Profile America: Cap and Gown

Sunday, June 12 — It’s time for gowns, carnations, diplomas, and lots of pictures. This is the season for graduations — with ceremonies being held all over the country for students from kindergarten to graduate school. In the U.S., there are more than 77 million students at all levels of schooling — some 41.4 million from nursery through elementary school, almost 17 million in high school, and more than 19 million in college. High school graduation rates have grown steadily through the years, so that now, around 8-out-of-10 young adults have a diploma. The rate for college graduates has also grown. In 1940, just 5 percent of Americans had a bachelor’s degree or higher — today, that figure is well over 30 percent, or more than 72 million people.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

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