Educational attainment in the United States - Wikipedia Educational attainment in the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2020) This graph shows the educational attainment since 1940.[1] Map of states percentage of population 25 years old with Advanced Degree in 2009. Map of states percentage of population 25 years old with bachelor's degree or higher in 2009. High school graduation rate per state in 2017   90.0–90.4%   85.0–89.9%   80.0–84.9%   69.9–79.9% 2008 - 2012 Bachelor's Degree or Higher (5-year estimate) by County (percent) The educational attainment of the U.S. population refers to the highest level of education completed.[2] The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the United States is spending more years in formal educational programs. As with income, levels differ by race, age, household configuration, and geography.[3] Overall, the demographics with the highest educational attainment in the United States are also those with the highest household income and wealth.[3] There are significant differences in income depending on the major area of study of the degree attained with graduates in technical disciplines (especially engineering) getting much higher initial salaries and overall salaries as compared to non-technical degrees. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-salaries-college-degrees/ Contents 1 General attainment of degrees/diplomas 2 Gender 2.1 Gender gap in literacy 2.2 Graduation rates 3 Ethnicity and race 3.1 Immigrants 4 Income 5 Occupation 6 Religion 7 Geography 8 Social class and education 9 Educational attainment in social theory 9.1 Bourdieu and cultural capital 9.2 Lareau and concerted cultivation 9.3 Collins and credentialism 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links General attainment of degrees/diplomas[edit] Educational attainment in the United States (2018)[4] Education Age 25 and over Age 25-30 High school diploma or GED 89.80% 92.95% Some college 61.28% 66.34% Associate and/or bachelor's degree 45.16% 46.72% Bachelor's degree 34.98% 36.98% Master's and/or doctorate and/or professional degree 13.04% 9.01% Doctorate and/or professional degree 3.47% 2.02% Doctorate 2.03% 1.12% In 2018, nearly 9/10 (90 percent) of all adults 25 years or older reported they had completed at least high school, or obtained a GED/high school equivalency certificate. Over one in three adults (35 percent) had attained at least a bachelor's degree. Both of these measures are all time highs. In 2003, the percentage of the adult population who had completed high school or had not completed high school but obtained a GED increased for the first time since 2000, when it was 84 percent. This increase follows a general trend that the Current Population Survey has shown since educational attainment was first measured in 1947.[3] Since 1983 the percentage of people either graduating from high school or failing to complete high school but getting a GED certification has increased from 85% to 90%. The greatest increases in educational attainment were documented in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In the 1950s and much of the 1960s high school graduates constituted about 50% of those considered adults (25 and above). For adults aged between 25 and 30, the percentage of either high school graduates or GED obtainers was roughly 50% in 1950 versus 90% today.[3] Gender[edit] For the past fifty years, there has been a gap in the educational achievement of males and females in the United States, but which gender has been underperforming has fluctuated over the years. In the 1970s and 1980s, data showed girls trailing behind boys in a variety of academic performance measures, specifically in test scores in math and science.[5] Achievement gaps between boys and girls in the United States are more pronounced in reading and writing than in math and science. Data in the last twenty years shows the general trend of girls outperforming boys in academic achievement in terms of class grades across all subjects and college graduation rates, but boys score higher on standardized tests and are better represented in higher-paying and more prestigious STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math).[5] Gender gap in literacy[edit] Traditionally, girls have outperformed boys in reading and writing. Although this gap may be minimal in kindergarten, it grows as students continue their education. According to the 2004 National Reading Assessment measured by the US Department of Education, the gap between boys and girls, only slightly noticeable in 4th grade, left boys 14 points behind girls during their 12th grade year.[6] On the 2008 test, female students continued to have higher average reading scores than male students at all three ages. The gap between male and female 4th graders was 7 points in 2008. By 12th grade, there was an 11-point gap between males and females.[6] On the 2002 National Writing Assessment, boys scored on average 17 points lower than girls in 4th grade. The average gap increased to 21 points by 8th grade and widened to 24 points by senior year in high school.[7] In the more recent 2007 National Assessment of Writing Skills, female students continued to score higher than male students, though margins closed slightly from previous assessments. The average score for female eighth-graders was 20 points higher than males, down 1 point from the 2002 score. For twelfth-graders, females outscored males by 18 points as opposed to 24 points in 2002.[8] All of these assessments were conducted on a 100-point scale.[6][7][8] Graduation rates[edit] Overall, women have surpassed men in terms of completion of secondary and post-secondary education. In 2015/2016, women earned 61% of associate degrees, 57% of bachelor's degrees, 59% of master's degrees, and 53% of doctorates.