Education
Source and Methodological Information
List of Indicators
Percent of People Age 3 to 34 Enrolled in School
Number of People Enrolled in Educational Institutions
High School Event Dropout Rate among People Age 16 to 24
Percent of Recent High School Completers Enrolled in College
Percent of Public School Students Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Serve in the Armed Forces
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Graduate from a Two-Year College
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Graduate from a Four-Year College
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Attend Graduate/Professional School after College
U.S. Department of Education Outlays
Average Grade that the Public Give Schools in their Community
Average Grade that the Public Give Schools in the Nation at Large
Percent of People Age 3 to 34 Enrolled in School
Description
Percent of people between the ages of 3 and 34 who are enrolled in any type of public, parochial, or other private school as of October of the specified year.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. The NCES’s estimates are based on the Current Population Survey.
Methodological Notes
This measure refers to enrollment in nursery schools, kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, colleges, universities, and professional schools. It includes both full-time and part-time students, and attendance can be during the day or night. Enrollment in special schools such as trade schools, business colleges, or correspondence schools is not included.
Prior to 1972, the “White” and “Black” racial categories include people of Hispanic ethnicity. Beginning in 2003, the categories “White” and “Black” exclude people who identify as belonging to two or more races. Time series by race that include data from both before and after 2002 should be interpreted with care. More details on the changes in racial categories.
Number of People Enrolled in Educational Institutions
Description
Number of people enrolled in public or private educational institutions in the fall of each year.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics.
Methodological Notes
Elementary and middle school includes prekindergarten through grade 8. High school includes grades 9 through 12. Postsecondary institutions comprise undergraduate, professional, and graduate schools. Homeschooled students who were not also enrolled in public or private schools are not included.
High School Event Dropout Rate among People Age 16 to 24
Description
Percent of people age 16 to 24 who dropped out of grades 10 through 12 during the year ending in October of the reference year.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States, 1972-2008. The NCES’s estimates are based on the Current Population Survey.
Methodological Notes
Dropping out is defined as no longer being enrolled in school, and lacking high school diploma or equivalent credential, such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
Estimates are based on surveys of the non-institutionalized civilian population, so people living in prisons or serving in the military are not included.
Beginning in 2003, respondents could choose more than one race category. From this point on, the categories “White” and “Black” exclude people who identify as belonging to two or more races. Time series by race that include data from both before and after 2002 should be interpreted with care. More details on the changes in racial categories.
Percent of Recent High School Completers Enrolled in College
Description
Percent of people age 16 to 23 enrolled in college in October of a given year, among those who graduated from high school or completed a General Educational Development (GED) certificate in the preceding 12 months.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. The NCES’s estimates are based on the Current Population Survey.
Methodological Notes
Estimates are based on surveys of the non-institutionalized civilian population, so people living in prisons or serving in the military are not included.
Beginning in 2003, respondents could choose more than one race category. From this point on, the categories “White” and “Black” exclude people who identify as belonging to two or more races. Time series by race that include data from both before and after 2002 should be interpreted with care. More details on the changes in racial categories.
Percent of Public School Students Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch
Description
Percent of public school students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in the school year beginning in the fall of the reference year.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. The NCES’s estimates are based on the Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe component of the Common Core of Data.
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Serve in the Armed Forces
Description
Percent of high school seniors who say they “definitely will” or “probably will” serve in the armed forces.
Source
Johnston, L. D., J. G. Bachman, and P. M. O’Malley. Monitoring the Future: Questionnaire Responses from the Nation’s High School Seniors (Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research), selected years. The authors’ estimates are based on the Monitoring the Future Study conducted at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
Methodological Notes
The Monitoring the Future survey is administered to high school seniors in the spring of each year. Data collection takes place in approximately 130 public and private high schools selected to provide an accurate cross-section of high school seniors throughout the coterminous United States.
Students are asked: “How likely is it that you will do each of the following things after high school?” For each of “Attend a technical or vocational school,” “Serve in the armed forces,” “Graduate from a two-year college program,” “Graduate from college (four-year program),” and “Attend graduate or professional school after college,” they are asked to choose among “Definitely won’t,” “Probably won’t,” “Probably will,” or “Definitely will.”
For more detailed information about the survey design and sampling procedures, see the introduction of the 2009 Monitoring the Future volume.
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Graduate from a Two-Year College
Description
Percent of high school seniors who say they “definitely will” or “probably will” graduate from a two-year college program.
Source
Johnston, L. D., J. G. Bachman, and P. M. O’Malley. Monitoring the Future: Questionnaire Responses from the Nation’s High School Seniors (Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research), selected years. The authors’ estimates are based on the Monitoring the Future Study conducted at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
Methodological Notes
The Monitoring the Future survey is administered to high school seniors in the spring of each year. Data collection takes place in approximately 130 public and private high schools selected to provide an accurate cross-section of high school seniors throughout the coterminous United States.
