A baseline look at the expectations of the nation's 10th-graders in 2002 shows that most (72 percent) planned to get a bachelor's degree or higher and most (83 percent) rated getting a good education as "very important," according to A Profile of the American High School Sophomore in 2002, released today by the Department's National Center for Education Statistics. The majority of those sophomores also placed a premium on getting good grades, while challenging courses were key in motivating more than half of them to attend school.

Over time, it appears that more sophomores have realized the importance of a college degree. Compared to studies of sophomores in 1980 and 1990, when 41 percent and 59 percent, respectively, said that they expected to complete a bachelor's degree or higher, the 2002 10th-graders are significantly more likely (72 percent) to go on and complete a bachelor's or advanced degree.

The report delved into the alignment of sophomores' expectations for their future education and their high school preparation for it. Overall, most sophomores expected to go on to higher education: only 8 percent expected to complete only high school or less; another 10 percent expected to attend college but to obtain less than a four-year degree; 36 percent expected to graduate from a four-year program; another 20 percent to obtain a master's degree; and 16 percent to obtain a Ph.D., M.D., or other advanced doctoral or professional degree.

Yet the report found that just under two-thirds of whites who planned to complete a four-year degree were proficient in reading, while less than a third of blacks (31 percent) and just over a third (35 percent) of Hispanics were at reading level two (simple inference). Among sophomores who expected to complete at least a four-year degree, 6 percent of blacks and 12 percent of Hispanics, contrasted to 33 percent of whites, were proficient at level four of mathematics (intermediate concepts). In addition, less than one-third of 10th-graders who expected to obtain a graduate or professional degree had mastered intermediate mathematical concepts.

"This report shows that we as a society have done an excellent job of selling the dream of attending college," said Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. "But we have to make sure that we are preparing high school students to succeed once they get in the door. That's why President Bush has proposed an initiative to expand the tried and tested principles of No Child Left Behind—accountability for achievement, educational options, research-based practice and flexibility—to the nation's high schools. The High School Initiative provides for further funding of those challenging courses that attract students to school, calls for a hefty increase in Pell Grants to help more students pursue higher education, and introduces higher expectations and accountability to all high schools."

While expectations to pursue higher education increased for those with higher test scores and in families with higher incomes, all groups' expectations were relatively high, the study found. Interestingly though, nearly twice as many females as males (20 percent versus 12 percent) expected to complete a doctoral or professional degree, whereas twice as many males as females (11 percent versus 5 percent) expected to end their education with a high school diploma or less.

The report also found that minority groups reported a higher interest in school than their white peers.

For example, blacks (62 percent) and Hispanics (53 percent) were more likely than were whites (47 percent) to affirm getting good grades as something very important to them; blacks and Hispanics more than whites reported that they went to school because their school subjects were interesting and challenging (63 percent for blacks and 65 percent for Hispanics versus 52 percent for whites) and that they got satisfaction from their class work (72 percent for blacks and 70 percent for Hispanics versus 55 percent for whites); and black and Hispanic sophomores were more likely than their white peers to indicate that they liked school a great deal (29 percent and 30 percent versus 21 percent, respectively).

And while a third of the sophomores indicated they did not know what occupation they expected to have by age 30, nearly half said they did expect to be in a professional-level job. "I think this report is encouraging—it is even further evidence that we're on the right track in trying to reform the high school years," Spellings said. "By expanding annual assessments to upper grades, we will be able to see which students are lagging behind and help them correct that before it's too late. It will also help us restore value to the high school diploma, making it a ticket to success in the 21st century."

The data for this report are used to describe the tested achievement and educational status of a nationally representative sample of 15,362 10th-graders in 752 public, Catholic and other private schools who were studied in the spring term of the 2001-02 school year. The report covered students' sociodemographic and educational characteristics; examined their school experiences; explored their extracurricular activities; studied how they spent their time by examining time spent in reading for pleasure, doing homework, working for pay and using the computer; examined their tested achievement in reading and math; and looked at their values, expectations and plans.

The full text of A Profile of the American High School Sophomore in 2002: Initial Results From the Base Year of the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005338. A copy of the report can be ordered by calling toll free 1-877-4ED-Pubs (1-877-433-7827) or 1-877-576-7734 (TTY/TDD); via e-mail at edpubs@inet.ed.gov; or via the Internet at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.

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