More Resources Youth Indicators 2005

America's young people have made substantial improvements academically over the last three decades, nearly doubling their college completion rates and demonstrating improved mathematics performance during the teenage years, according to a new U.S. Department of Education report.

Youth Indicators 2005, a report by the Department's National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Sciences, presents important trends in the academic progress of teenagers and young adults.

It shows that the proportion of 25- to 29-year-olds completing college rose from 16 percent in 1970 to 29 percent in 2004. And average mathematics proficiency for both 13- and 17-year-olds was higher in 2004 than in 1973 for all racial groups.

The indicators also show that, despite improvements in many areas of education, substantial gaps remain between white and minority students.

Highlights from the report include:

• Although a performance gap in reading proficiency between 13- and 17-year-old white students and their black and Hispanic peers was still present in 2004, this gap was smaller than in 1975.
• The proportion of all 16- to 24-year-olds who were dropouts declined between 1998 (12 percent) and 2003 (10 percent). Between 1993 and 1998, the proportion of dropouts in this age group had fluctuated.
• College enrollment rates of 18- to 24-year-olds increased from 26 percent in 1980 to 38 percent in 2003; the enrollment rate of females increased more rapidly than that of males.
• While overall college attainment rates have increased, substantial gaps remain. Among 25- to 29-year-olds in 2004, 11 percent of Hispanics had completed a bachelor's degree, compared with 17 percent of blacks, and 34 percent of whites.

"This report shows the educational trend lines are going in the right direction," said Secretary Spellings. "But, while I am pleased that the achievement gap is narrowing, I am not satisfied—we still have work to do. Under No Child Left Behind, we are specifically working to close the achievement gap and to provide each and every student, regardless of his or her race, ethnicity or street address, a quality education. The best is yet to come."

More details on the findings and other related topics, including indicators that set a context for education, are available in Youth Indicators 2005. To download, view and print the report as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005050

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