[9] A similar pattern is also seen in high school education, where, in 2016, 7.1% of males, but only 5.1% of females dropped out of high school.[10] In 2015/2016, 56 percent of college students were female and 44 percent were male. From 1990 until 2015, the number of males enrolled in college increased by 41 percent, and the number of female students rose by 53 percent.[9] In 2015/2016, 51% of degrees earned by males were bachelor's, which is slightly higher than that of females for whom 48% of degrees earned were bachelor's degrees.[9] As of 2006, the numbers of both men and women receiving a bachelor's degree has increased significantly, but the increasing rate of female college graduates exceeds the increasing rate for males.[11] In 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated that 18,423,000 males over the age of 18 held a bachelor's degree, while 20,501,000 females over the age 18 held one. In addition, fewer males held master's degrees: 6,472,000 males compared to 7,283,000 females. However, more men held professional and doctoral degrees than women. 2,033,000 males held professional degrees compared to 1,079,000, and 1,678,000 males had received a doctoral degree compared to 817,000 females.[12] In 2016/2017, women are projected to earn 64.2% of associate degrees, 59.9% of bachelor's degrees, 62.9% of master's degrees, and 55.5% of Doctorates.[13] Ethnicity and race[edit] Further information: Racial achievement gap in the United States While the educational attainment of all races increased during the 1990s, with the gap between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites decreasing, differences between the races remain, especially among those with a bachelor's degree or higher. Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment of any race, followed by whites who had a higher percentage of high school graduates but a lower percentage of college graduates. Persons identifying as Hispanic or Latino, without regard to race, had the lowest educational attainment. The gap was the largest between foreign-born Asian Americans, over half (50.1%) of whom had a bachelor's degree or higher and foreign-born Hispanics, 9.8% of whom had a four-year college degree.[3] Hispanics and Latinos also trailed far behind in terms of graduating from high school; it was the only major group for which high school graduates constituted less than 80% of the population. This large inequality might partially be explained by the influx of uneducated foreign-born Hispanic Americans who had not been offered the chance to complete secondary education in their home country and who had not completed secondary education in the United States. Overall, nearly half (49.8%) of Asian Americans, nearly a third (30%) of non-Hispanic Whites, 17.3% of non-Hispanic Blacks, and just over a tenth (11.4%) of Hispanics or Latinos had a four-year college degree. The same differences decrease significantly at the high school level with 89.4% of non-Hispanic whites, 87.6% of Asian Americans, 80.0% of African Americans, and 57% of Hispanics or Latinos having graduated from high school.[3] In August 2020, the US Justice Department argued that Yale University discriminated against Asian candidates on the basis of their race, a charge the university denied.[14] The Racial achievement gap in the United States refers to these educational disparities between differing ethnic groups. Several racial achievement gaps remain present today because not all groups of students are advancing at the same rates. These racial achievement gaps have many individual and economic implications and there have been many efforts in education reform to narrow the gaps. Immigrants[edit] The difference among races and cultures, both native and foreign born, in regard to those who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher.[3] A trend becomes visible when comparing the foreign-born to the native-born populace of some races. Foreign-born Asian, European, and African immigrants had a higher educational attainment in terms of having earned a four-year college degree than their native-born counterparts. According to the U.S census about 43.8 percent of African immigrants achieved the most college degrees, compared to 42.5 percent of Asian-Americans, 28.9 percent for immigrants from Europe, Russia and Canada and 23.1 percent of the U.S. population as a whole.[15][16][17] The opposite is true on the high school level and among Hispanics, where the dramatically lower educational attainment of the foreign-born population decreased the educational attainment of the general Hispanophone populace, statistically.[3] with a high school diploma (67 percent) was dramatically lower than that of the native population (88 percent), but paradoxically, the percentage with a bachelor's degree was the same (27 percent)... At the bachelor's level, foreign born Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites fared better than their native counterparts. Foreign-born Hispanics, in contrast, had a smaller proportion with a bachelor's degree than the native population... The low educational attainment of foreign-born Hispanics, who compose more than 50 percent of the Hispanic population, contributes to the low attainment levels of the entire Hispanic population. — US Census Bureau, 2003 Only among Hispanics and Latinos was the proportion of college graduates larger among the native born population. In the general population the proportion of persons with a bachelor's degree or higher was the same among the foreign-born and native-born population (27.2%). As stated above fewer foreign born Americans completed high school than native born Americans. Overall, 87.5% of the native born population had graduated from high school, versus 67.2%. Among whites the difference was three percentage points, the same as for African Americans. Among Asian Americans the difference was five percentage points. It was thirty percentage points among Hispanics or Latinos.