The Condition of Eduction: 2016

"Congress has required that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report to policymakers about the progress of education in the United States. The Condition of Education 2016 presents 43 key indicators on important topics and trends in U.S. education. These indicators focus on population characteristics, such as educational attainment and economic outcomes; participation in education at all levels; and several contextual aspects of education, including international comparisons, at both the elementary and secondary education level and the postsecondary education level. The three Spotlight indicators for the 2016 report provide a more in-depth look at some of the data. Supplemental indicators, which help to provide a fuller picture of the state of American education, are available online.

The Condition includes an At a Glance section, which allows readers to quickly make comparisons within and across indicators, and a Highlights section, which captures a key finding or set of findings from each indicator. The report contains a Reader’s Guide, Glossary, and a Guide to Data Sources that provide additional information to help place the indicators in context. In addition, each indicator references the data tables that were used to produce the indicator, most of which are in the Digest of Education Statistics..."
Education-statistics

Educational Attainment in the United States: 2014

"Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education that an individual has completed. This is distinct from the level of schooling that an individual is attending. See the School Enrollment Web site for information on current attendance.

Data on educational attainment are derived from a single question that asks, "What is the highest grade of school...has completed, or the highest degree...has received?" This question was first implemented in the 1990 Decennial Census and changed in the Current Population Survey in 1992. Prior to this, respondents were asked a two-part question that asked respondents to report the highest grade they had attended, and whether or not they had completed that grade. For more information on the implementation of this change and its effects on the data see the report Measuring Education in the Current Population Survey [PDF - 859k] (Kominski and Siegel, 1993)..."
Education statistics