About 90% of the U.S. population has graduated high school, a dramatic improvement in educational attainment that began when compulsory education was adopted by every state a century ago. The latest numbers form the Census Dept show 88% of Blacks Have a High School Diploma, 26% a Bachelor’s Degree. The most striking social shift is the shrinking of the high school attainment gap between Blacks and the national average.

In 1940, when the U.S. Census Bureau started asking about educational attainment, only 7% of Blacks had a high school education, compared with 24% for the nation as a whole.

College attainment has also increased, though not as dramatically, and the progress of the Black population has been considerable in the context of rising college education overall.

In recent years, Black educational attainment has been much closer to the national average and today, 88% of Blacks or African Americans have a high school diploma, just shy of the national average, according to census data released last month from the Current Population Survey.

This analysis of educational data does not include people who categorize themselves as Black in combination with another race. It focuses on those who identify themselves as “Black alone.”

Universal compulsory education is a major reason for skyrocketing high school attainment but demographic momentum also plays a role. As older and less educated generations are replaced by more educated youth, the nation’s educational attainment rises.

Source US Census