[3] African immigrants have been among the more highly educated group in the United States since the 1990s.[18][19] This phenomenon is related to the large "brain drain" in Africa.[20] Income[edit] Chart of unemployment and salary based on education attainment Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earnings are for full-time wage and salary workers Educational attainment is strongly correlated with income in the United States. Although the incomes of both men and women are associated with higher educational attainment (higher incomes for higher educational attainment), large income gaps linked to race and gender remained at each educational level. In 2003, average incomes ranged from $13,459 for a male high-school dropout to $90,761 for a male with an advanced degree. The most significant average income difference was between those who had some college education or an associate degree and those who had a bachelor's degree. While those with some college averaged $31,046, those with a bachelor's degree averaged $51,194, over $20,000 (64.9%) a year more.[3] The second most dramatic difference in average income was between those with a bachelor's degree with $51,940 and those with an advanced degree who made $72,824, roughly $21,000 (42.2%) more. The least significant difference was between those who had graduated from high school and those who had either some college or an associate degree. Here the difference was a mere $3,766 or 13.8%. The difference between those with a high school diploma ($30,000) and those who did not complete high school ($18,826) was $8,454 or 45%. Overall, the income in the United States for all sexes, races and levels of educational attainment was $36,308 annually.[3] Even though African immigrants are claimed to have higher educational attainment rates than any other group, they were the hardest hit during the most recent recession beginning in 2007.[21][16][22][23] This shows that race and/or ethnicity may play a role in income levels and job selection.[22] Criteria Overall Less than 9th grade High school drop-out High school graduate Some college Associate degree Bachelor's degree Master's degree Professional degree Doctorate degree Median individual income Male, age 25+ $51,297 $30,018 $30,065 $40,901 $46,851 $51,734 $67,399 $90,011 $122,239 $101,126 Female, age 25+ $37,137 $19,802 $19,612 $27,203 $31,136 $34,951 $49,011 $60,370 $82,174 $81,598 Median household income $45,016 $18,787 $22,718 $36,835 $45,854 $51,970 $68,728 $78,541 $100,000 $96,830 SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2018[24][25] Median household income, age 25+ Income by education and gender. The change in median personal and household income since 1991 also varied greatly with educational attainment. While both the overall median personal and household income increased since 1991, this increase did not take place on all levels of educational attainment. The overall income increased over the course of the 1990s, reaching its high in 1999, but has been decreasing ever since. In 1991 the median household income in the US was $40,873 in 2003 dollars, while the median household income in 2003 was $45,016. In 1999, however, the median household income was $46,236, 2.7% higher than today. While this trend held true for all levels of educational attainment the extent of chronicle fluctuations in income were greatly influenced by educational attainment.[24][25] Overall, the median household and personal income decreased for those with more than a 9th grade education but less than a four-year college degree since 1991. In other words, the median household income decreased for households and individuals at the high school drop-outs and graduate, some-college, and an associate degree level. Income did, however, increase for those with a bachelor's degree or more. The following table shows the median household income according to the educational attainment of the householder. All data is in 2003 dollars and only applies to householders whose householder is aged twenty-five or older. The highest and lowest points of the median household income are presented in bold face.[24][25] Year Overall Median Less than 9th grade High school drop-out High school graduate Some college Associate degree Bachelor's degree Bachelor's degree or more Master's degree Professional degree Doctorate degree 1991 $40,873 $17,414 $23,096 $37,520 $46,296 $52,289 $64,150 $68,845 $72,669 $102,667 $92,614 1993 $40,324 $17,450 $22,523 $35,979 $44,153 $49,622 $64,537 $70,349 $75,645 $109,900 $93,712 1995 $42,235 $18,031 $21,933 $37,609 $44,537 $50,485 $63,357 $69,584 $77,865 $98,302 $95,899 1997 $43,648 $17,762 $22,688 $38,607 $45,734 $51,726 $67,487 $72,338 $77,850 $105,409 $99,699 1999 $46,236 $19,008 $23,977 $39,322 $48,588 $54,282 $70,925 $76,958 $82,097 $110,383 $107,217 2001 $45,300 $18,830 $24,162 $37,468 $47,605 $53,166 $69,796 $75,116 $81,993 $103,918 $96,442 2003 $45,016 $18,787 $22,718 $36,835 $45,854 $51,970 $68,728 $73,446 $78,541 $100,000 $96,830 Average $43,376 $18,183 $23,013 $37,620 $46,109 $51,934 $66,997 $72,376 $78,094 $104,368 $94,487 SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2003 Yellow indicates the year with the lowest median income while green indicates the year with the highest reported median income. Income by education and race. Among the races, educational attainment retains its dramatic effect on average income which varies significantly at each educational level. European Americans (White Americans) had the highest average income at every level of educational attainment. However, the proportion of those having college degrees is greater among Asian Americans than among non-Hispanic whites, and the overall highest average income is found among Asians. All races except Whites ranked last on at least one level with African Americans ranking last on the non-high school, high school and advanced degree level.