Education

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Education

Q:	What is the high school completion rate and how has it changed since 1975?
A:	In 2005, 88% of young adults had completed high school, a slight increase since 1975 when it was 84%.

Percent of youth ages 18–24 completing high school, 1975-2005

Note: White and black race groups do not include youth of Hispanic ethnicity. Persons of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race. Because of relatively small sample sizes, American Indians and Asian/Pacific Islanders are included in the total but are not shown separately.

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High school completion rates were consistently lower among young Hispanic adults than among both whites and blacks between 1975 and 2005. During this time, completion rates for Hispanics fluctuated between a low of 57% (in 1991) and a high of 70% (in 2005).
Completion rates were higher in 2005 than in 1975 for white, black, and Hispanic persons ages 18–24. Increases during this period were greater among blacks (16-percentage points) and Hispanics (8-percentage points) than for whites (5-percentage points).

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/population/qa01501.asp?qaDate=2005. Released on December 13, 2007.

Data Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Dropout Rates in the United States: 2005. [Report no. 2007-059]. [PDF]. Washington, D.C.: 2007.