EA 1.5

HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION RATES FOR 18- TO 24-YEAR-OLDS

High school graduates earn substantially more than persons who leave high school without graduating.¹¹ Table EA 1.5.A presents the high school completion rates for 18- to 24-year-olds who were not still enrolled in a high school program — i.e., the percentage in this age group who have received a high school diploma or its equivalent, such as passing the General Educational Development (GED) exam. In 1995, the high school completion rate was 85 percent. As can be seen in Table EA 1.5.B, most students receive a high school diploma rather than an equivalent credential (78 percent versus 7 percent). Between 1972 and 1995, the completion rate has varied between 83 percent and 86 percent (see Table EA 1.5.A).

Differences by Race and Ethnicity.¹² As Figure EA 1.5 shows, completion rates vary dramatically by race/ethnicity. Hispanics have had much lower high school completion rates than either blacks or whites since the early 1970s. The high school completion rate for Hispanics in 1995 was only 63 percent, compared to 85 percent for blacks and 90 percent for whites. This suggests that many Hispanic youth and young adults will be less prepared than other 18- to 24-year-olds to enter or progress in the labor force. While completion rates for Hispanics have remained fairly constant since the early 1970s, completion rates for blacks have risen dramatically, from 72 percent in 1972 to 85 percent in 1995. Completion rates have also increased among whites, but to a lesser extent, so that the gap between black and white completion rates has narrowed over time (see Figure EA 1.5)
 
 

Figure EA 1.5  High School Completion Rates for 18- Through 24-Year-Oldsa, by Race/Ethnicity: 1972-1995

Note: ^aNot currently enrolled in high school or below.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, October (various years); McMillen, M., and Kaufman, P. 1996. Dropout rates in the United States: 1994. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
 

Table EA 1.5.A High School Completion Rates (Percent) for 18- Through 24-Year-Oldsa, by Race/Ethnicity: 1972-1995
				1972	1975	1980	1985	1990b	1991b	1992b,c	1993b,c	1994b,c,d	1995b,c,d
				———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———
Total				83	84	84	85	86	85	86	86	86	85
	Race/Ethnicity
			White, non-Hispanic	86	87	88	88	90	89	91	90	91	90
			Black, non-Hispanic	72	70	75	81	83	83	82	82	83	85
			Hispanic	56	62	57	67	59	57	62	64	62	63
Notes: aNot currently enrolled in high school or below.  bNumbers for these years reflect new editing procedures instituted by the Bureau of the Census for cases with missing data on school enrollment items.  cNumbers for these years reflect new wording of the educational attainment item in the Current Population Survey (CPS).  dNumbers in this year may reflect changes in CPS due to newly instituted computer assisted interviewing and/or due to the change in the population controls used this year to the 1990 Census-based estimates, with adjustments for undercount.  Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, October (various years); McMillen, M. and Kaufman, P. 1996. Dropout rates in the United States: 1994. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

 
 

Table EA 1.5.B High School Completion Rates and Method of Completion of 18- Through 24-Year-Oldsa, by Race/Ethnicity: October 1990–October 1995
Completion  method  —————————			1990	1991	1992b	1993b	1994b,c	1995b,c
			———	———	———	———	———	———
Total
	Completed		86	85	86	86	86	85
		Diploma	81	81	82	81	79	78
		Equivalentd	5	4	5	5	6	7
White, non-Hispanic
	Completed		90	89	91	90	91	90
		Diploma	85	85	86	85	85	83
		Equivalentd	5	4	5	5	6	7
Black, non-Hispanic
	Completed		83	83	82	82	83	85
		Diploma	78	77	77	76	76	76
		Equivalentd	5	5	5	6	8	9
Hispanic
	Completed		59	57	62	64	62	63
		Diploma	57	54	58	59	57	58
		Equivalentd	3	2	4	6	5	5
Note: aNot currently enrolled in high school or below.  bNumbers for these years reflect new wording of the educational attainment item in the CPS.  cNumbers for these years may reflect changes in CPS due to newly instituted computer assisted interviewing and/or due to the change in the population controls used.  dDiploma equivalents include such things as passing the General Educational Development (GED) exam.  Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, October (various years); McMillen, M., and Kaufman, P. 1996. Dropout rates in the United States: 1994. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

¹² Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races.
 

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