[3] Asians were second highest on the college graduate level and had the highest overall income among the general population. They also had the lowest average annual income for those with some college education or an associate degree. Racial income difference were also significant at every level of educational attainment with the largest racial inequality being between European and African Americans who did not complete high school and those with advanced college degrees.[3] Overall, European Americans with an advanced degree had the highest average annual income with $74,122. Asian Americans had the second highest with $72,852. Hispanics and African Americans had the lowest annual incomes among those with advanced degrees averaging $67,679 and $59,944 annually. The largest racial inequity was between European Americans with a bachelor's degree who made $53,185 and Hispanics who made $12,263 or 29.9% less with an average annual income of $40,949.[3] However, Asian Americans as a whole earn more than any other race due to a greater percentage of them being educated overall, an example of Simpson's paradox. Occupation[edit] The educational attainment of employed civilians age 25 to 64 according to occupational field.[3] The educational attainment varied significantly among the different types of occupations. The professional/managerial fields were the only two occupational fields where college graduates with a bachelor's degree or higher represented the majority. Among professional occupations, 99.1% of the population graduated from high school, 90.2% had some college education or an associate degree and over two thirds, 68.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher.[3] Business and managerial occupations were second with 97.8% having graduated from high school, 79.5% having some college or an associate degree and just over half, 53.4% having a bachelor's degree or higher. While nearly all employment fields feature a population where over 80% had graduated from high school with over a third having some college education or an associate degree, the fields relating to agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and transportation did not. These, often described as blue collar, fields featured a labor force where less than a tenth of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher, less than half had some college or an associate degree, and less than 80% had graduated from high school.[3] Overall, the least educated occupational field was agriculture, ranking last on all educational levels. Here 55.4% had graduated from high school, roughly one fifth (20.8%) had some college education or an associate degree and 6.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher. While the largest occupational field, that consisting of professionals and relating occupations was also the largest field, the fields with lower educational attainment combined were larger than the professional and managerial fields combined. Overall, 38.02% were employed in the professional and managerial fields while 61.89% were employed in the other white and blue collar fields were those with a bachelor's degree or higher constituted less than a third of the work force.[3] The percent of the labor force in the Professional/Managerial and relating occupations, white collar occupations and blue collar occupations.[3] Religion[edit] The Pew Research Center's 2014 Religious Landscape Study found educational attainment varied considerably across religious groups.[26] Membership in these religious groups can be highly correlated with demographic groups and geographic areas, so membership in a particular religion is not the only explanation for these differences, and vice versa. Group % with college degree % with some college % with high school diploma % with less than high school diploma Hindu 77 11 10 2 Unitarian Universalist 67 23 9 1 Jewish 59 22 16 3 Anglican 59 32 8 1 Episcopal Church (United States) 56 28 14 2 Presbyterian Church (USA) 47 25 24 3 Buddhist 47 33 18 2 United Church of Christ 46 21 26 7 Atheist 43 31 22 4 Agnostic 42 36 21 1 Orthodox Christian 40 34 21 5 Muslim 39 25 30 6 United Methodist Church 37 31 29 4 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 36 33 28 3 Presbyterian Church in America 33 37 27 3 Mormon 33 40 22 5 Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod 32 34 32 3 Seventh-day Adventist Church 28 38 28 6 All adults 27 32 31 16 Catholic 26 27 31 16 "Nothing in particular" 24 32 34 10 African Methodist Episcopal Church 21 44 28 7 Church of the Nazarene 20 37 38 5 National Baptist Convention 19 27 40 14 Southern Baptist Convention 19 35 38 8 Churches of Christ 18 37 36 10 Assemblies of God 15 32 38 15 Church of God in Christ 13 37 33 17 Jehovah's Witnesses 12 25 44 19 American Baptist Churches USA 12 27 43 17 Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) 11 25 47 17 Geography[edit] Educational attainment among the population aged 25 and above varied rather slightly with geography region. The population of the Northeastern United States, which had the smallest population of any region with thirty-six million residents, had the highest percentage of high-school and college graduates. The western United States had the highest percentage of those with some college or an associate degree and ranked second for college graduates. The South which had by far the largest population with roughly sixty-six million people had the lowest educational attainment at every level.[3] The proportion of high school graduates was the largest in the Midwest while the proportion of those with some college or an associate degree was the second and that of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was the third largest of any region. Social class and education[edit] Educational attainment is one of the primary indicators of social class in the United States.