at or above the modal grade level for their age), taking classes for gifted students, changing schools, repeating grades, and being suspended. Nationally, in 2000, 72 percent of children 12 to 17 years old were academically on-track for their age. Girls were more likely to be on-track than boys—79 percent and 69 percent, respectively.
Thirteen percent of children 6 to 11 years old and 22 percent of children 12 to 17 years old were in a special class for gifted students or did advanced work in any subjects, which included honors and advanced placement classes in high school. Half (49 percent) of children 12 to 17 years old whose parent had an advanced degree were in gifted classes, compared to only 14 percent of children whose parent had attained a high school education or lower. The proportion in gifted classes was also higher for children aged 12 to 17 whose parents were married (24 percent) than for children living with separated, divorced, or widowed parents, or never-married parents (17 percent and 12 percent, respectively).
In April 2000, 5.2 million first-through-twelfth graders attended private schools, or 10.4 percent of students in those grades. Differences in private school attendance rates among groups reflect several factors, including economic ability to afford the cost of private school tuition, religious affiliation, and quality of the local public schools. The difference in proportions of boys and girls enrolled in private schools was minimal, whereas differences were more noticeable by race and Hispanic origin. Non-Hispanic White children (13 percent), Asian children (10 percent) and children of Two or more races (9 percent) were most likely to attend private schools in 2000.
In 2003, over four-fifths (85 percent) of all adults 25 years or older reported they had completed at least high school; over one in four adults (27 percent) had attained at least a bachelor's degree; both measures are all time highs. In 2003, the percentage of the adult population who had completed high school increased for the first time since 2000, when it was 84 percent.
Adults ages 25 to 64 who worked at any time during the study period (1997-1999) of a special report issued by the Census in 2002 earned an average of $34,700 per year. Average earnings ranged from $18,900 for high school dropouts to $25,900 for high school graduates, $45,400 for college graduates, and $99,300 for workers with professional degrees (M.D., J.D., D.D.S., or D.V.M.). With exception of workers with professional degrees who have the highest average earnings each successively higher education level is associated with an increase in earnings.
The race and ethnic composition of college students has shifted during the last two decades. In 1979, 84 percent of students were White non-Hispanic, 10 percent were Black and few students were of other races. By 2000, Asians and Pacific Islanders accounted for 7 percent of college enrollment, Black or African American students accounted for 14 percent of the students, and Hispanic enrollment grew from 4 percent of college students in 1979 to 9 percent in 2000. In 2000, almost 12 percent of all college students were foreign-born.
The younger population is more educated than the older population. In 2003, high school attainment levels by age generally increased up to 45 to 49 years (89 percent) and then decreased successively for each older age group. The oldest age group, those 75 and over, had the lowest high school attainment at 68 percent. Similarly, for postsecondary schooling, the percentage who had obtained a bachelor's degree was substantially higher for younger than for older age groups—15 percent of people 75 and over had a bachelor's degree, compared with 28 percent of people 25 to 29. Given the very large differences in education between younger and older age groups, the attainment level of the total adult population will continue to rise for some time, as younger, more educated age groups replace older, less educated ones, even if attainment levels for young adults remain constant.
Among the four census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) in 2003, the proportion of people who had completed high school ranged from 88 percent in the Midwest to 82 percent in the South. The percentage with some college was highest in the West (58 percent), while the populations in the Northeast and the West had the highest proportions with a bachelor's degree (30 percent and 29 percent, respectively).
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