According to "The Condition of Education 2008," an annual report published by the National Center for Education Statistics, the nation's student body is becoming more diverse while school enrollment is at an all-time high. At the college level, the largest growth area for enrollment was from women and minority students. However, Hispanic students were underrepresented among the minorities. The report indicates that only 34 percent of Hispanics aged 25 to 29 completed some college as of 2007 compared to 50 percent of black and 66 percent of white U.S. residents. Hispanics born outside the United States are three times more likely to lack a high-school diploma than those from families who have lived in the United States a generation or more.
More college and advanced degrees are being awarded as of 2005-2006 compared with ten years earlier including 28 percent more bachelor's and associate degrees, 46 percent more master's degrees, and 26 percent more doctorates. The most popular undergraduate majors included business, social sciences and history, and education. At the master's level the greatest number of degrees were conferred for the fields of education and business while at the doctoral level education, engineering, health professions and related clinical sciences, biological and biomedical sciences, and psychology were the most popular.
Earnings of young adults with degrees are still greater than their peers without degrees. In 2005 males with a bachelor’s or higher degree earned 64 percent more than their peers who only completed high school compared to 19 percent more in 1980.
At the elementary and secondary level public school enrollment increased. Public school elementary enrollment is expected to increase annually through 2016, while public secondary enrollment should be about 2 percent higher in 2016 than in 2007 after experiencing a decrease of 2 percent between 2007 and 2011