[27] While the American social class system is a vaguely defined concept with many contradicting theories,[28][29] educational attainment emerges as one of the top assessments of social class. Not only is a high educational attainment a status symbol by itself, but it is also very closely related to the other two main indicators of social class: occupation and income. A graduate degree and the roughly seven to eight years of post-secondary education serve as the main requirement for entering the "professions" and becoming part of the professional middle class.[27] Education is a major key in becoming a more privileged member of the American middle class.[27][29] Overall, educational attainment is the main entrance barrier into more privileged parts of the middle class as it is not only of high value but is also the requirement for becoming a professional and earning the corresponding income.[27] This corresponding income is typically significantly higher than that of someone without this higher level of educational attainment in the United States. Exceptions include some entrepreneurs who can rank anywhere in the class system but are usually not referred to as professional middle class unless they are of the professions. In the United States, it is also important to differentiate between the statistical middle class, often defined as consisting of those who are neither rich nor poor, and the professional middle class. Recent research has shown that not only is the statistical middle of society (those with income roughly 80% to 120% of the national median or members of the mid-quintile) no longer able to afford the lifestyle indicative of the middle class,[30] but there also seems to be a widening income gap in between those who may be described as being middle class. Education is not only the main requirement for becoming a member of the professional middle class, it is also key to a comfortable lifestyle and economic security.[27] Those in the statistical middle may have to fear lay-offs and cost-cutting downsizing as well as out-sourcing, while some of those in the professional middle class are less subject to economic fluctuations and are more likely to enjoy upper-middle range incomes even in the face of recessions. Increasingly however even the professional middle class is facing lay-offs and job elimination due to downsizing and replacement of full-time workers with part-time workers—this is particularly evident in colleges and universities where, by 2009, half of the faculty were part-time; another 25% were full-time but with short-term contracts, thus showing that advanced education is not necessarily associated with high salaries and economic stability.[31] Educational attainment in social theory[edit] Mean financial wealth of U.S. families by education of the head of household, 1989–2010. Mean income of U.S. families by education of the head of household, 1989–2010. Bourdieu and cultural capital[edit] Many scholars have studied educational attainment in the US as a form of social reproduction and stratification. In 1977, Pierre Bourdieu presented the idea that education leads to social reproduction and a stratified society by honoring the cultural capital of elite classes. Students who possess the valued cultural capital, according to Bourdieu, are rewarded with high academic achievement.[32] When elite class members enter the workforce, they are channeled into high paying jobs and powerful positions within society, while those who did not achieve the same level of academic success fall into subordinate occupations and status levels. By rewarding the desired cultural capital with high academic achievement, upper classes are able and prepared to reach higher levels of educational attainment. Members of the working class, on the other hand, are not rewarded for their cultural capital in schools, and are instead socialized for working class jobs. Lareau and concerted cultivation[edit] Annette Lareau also addresses the factors that lead to social stratification in educational attainment. Lareau's idea of concerted cultivation refers to an active involvement of parents in a child's learning and development experiences by creating and controlling organized activities for their children. According to Lareau, middle-class parents engage in concerted cultivation to teach their children, while lower- and working-class parents do not. Laureau further explains that schools firmly encourage and expect parents to use concerted cultivation as a child-rearing strategy.[33] The child-rearing practices of lower- and working-class families thus do not comply with the standards of educational institutions. As a result, lower- and working-class students develop a sense of "distance, distrust, and constraint" in educational institutions, while children of middle-class families gain a sense of entitlement. These differences in child-rearing practices lead to children of lower- and working-class families to lack the necessary life skills that the children of the middle class possess, further isolating them from educational opportunities. In the United States, education attainment typically is viewed as a sign of social status. Collins and credentialism[edit] Randall Collins contributed the idea of credentialism to the study of class-based differences in educational attainment. Collins maintains that public schools are socializing institutions that teach and reward middle-class values of competition and achievement. In this view, elites are selectively separated from other students and placed into prestigious schools and colleges, where they are trained to hold positions of power.