--- "title": "Higher Achievements: U.S. High School and College Completion Rates Continue to Climb" "description": "Record shares of young adults are completing high school, going to college and finishing college. In 2012, for the first time ever, one-third of the nation’s 25- to 29-year-olds have completed at least a bachelor’s degree." "date": "2012-11-05" "authors": - "name": "No Author" "url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/social-trends/2012/11/05/us-high-school-and-college-completion-rates-continue-to-climb/" "categories": - "Higher Education" - "Younger Adults" --- # Higher Achievements: U.S. High School and College Completion Rates Continue to Climb Record shares of young adults are completing high school, going to college and finishing college, according to a Pew Research Center [analysis of newly available census data](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/social-trends/2012/11/05/record-shares-of-young-adults-have-finished-both-high-school-and-college/). In 2012, for the first time ever, one-third of the nation’s 25- to 29-year-olds have completed at least a bachelor’s degree. These across-the-board increases have occurred despite dramatic immigration-driven changes in the racial and ethnic composition of college-age young adults, a trend that had led some experts to expect a decline in educational attainment.
[![](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2012/11/st_12.10.22_educational_attainment-2.png?w=282){.aligncenter width=590}](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/social-trends/2012/11/05/us-high-school-and-college-completion-rates-continue-to-climb/st_12-10-22_educational_attainment-2/)