Educational attainment in the United States: March 1987 and 1986.

This report presents data from the Current Population Surveys conducted in March 1986 and 1987. Tables present data on years of school completed by persons 15 and older by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, type of residence, religion, occupation, marital status, and education of spouse. Summary data are also presented for the 15 largest states and metropolitan areas. Some highlights of the data follow. 1) Educational attainment in 1987 reached a peak level for the entire population, as well as for both sexes, Whites, and Hispanics. The attainment for Blacks was not statistically different from the 1986 level, but both the 1986 and 1987 figures were higher than in previous years. 2) 75.6% of all adults aged 25 or older had completed at least 4 years of high school, the highest level measured in the history of the survey. 3) 1 in 5 persons aged 25+ has completed 4 or more years of college; this figure has doubled in the past 20 years. 4) 76% of adult men completed high school as compared to 75.3% of women; as recently as 1969 the proportion of female high school graduates exceeded the male proportion. 23.6% of men have 4 or more years of college as compared to 16.5% of women, a ratio of 1.4. In 1967, the ratio of the proportions of men and women who had completed 4 or more years of college was about 1.7. 5) 77% of Whites have completed high school, as compared to 63.4% of Blacks. Though this gap has narrowed considerably, it is still large. 20.5% of Whites and 10.7% of Blacks have completed 4 or more years of college. 33.4% of adults of other races have completed 4 or more years of college. 50.9% of Hispanics aged 25 or older have completed high school, and 8.6% have finished 4 or more years of college.