[34] See also[edit] American middle class Education in the United States Household income in the United States Literacy in the United States Poverty in the United States List of U.S. States by Education attainment Racial achievement gap in the United States General: Academic degree Status attainment References[edit] ^ Ryan, Camille; Siebens, Julie (March 2016). "Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 22, 2017. ^ "Educational attainment". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved January 16, 2020. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "US Census Bureau report on educational attainment in the United States, 2003" (PDF). Retrieved July 31, 2006. ^ Note that these add up to more than 100% because they are cumulative; e.g. it is assumed that all people with doctorates also have undergraduate and high school degrees, and are thus counted twice in the "lower" categories. Age 25 is used rather than age 18 because there are few people aged 18 or over with advanced degrees. "Educational Attainment in the United States: 2018". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 23, 2018. Percentages are calculated based on census data by counting people that had attained that level or higher. ^ a b Kafir, Krista (April 2007). "Taking the Boy Crisis in Education Seriously: How School Choice can Boost Achievement Among Boys and Girls." Independent Women's Forum. ^ a b c Perie, M. (2005). NAEP 2004 Trends in Academic Progress. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. ^ a b Persky, H. (2003). The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2002. US Department of Education. ^ a b Salahu-Din, Debra (2008). The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007. US Department of Education. ^ a b c "Historical summary of faculty, students, degrees, and finances in degree-granting institutions: Selected years, 1869–70 through 2015–16". Nces.ed.gov. Retrieved November 23, 2018. ^ "Percentage of high school dropouts among persons 16 through 24 years old (status dropout rate), by sex and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1960 through 2016". Nces.ed.gov. Retrieved November 23, 2018. ^ Mead, Sara. (2006). The Evidence Suggests Otherwise: The Truth About Boys and Girls. Washington: Education Sector. ^ U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement 2007. ^ "Degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of degree and sex of student: Selected years, 1869–70 through 2016–17". Nces.ed.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ David Shortell and Taylor Romine. "Justice Department accuses Yale of discriminating against Asian American and White applicants". CNN. Retrieved August 14, 2020. ^ "African Immigrants are the Most Educated". Africaresource.com. April 28, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ a b "Migration Information Source - African Immigrants in the United States". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ "AAME". Inmotionaame.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ "Affirmative Action Minorities - Affirmative Action College Admissions". Racerelations.about.com. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ (Logan & Deane, 2003; Williams, 2005; The Economist, 1996; Arthur, 2000; Selassie, 1998). ^ "AAME : image". Inmotionaame.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ "Sub-Saharan African immigrants arrive with the most education but struggle with underemployment". FSRN Radio News. Retrieved September 16, 2017. ^ a b Bradford, Harry (August 3, 2011). "Foreign-Born Blacks Hit Hardest Of All Immigrant Groups By Jobs Crisis". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ "Migration Information Source - Characteristics of the African Born in the United States". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012. ^ a b c Hannula, Alec. "Educational attainment and median household income 2018 Data Men". Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 3, 2006. Retrieved January 29, 2020. ^ a b c Hannula, Alec. "Personal income and educational attainment, US Census Bureau Women". Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 7, 2006. Retrieved January 29, 2020. ^ The most and least educated U.S. religious groups ^ a b c d e Ehrenreich, Barbara (1989). Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-097333-1. ^ "Middle class according to The Drum Major Institute for public policy". Retrieved July 25, 2006. ^ a b Fussel, Paul (1983). Class, A Guide through the American status system. New York, NY: Touchstone. ISBN 0-671-79225-3. ^ "Middle income can't buy Middle class lifestyle". Archived from the original on December 30, 2005. Retrieved July 25, 2006. ^ James Monks. "Who are the Part-time Faculty?" Academe, July–August 2009. http://www.aaup.org/article/who-are-part-time-faculty#.UsU90fQW0oo ^ Bourdieu, P. (1977) Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction. In: Karabel, J., & Halsey, A. H. (eds.) Power and Ideology in Education. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 487-511. ^ Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal Childhoods; Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23950-4. ^ Collins, R (1979). The Credential Society; An Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification. New York, NY: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-181360-6. Further reading[edit] Sunny Decker (1969), An Empty Spoon, New York: Harper & Row. James Herndon (1968/1969), The Way It Spozed to Be, reprint, New York: Bantam. James Herndon (1971/1997), How to Survive in Your Native Land, reprint, Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. James Herndon (1985), Notes from a Schoolteacher, New York: Simon and Schuster. Holly Yettick and Sterling C. Lloyd (2015), "Graduation Rate Hits High, But Some Groups Lag," Education Week. External links[edit] Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003, U.S. Census Bureau The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings, U.S. Census Bureau Map: Graduation Rate by State, Student Group, Education Week v t