Students are asked: “How likely is it that you will do each of the following things after high school?” For each of “Attend a technical or vocational school,” “Serve in the armed forces,” “Graduate from a two-year college program,” “Graduate from college (four-year program),” and “Attend graduate or professional school after college,” they are asked to choose among “Definitely won’t,” “Probably won’t,” “Probably will,” or “Definitely will.”
For more detailed information about the survey design and sampling procedures, see the introduction of the 2009 Monitoring the Future volume.
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Graduate from a Four-Year College
Description
Percent of high school seniors who say they “definitely will” or “probably will” graduate from a four-year college program.
Source
Johnston, L. D., J. G. Bachman, and P. M. O’Malley. Monitoring the Future: Questionnaire Responses from the Nation’s High School Seniors (Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research), selected years. The authors’ estimates are based on the Monitoring the Future Study conducted at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
Methodological Notes
The Monitoring the Future survey is administered to high school seniors in the spring of each year. Data collection takes place in approximately 130 public and private high schools selected to provide an accurate cross-section of high school seniors throughout the coterminous United States.
Students are asked: “How likely is it that you will do each of the following things after high school?” For each of “Attend a technical or vocational school,” “Serve in the armed forces,” “Graduate from a two-year college program,” “Graduate from college (four-year program),” and “Attend graduate or professional school after college,” they are asked to choose among “Definitely won’t,” “Probably won’t,” “Probably will,” or “Definitely will.”
For more detailed information about the survey design and sampling procedures, see the introduction of the 2009 Monitoring the Future volume.
Percent of High School Seniors who Expect to Attend Graduate or Professional School after College
Description
Percent of high school seniors who say they “definitely will” or “probably will” attend graduate or professional school after college.
Source
Johnston, L. D., J. G. Bachman, and P. M. O’Malley. Monitoring the Future: Questionnaire Responses from the Nation’s High School Seniors (Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research), selected years. The authors’ estimates are based on the Monitoring the Future Study conducted at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
Methodological Notes
The Monitoring the Future survey is administered to high school seniors in the spring of each year. Data collection takes place in approximately 130 public and private high schools selected to provide an accurate cross-section of high school seniors throughout the coterminous United States.
Students are asked: “How likely is it that you will do each of the following things after high school?” For each of “Attend a technical or vocational school,” “Serve in the armed forces,” “Graduate from a two-year college program,” “Graduate from college (four-year program),” and “Attend graduate or professional school after college,” they are asked to choose among “Definitely won’t,” “Probably won’t,” “Probably will,” or “Definitely will.”
For more detailed information about the survey design and sampling procedures, see the introduction of the 2009 Monitoring the Future volume.
U.S. Department of Education Outlays
Description
Outlays from the U.S. Department of Education, in constant dollars, for elementary, secondary, postsecondary education; other educational programs; and education research and statistics.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. The NCES’s figures are based on data from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government.
Methodological Notes
Data include outlays to local education agencies, state education agencies, postsecondary students, postsecondary institutions, federal institutions, vocational education organizations, federal programs at libraries and museums, American Indian tribes, private nonprofit agencies, and banks.
The data reflect an increase in postsecondary expenditures in 2006, which resulted primarily from an accounting adjustment. Outlays are adjusted for inflation using the price index for Gross Domestic Product. See Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts tables.
Average Grade that the Public Give Schools in their Community
Description
Average grade that the public give the public schools in their community, where 4 points is an A and 0 points is an F.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics and the Phi Kappa Delta, Phi Delta Kappan, “The Annual Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.”
Methodological Notes
Data come from telephone interviews of a national sample of adults age 18 and older. The exact question wording is, “Students are often given the grades A, B, C, D, and FAIL to denote the quality of their work. Suppose the public schools themselves in your community were graded in the same way. What grade would you give the public schools here—A, B, C, D, or FAIL?”
Average Grade that the Public Give Schools in the Nation at Large
Description
Average grade that the public give the public schools in the nation at large, where 4 points is an A and 0 points is an F.
Source
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics and the Phi Kappa Delta, Phi Delta Kappan, “The Annual Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.”
Methodological Notes
Data come from telephone interviews of a national sample of adults age 18 and older. The exact question wording is, “Students are often given the grades A, B, C, D, and FAIL to denote the quality of their work. Suppose the public schools themselves in your community were graded in the same way. What grade would you give the public schools here—A, B, C, D, or FAIL? How about the public schools in the nation as a whole? What grade would you give the public schools nationally—A, B, C, D, or FAIL?”