Just the Facts: Cap and Gown
Following is the daily “Profile America” feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
CAP AND GOWN
Profile America — Friday, June 16th. It’s time for gowns, carnations, diplomas and lots of pictures. This is the season for graduations — with ceremonies being held all over the country for students from kindergarten to graduate school. Nationwide, there are more than 77 million students at all levels of schooling — some 41.4 million from nursery through elementary school, almost 17 million in high school, and more than 19 million in college. High school graduation rates have grown steadily through the years, so that now, around 8 out of 10 young adults have a diploma. The rate for college graduates has also grown. In 1940, just 5 percent of Americans had a bachelor’s degree or higher — today, that figure is about 33 percent, or more than 72 million people. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sources:
Enrollment/table 1: www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-tps142.html
High school graduation rate/accessed 4/12/2014: www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/04/28/for-the-first-time-the-u-s-high-school-graduation-rate-tops-80-percent-report-finds/
1940 figure/page 4: www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf
College degrees percent: www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf
College degrees total/table 1 All Races: www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/educational-attainment/2015/p20-578/table-1-01.xlsx
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for “Audio” in the “Library” pull-down menu).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