e Social class Status Stratum Economic classes Theories Gilbert model Marxian Mudsill theory New class Spoon class theory Weberian (three-component) Related​ topics Caste Chattering classes Class conflict Class discrimination Classicide Classless society Class society Euthenics Nouveau riche / Parvenu Poverty Ranked society Snobbery Social cleansing Social exclusion Social mobility Social orphan Social position Social stigma Subaltern By demographic By status Administrative detainee Alien illegal immigrant refugee Citizen dual or multiple native-born naturalized second-class Convicted Migrant worker Political prisoner Stateless Clique Adolescent By "collar" Blue Green Grey New Pink White By type Ruling Aristocracy Hanseaten Patrician Political Royal family Intellectual Clergy Knowledge worker Professor Warrior Harii Kshatriya Yadav Nair Chhetri Cossacks Hashashin Knight Vanniyar Samurai Cuāuh Ocēlōtl Spartiate Upper Bourgeoisie Business magnate Elite Gentry Lord Nobility Old money Overclass Robber baron Russian oligarch Seigneur Superclass Creative Bohemians Middle Lower middle class Upper middle class Bourgeoisie Petite bourgeoisie Working Working poor Proletariat Lumpenproletariat Under Ant tribe Rat tribe Commoner Outcast Outlaw / Prisoner Peasant / Serf Plebeian Slave Untouchable By country or region United States Affluence American Dream Conflict History Mobility Classes Upper Black Donor Gentry Middle Black Mexican-American Upper Middle Underprivileged Lower Under Income Household Inequality Personal Poverty Standard of living Education Homelessness Home-ownership Wealth Other regions​ or countries Africa Cambodia China Colombia Ecuador France Haiti India Iran Italy Nepal New Zealand Romania Sri Lanka Tibet United Kingdom United States Historic Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Aztec Ottoman Empire Soviet Union Pre-industrial East Asia Pre-industrial Europe Category v t e Demographics of the United States Demographic history By economic and social Affluence Educational attainment Emigration Home-ownership Household income Immigration Income inequality Language LGBT Middle classes Personal income Poverty Social class Unemployment by state Wealth By religion Baha'is Buddhists Christians Catholics Coptics Mormons Protestants Hindus Jains Jews Muslims Ahmadiyyas Five Percenters Moorish Scientists Nation of Islam Value Creators Neopagans Non-religious Rastafaris Scientologists Sikhs Zoroastrians By continent and ethnicity Africa African Americans African diaspora in the Americas Afro-Caribbean / West Indian Americans Bahamian Americans Haitian Americans Jamaican Americans Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans Black Hispanic and Latino Americans African immigrants to the United States Central Africans in the United States Southeast Africans in the United States Southern Africans in the United States West Africans in the United States Horn of Africa Eritrean Americans Ethiopian Americans Somali Americans North Africans in the United States Algerian Americans Berber Americans Egyptian Americans Libyan Americans Moroccan Americans Tunisian Americans Asia Asian Americans Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Central Asia Afghan Americans Pashtun Americans Baloch Americans Kazakh Americans Kyrgyz Americans Tajikistani Americans Uyghur Americans Uzbek Americans East Asia Chinese Americans Hong Kong Americans Tibetan Americans Taiwanese Americans Japanese Americans Korean Americans Mongolian Americans South Asia Bangladeshi Americans Bhutanese Americans Indian Americans Telugu Americans Maldivian Americans Nepalese Americans Pakistani Americans Sri Lankan Americans Tamil Americans Southeast Asia Burmese Americans Cambodian Americans Filipino Americans Hmong Americans Indonesian Americans Karen Americans Laotian Americans Malaysian Americans Singaporean Americans Thai Americans Vietnamese Americans Romani Americans West Asia Arab Americans Armenian Americans Assyrian Americans Azerbaijani Americans Emirati Americans Georgian Americans Iranian Americans Iraqi Americans Israeli Americans Jewish Americans Jordanian Americans Kurdish Americans Kuwaiti Americans Lebanese Americans Palestinian Americans Saudi Arabian Americans Syrian Americans Turkish Americans Yemeni Americans Europe White Americans Albanian Americans Austrian Americans Belarusian Americans Belgian Americans Bosnian Americans British Americans Cornish Americans English Americans Manx Americans Scottish Americans Welsh Americans Bulgarian Americans Croatian Americans Cypriot Americans Czech Americans Danish Americans Dutch Americans Estonian Americans Finnish Americans French Americans German Americans Greek Americans Hungarian Americans Icelandic Americans Irish Americans Italian Americans Latvian Americans Liechtensteiner Americans Lithuanian Americans Luxembourgian Americans Macedonian Americans Maltese Americans Moldovan Americans Monacan Americans Montenegrin Americans Norwegian Americans Polish Americans Portuguese Americans Romanian Americans Russian Americans Sammarinese Americans Scandinavian Americans Serbian Americans Slavic Americans Slovak Americans Slovenian Americans Spanish Americans Basque Americans Catalan Americans Galician Americans Swedish Americans Swiss Americans Ukrainian Americans Non-Hispanic whites White Hispanic and Latino Americans Oceania Pacific Islander Americans Chamorro Americans Fijian Americans French Polynesian Americans Marshallese Americans Micronesian Americans Native Hawaiians Palauan Americans Samoan Americans Tongan Americans Americans of Euro Oceanic origin Australian Americans New Zealand Americans North America Native Americans Abenaki Apache Blackfeet Cherokee Cheyenne Chickasaw Chippewa Choctaw Colville Comanche Cree Creek Crow Houma Iroquois Cayuga Mohawk Oneida Onondaga Seneca Tuscarora Kiowa Lenape Lumbee Menominee Mission Indians Cahuilla Chemehuevi