New Report on the Condition of Education in the United States

The National Center for Education Statistics released The Condition of Education 2019 today (May 22), a congressionally mandated report that summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. This year’s report includes special findings from recent surveys of outcomes in postsecondary education.

• The percentage of 2009 ninth-graders who were enrolled in postsecondary education in 2016 was 50 percentage points larger for the highest-socioeconomic status (SES) students (78 percent) than for the lowest-SES students (28 percent). Among the highest-SES 2009 ninth-graders who had enrolled in a postsecondary institution by 2016, more than three-quarters (78 percent) first pursued a bachelor’s degree and 13 percent first pursued an associate’s degree. Among the lowest-SES students, in contrast, the percentage who first pursued a bachelor’s degree (32 percent) was smaller than the percentage who first pursued an associate’s degree (42 percent).

• Among students who started at public 2-year institutions in 2009, completion rates 8 years after entry were higher among full-time students (30 percent for first-time students and 38 percent for non-first-time students) than among part-time students (16 percent for first-time students and 21 percent for non-first-time students). Also at public 2-year institutions, transfer rates 8 years after entry were higher among non-first-time students (37 percent for part-time students and 30 percent for full-time students) than among first-time students (24 percent for both full-time and part-time students).

The 2019 report also includes other key findings on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, as well as labor force outcomes and international comparisons. For example:

• Between fall 2000 and fall 2016, overall public charter school enrollment increased from 0.4 million to 3.0 million. During this period, the percentage of public school students who attended charter schools increased from 1 to 6 percent.

• In 2015–16, public schools spent $12,330 per student on current expenditures (in constant 2017–18 dollars). Current expenditures per student were 18 percent higher in 2015–16 than in 2000–01, after adjusting for inflation. During this period, current expenditures per student increased from $10,458 in 2000–01 to $12,183 in 2008–09, decreased between 2008–09 and 2012–13 to $11,552, and then reached $12,330 in 2015–16.

Educational attainment rates for 25- to 29-year-olds increased at all levels between 2000 and 2018. During this time, the percentage with high school completion or higher increased from 88 to 93 percent, the percentage with an associate’s or higher degree increased from 38 to 47 percent, the percentage with a bachelor’s or higher degree increased from 29 to 37 percent, and the percentage with a master’s or higher degree increased from 5 to 9 percen