Chumash Cupeño Diegueño Esselen Juaneño Kitanemuk Luiseño Miwok Patwin Pomo Salinan Serrano Suisunes Ohlone Awaswas Chalon Chochenyo Karkin Tamyen Tataviam Tongva Wappo Wintun Yokuts Navajo Osage Odawa Paiute Pawnee Pima Potawatomi Pueblo Quechan Salish Seminole Shawnee Shoshone Sioux Tohono Oʼodham Ute Yakama Yaqui Alaska Natives Alaskan Athabaskans Aleut Alutiiq Gwich'in Haida Iñupiat Tsimshian Tlingit Yupik Canadian Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans Central America Belizean Americans Costa Rican Americans Guatemalan Americans Honduran Americans Nicaraguan Americans Panamanian Americans Salvadoran Americans Cuban Americans Dominican Americans Mexican Americans Chicanos Stateside Puerto Ricans South America Argentine Americans Bolivian Americans Brazilian Americans Chilean Americans Colombian Americans Ecuadorian Americans Guyanese Americans Paraguayan Americans Peruvian Americans Surinamese Americans Uruguayan Americans Venezuelan Americans Multiethnic Amerasian Melungeon People of the United States / Americans American ancestry Native American ancestry Maps of American ancestries 2010 Census Race and ethnicity in the Census Births of U.S. states and territories by race/ethnicity Race and ethnicity in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Racism v t e United States articles History By event Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Founding Fathers Continental Congress Continental Association Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence American Revolution War Treaty of Paris Articles of Confederation Confederation Period American frontier Drafting and ratification of Constitution Bill of Rights Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial evolution Mexican–American War Civil War Reconstruction era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era Women's suffrage Civil rights movement 1865–1896 / 1896–1954 / 1954–1968 Spanish–American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War (1991–2008) War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War COVID-19 pandemic By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890–1945 1946–1991 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory Contiguous United States Continental America counties federal district federal enclaves Indian reservations insular zones minor outlying islands populated places states Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Longest rivers Arkansas Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Red (South) Rio Grande Yukon Time Water supply and sanitation World Heritage Sites Politics Federal Executive Cabinet Civil service Executive departments Executive Office Independent agencies Law enforcement President of the United States Powers Public policy Legislative House of Representatives current members Speaker Senate current members President pro tempore Vice President Judicial District courts Courts of appeals Supreme Court Law Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers civil rights Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Space Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Hawaiian sovereignty movement Ideologies anti-Americanism exceptionalism nationalism Local government Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Red states and blue states Purple America Scandals State government governor state legislature state court Imperial Presidency Corruption Economy By sector Agriculture Banking Communications Companies Energy Insurance Manufacturing Mining Science and technology Tourism Trade Transportation by state Currency Exports Federal budget Federal Reserve System Financial position Labor unions Public debt Social welfare programs Taxation Unemployment Wall Street Society Culture Americana Architecture Cinema Crime Cuisine Dance Demography Economic issues affluence eviction home-ownership household income income inequality labor unions middle class personal income poverty standard of living wealth Education attainment Family structure Fashion Flag Folklore Great American Novel Health health care health insurance Holidays Homelessness Human rights Languages American English Indigenous languages ASL Black American Sign Language HSL Plains Sign Talk Arabic Chinese French German Italian Russian Spanish Literature Media Journalism Internet Newspapers Radio Television Music Names National symbols Columbia Statue of Liberty Uncle Sam People Philosophy Political ideologies Public holidays Race Religion Sexuality / Adolescent Sexuality Social class Society Sports Theater Transportation Video games Visual art Social class Affluence American Dream Educational attainment Homelessness Home-ownership Household income Income inequality Middle class Personal income Poverty Professional and working class conflict Standard of living Issues Ages of consent Capital punishment Crime incarceration Criticism of government Discrimination affirmative action antisemitism hair texture intersex rights Islamophobia LGBT rights racism same-sex marriage Drug policy Energy policy Environmental movement Gun politics Health care abortion health insurance hunger obesity smoking Human rights Immigration illegal International rankings National security Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Category Portal Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States&oldid=996122953" Categories: Education in the United States Social class in the United States Wealth in the United States Demographic history of the United States Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles in need of updating from September 2020 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Use mdy dates from February 2015 Pages using the Graph extension Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages Add links This page was last edited on 24 December 2020, at 17:36 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement