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Youth Indicators 1996
Trends in the Well-Being of American Youth
September 1996
National Center for Education Statistics
U.S. Department of Education
This edition of Youth Indicators marks the fourth edition of a series
that was first issued in 1988. Youth Indicators is a statistical
compilation of data on family structure, jobs, education, and other
elements that comprise the world of young people. Where possible,
long-term trend data are provided as an historical context for
interpretation.
This edition highlights the transition of high school students into the
labor force. The report includes chapters on the home environment
including demographics, family composition, and family income; the
school environment including school descriptions, outcomes, and
out-of-school experiences; health; citizenship and values; and students'
futures.
Foreword
The National Center for Education Statistics and the Office of
Educational Research and Improvement broke new ground with the first
edition of Youth Indicators (in 1989) by investigating the lives of
students beyond schoolhouse doors. Students learn in many settings.
Early childhood experiences, family relationships, and home environments
affect school performance from kindergarten to college. And, in turn,
success at school has pervasive effects on each person's aspirations for
the future and success in the job market. Policymakers now rely on this
report for information on factors outside of school that influence
learning. Information about children's lives across varied settings
better prepares policymakers who seek lasting and effective educational
change. To understand when, where, and how changes can be made in the
educational process, we must examine the larger context in which
children live and learn. Youth Indicators is a statistical compilation
of data on family structure, economic factors, jobs, extracurricular
activities, and several dozen other elements that comprise the world of
young people. These data present a composite of the youth experience,
highlighting connections that might otherwise be missed between
experiences inside and outside of school. Much of the data in this
publication is central to longterm policy debates on education issues.
Where possible, trend data are provided as an historical context for
interpretation. It is hoped that policymakers and analysts who use these
data will send comments to the National Center for Education Statistics,
identifying the areas where further information is needed or the data
are lacking. Good statistical reporting typically provides precise,
though limited, information related to policy issues; good statistical
reporting usually leads to many new questions.
Jeanne E. Griffith
Associate Commissioner for Data Development
Acknowledgements
The National Center for Education Statistics produced Youth Indicators,
1996. Within NCES, Thomas Snyder, with the assistance of Linda Shafer,
oversaw the development and production of the publication, Mary Frase
provided technical advice, and Celestine Davis provided statistical
assistance.
A number of individuals outside NCES deserve thanks. Sherrie Aitken,
Carla Claycomb, Stacy Hudson, John Salzberg, and Bill Scarbrough of CSR
Incorporated provided research support and assistance. Linda Darby
provided editorial assistance and managed typesetting, and Phil Carr
designed the cover. Jerry Fairbanks of the U.S. Government Printing
Office managed the typesetting.This year's edition of Youth Indicators
has received reviews by individuals within and outside the Department of
Education. We wish to thank them for their time and expert advice. In
the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), Mary Frase,
Mike Cohen, Jeffrey Owings, and Laura Lippman reviewed the entire
manuscript. Special thanks to Jennifer Manlove of Child Trends, Inc. who
reviewed the manuscript and provided valuable analytical and technical
advice. Within the Department of Education, agency reviews were
conducted by the Office of the Under Secretary, Budget Service, and
Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
Introduction
Home | School | Health | Citizenship and Values | Future | Final Notes
America today is striving to maintain its standard of living and its
preeminent position among the countries of the world. How well it fares
in the future will depend in part on today's youth. They will be the
leaders and the citizens of the 21st century.
Youth is a period where dramatic physical, emotional, and educational
changes take place. Children and adolescents make the transition to
adulthood; many leave home, or marry and start families of their own, or
attend postsecondary education or begin careers. Couple the demands of
these personal changes with the demands of a changing society and it is
easy to see why youth might also be defined as a difficult time of life.
While struggling through the passage to maturity, each generation also
faces unique challenges. We conduct business in an increasingly
competitive global economy. Unprecedented amounts of technology will
confront our youth with a continued array of new information. We will
need to be comfortable acquiring new knowledge and learning new skills.
They will need to address educational and healthrelated problems and
cultural differences in order to deal with economic and societal
pressures.
Youth Indicators offers a broad perspective on youth using trend data
that cut across disciplines and agency lines. It is intended to be of
use to agency officials and others in public life concerned with
integrating human services for youth and their families. Youth
Indicators was created to meet the needs of these policymakers who must
establish a context for viewing trends in the well-being of youth. Youth
Indicators contains statistics that address important aspects of the
lives of youth-family, work, education, health, behavior, and attitudes.
When taken together, the data create an outline of the conditions under
which young people live and help illuminate this period of transitions.
Researchers and policymakers can look at the outline to identify gaps in
data where intervention might be beneficial, and where changes might be
made. Ideally, these indicators will be used as catalysts for further
study and action.
One important objective of the report is to present trends over time,
rather than to deliver snapshots of contemporary conditions. Whenever
possible, tables go as far back as 1950, or even earlier, providing
needed historical context for today's issues. Some indicators cover only
more recent years-either because they show key details or because data
are simply not available for earlier years. This edition of Youth
Indicators was designed to highlight information on high school
graduates and dropouts entering the workforce and forming families.
Each indicator contains a table, chart, and brief descriptive text. The
indicators are grouped in sections that feature particular areas of
youth experience. The tables provide current and trend information on a
given topic. The charts are designed to highlight the most important
aspects of the statistical tables. The text describes critical features
of each indicator, showing the types of inferences one might reasonably
make. A short glossary defines key technical terms.
These indicators are representative but do not constitute the total body
of knowledge about American youth. While the selection of indicators
itself is open to debate, the assortment we have collected is intended
to be full and fair in its overall portrayal of conditions facing young
people. Because new data reveal changes in some of the trends we present,
Youth Indicators is updated regularly, with the aim of maintaining its
usefulness. We invite continuing dialogue with readers about the
approaches taken and the indicators selected.
We have organized this introduction according to general themes that are
based on 2 some of the report's most important indicators. While the
task of interpretation belongs with the reader, the report includes some
comments on the nature and substance of the data. We hope the following
passages will serve as reference points against which readers may
compare and contrast their own views on the progress of American youth.
HOME
Demographics and Family Composition
Changes in birth rates profoundly influence society for decades as
larger or smaller groups (birth cohorts) move through school, adulthood,
the workforce, and finally into retirement. Larger birth cohorts can
cause pressure for building schools, hiring more teachers, and expanding
medical services; reduced cohorts can have the opposite effect. Recent
demographic shifts in the youth population have placed great stress on
schools, colleges, and the workforce (Indicator #3).
The best-known of these birth cohorts is the ''baby boom,'' the rise in
births from the late 1940s through the early 1960s that created a large
population bulge. This bulge caused elementary and secondary school
enrollment to rise rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, which in turn created
a surge in school construction and a demand for hundreds of thousands of
new teachers. The boom's aftershock hit in the 1970s when sharply
declining birth rates resulted in drops in enrollment that left schools
underutilized and sometimes overstaffed. From 1971 to 1984, total
elementary and secondary school enrollment decreased every year,
reflecting the decline in the schoolage population over that period.
Meanwhile, the ''baby boomers'' moved into their twenties, and
unprecedented numbers of young people entered the labor market, causing
heavy competition for entrylevel jobs and depressing wage levels. Many
demographers predict that this population bulge will create similar
pressures on retirement funds and health care services as members of
that birth cohort move into their retirement years. It is worth
observing that ''baby boomers'' will first become eligible to collect
Social Security in the first decade of the new century.
Today another major demographic surge is underway. Between 1985 and 1994
public school enrollment in kindergarten through grade eight rose. By
1997, total elementary and secondary enrollments are projected to
surpass the previous high set in 1971 and are expected to continue to
rise into the next century. This expansion is forcing demand for more
teachers, school buildings, and social services. The demographic
composition of America's youth is also changing, with projected
increases in the minority composition for preschool age children through
young adults. Another longterm demographic trend is that fewer people
are getting married and are doing so at a later age than in the recent
past. In fact, today's averages exceed the historic highs of the late
19th century. The 1950s were a period of early marriages, and the age of
first marriage has risen steadily between 1950 and the 1990s (#3).
Despite the decline in marriage rates, however, the United States still
has a substantially higher marriage rate than other developed nations.
The divorce rate in the United States is also much higher than in other
developed nations, although that gap is narrowing (#5).
The structure of families has also changed, with fewer marriedcouple
families containing children. This change reflects both a decline in
birth rates among younger families and an increase in the proportion of
older married couples who are unlikely to have children under 18. In
1994, fewer than half of white families had children under 18, although
the majority of Hispanic and black families did (#10).
Moreover, women are waiting until they are older to bear children. Until
1985, the women aged 20 to 24 had the highest birth rate. Since the late
1980s, 25 to 29-year-old women have had the highest birth rate. The
birth rate for 30 to 34yearold women has risen by 30 percent since 1980,
but is still lower than in 1950 or 1960 (#6). Overall, the birth rate
for women 15 to 44yearsold has been stable since 1980. Black women
continue to bear children most frequently in their early 20s. Since 1980,
birth rates to unmarried women of all ages and races have risen.
Families have grown smaller over the past two decades, a pattern
especially notable between 1970 and 1980. Even when single adults and
couples have children, they are having fewer of them. Since 1980, the
average number of children per family has been less than two (#10 and
#11).
A high divorce rate, coupled with nonmarital births, has fed another
phenomenon: a rising proportion of children living with only one parent.
The proportion of children under 18 living in marriedcouple families
declined by 10 percent between 1970 and 1994, while the proportion
living in singleparent families grew (#11). Much of the increase in
these figures was driven by increases in the divorce rates during the
1970s, though the divorce rate has been relatively stable since 1980 (#4).
In 1994, 25 percent of children lived in singleparent families. The
figures for minority children are even higher. In 1994, 59 percent of
black children lived in singleparent homes compared with 19 percent of
white children and 29 percent of Hispanic children.
These data on children in single parent families represent children's
living status during a single year. Many more children are affected over
their lifetimes by the impact of divorce. As social science examines the
emotional and psychological consequences of single parent households,
the economic consequences are already clear. Singleparent families tend
to suffer severe economic disadvantages.
Family Formation
A striking change in the youth experience is an apparent lengthening of
the transition period from childhood to economic independence. Several
symptoms mark this phenomenon. Young adults are more likely to live with
their parents. High school completion rates have improved modestly, and
more graduates are going to college. Attending college typically results
in a higher paying job, but it also delays moving into the work force
fulltime and entails paying historically high tuition rates. With all
its benefits, this expensive lengthening of the education process makes
it difficult for young people to become financially independent until
they complete their studies. And even when they have fulltime jobs,
young adults' incomes have not kept pace with those of other age groups.
Prolonged education and economic dependency may contribute to the
increasingly older ages at which people now marry and women begin
childbearing. During the 1950s and 1960s, the average age of women at
first marriage was about 20; between 1975 and 1993 this rose rapidly,
reaching an average of 25 (#3). Viewed another way, marriage rates among
18 to 24yearold women have dropped significantly; that is, the share of
women in that population who are currently married is much lower than
before 1975. This means that the average age at first marriage for women
is now higher than at any point since 1890, when the average age was 22,
and such data were first compiled for the United States.
A small proportion of the high school class of 1992 (1) had married
within 2 years after high school, and significant numbers lived with
partners (#61). About 8 percent of the high school graduates from the
class of 1992 2 were married, but another 6 percent were living with
partners. About 12 percent of the graduates had become parents 2 years
after high school. The dropouts had substantially different experiences
with a far higher proportion starting families. Nineteen percent were
married, and 14 percent were living with partners. Nearly half of the
dropouts were parents, with the young women nearly twice as likely as
the men to have become parents. A majority of the young mothers from the
1992 class (1) had only one child by early 1994, but about 8 percent of
the female dropouts had 3 or more children.
Another way of viewing the difficult transition of high school graduates
to the more general community is examining their living arrangements.
The proportion of 18 to 24 -year-olds living with their parents rose
from 48 percent in 1980 to 53 percent in 1993 (#14). During the same
time period, the proportion of those with families of their own fell
from 29 percent to 21 percent.
The pattern is highlighted by the experience of the high school class of
1992 1 . About 52 percent of the graduates and 45 percent of the
dropouts were living with their parents in 1994, two years after most of
the graduates would have finished high school.
Family Income
While the average size of the family has tapered off in recent years,
its average income has stabilized. Between 1950 and 1970, median family
income as adjusted for inflation rose significantly. Family income has,
on average, been stable since 1970 (#16).
Because families are smaller and their incomes have remained stable,
American families are slowly growing more affluent on a per capita basis.
However, this economic stability for families has been supported by
shifts in the labor force status of family members. In particular,
families have been affected by the decline in earnings for men and the
increase in women's labor force participation.
Real income for all men who worked full time dropped by 5 percent
between 1970 and 1982 and then recovered somewhat during the mid 1980s.
After 1986, incomes for male fulltime workers began falling again,
hitting $31,609 in 1994, about 10 percent lower real income than in 1970
(#20). For young men who worked full time, income has fallen more:
annual income for 20 to 24yearold men in 1994 was 36 percent below what
it had been in 1970. On average, young women's incomes also dropped
between 1970 and 1994; 20 to 24-year-old women lost about 18 percent of
their real income. However, for all fulltime women workers, incomes rose
by about 12 percent during that time. While the gain of women's income
relative to men's suggests some improvement in pay equity, the income
gap remains large. Women's incomes were only 74 percent as high as male
incomes in 1994.
The participation of more family members in the workforce, particularly
married women, has served to buttress family incomes in spite of the
decline in incomes for males. In 1960, 39 percent of married women in
families with children 6 to 17 years old were in the labor force; 62
percent were in 1980, and 75 percent in 1993. (A portion of the
increased participation consisted of parttime workers.) Even more
dramatic has been the rise in labor force participation of married women
with children under 6-from 19 percent in 1960 to 60 percent in 1993 (#19).
This increase in employment of women is partially responsible for the
stable family income figures. At the same time, with more mothers
working outside the home, the pressures on society for better child care
and after school activities for older children have increased.
Not all households are financially secure. Femaleheaded households
continue to struggle with poverty, and it is in these households that
child poverty is concentrated. In 1993, 53 percent of children under 18
in femaleheaded households lived in poverty (#21). In contrast, 21
percent of children under 18 in other types of families lived in poverty.
Poverty rates were relatively high for minority children. The proportion
of poor children coming from femaleheaded households has risen
dramatically, from 24 percent in 1960 to 58 percent in 1994 for all
children, and from 29 percent to 82 percent for black children.
The conditions of children in femaleheaded households are further
exacerbated by the fact that absent fathers often do not meet their full
financial obligations. In 1993, about half of women awarded child
support payments received their full entitlement (#23). About onefourth
received partial payment, and about onefourth received no payment.
Despite increasing attempts by courts to obtain payments from absent
fathers, the percentage of mothers receiving payments has not changed
since the early 1980s.
SCHOOL
There were some 63.9 million students enrolled in education institutions
in 1994 from the elementary to the college and university levels.
Between 1985 and 1994, enrollment rates for 18 to 24-year-olds rose
rapidly (#25). The composition of the student body has been gradually
changing, with minority populations growing as a proportion of the total
population. Between 1975 and 1994, the proportion of white students
declined at all school levels, while the proportion of black students
grew from 14.5 percent to 16 percent, and that of Hispanic students grew
rapidly, rising from 6.5 percent to 13 percent (#27).
A major influence on students' later educational and occupational
opportunities is the type of high school program in which they enroll.
In 1992, more 17-year-olds reported enrolling in college preparatory and
academic programs than had reported enrolling in such programs in 1982.
Correspondingly, the number enrolled in vocational education had
declined from 27 percent in 1982 to 12 percent in 1992 (#26).
High school completion rates improved during the 1970s and 1980s: black
students are staying in school longer, with more completing high school
and college. In contrast, there were relatively small increases for
whites, and Hispanics completed less school than other groups. Only 9
percent of 25 to 29-year-old Hispanics had completed 4 or more years of
college in 1995 as compared with 26 percent of whites (#28).
A much higher proportion of students are completing high school today
than in the 1950s. In 1950, barely half (53 percent) of 25 to
29-year-olds had completed high school, and only 8 percent had completed
4 years of college. In 1995, the figures had climbed to 87 percent
completing high school and 25 percent completing 4 years of college.
Evidence from the high school class of 1992 shows a keen interest in
completing college programs. Large proportions of the 1992 high school
seniors aspired to postsecondary education. About onethird of high
school seniors aspired to a postgraduate degree in 1992 and another
third aspired to a bachelor's degree. Taken together, this means that
about 70 percent of 1992 seniors hoped to obtain a bachelor's or higher
level degree, compared to 39 percent of the 1982 seniors. Only 5 percent
of the 1992 seniors felt that they would complete only high school (#60).
Large proportions of minority and female seniors were interested in
obtaining a postgraduate degree. In 1992, about 35 percent of female
seniors aspired to graduate degrees compared to 31 percent of male
seniors. The increasing draw of women to higher education is not
surprising given the trend of the past 20 years toward more women in the
workforce. Minority seniors were as likely, or more likely, to aspire to
postgraduate degrees as white seniors.
In addition to academic challenges, college students face financial
hurdles. The cost of obtaining higher education degrees has skyrocketed,
rising 48 percent at public 4-year colleges and 71 percent at private
colleges between 1979-80 and 1994-95 after adjustment for inflation (#24).
Compared with median family income, charges for students at public
4-year colleges dropped during the 1960s and 1970s, but increased during
the 1980s and early 1990s to a level somewhat higher than 1960. Charges
for students at private 4-year colleges, as a ratio of median family
income, declined slightly during the 1960s and 1970s, but rose rapidly
during the 1980s to levels much higher than those of the past 30 years.
Despite high tuition levels, college attendance is at or near an alltime
high. Many college students combine their education with extensive labor
force activities. The proportion of fulltime college students who are
working has increased significantly, from 37 percent in 1974 to 48
percent in 1994. About 85 percent of the parttime 16 to 24-year-old
students were employed in 1994. Nearly, 44 percent of the parttime
college students worked full time (#67).
Women's participation at all levels of higher education rose rapidly
during the 1960s and has continued to increase. In 1959-60, women
received 35 percent of all bachelor's degrees and 32 percent of all
master's degrees. By 1993-94, about 55 percent of all bachelor's and
master's degrees were awarded to women. Moreover, the percentage of
doctor's degrees received by women had climbed from 13 percent in
1969-70 to 39 percent in 1993-94 (#32).
Outcomes
It is problematic to judge student achievement during the 1950s and
1960s because we lack appropriate measures. Between 1971 and 1992,
reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),
a test specifically designed to measure national trends, revealed no
general improvement in reading performance for 9-year-olds, and small
increases for 13 and 17-year-olds. However, increases in the scores of
black 9, 13, and 17-year-olds and Hispanic 17-year-olds suggest
improvements were made in the education of minority students. However,
the more recent results are less encouraging: the reading achievement
between 1988 and 1992 fell among black 17-year-olds and remained stable
among Hispanic 17-year-olds (#33). Sizable gaps in test scores between
whites and blacks, and between whites and Hispanics still remain.
Although performance gaps narrowed somewhat between 1975 and 1988, the
gap between blacks and whites widened between 1988 and 1992, and the gap
between white and Hispanic students remained about the same.
NAEP science scores, which declined in the 1970s, recovered somewhat
between 1977 and 1992. Science scores for 13-year-olds were about the
same in 1992 as they were in 1970, but were lower for 17-year-olds (#36).
NAEP results in mathematics are more positive, with 9 and 13-year-old
students' average mathematics proficiencies significantly higher in 1992
than they had been in 1978 (#35). The 17-year-olds scored about the same
in 1992 as in 1978 (#37).
International comparisons provide us with food for thought. In a 1991
international reading assessment, the United States performed in the top
group for both 9 and 14-year-olds. However, in an international
comparison of mathematics and science performance among 13-year-olds,
students from the United States performed at or near the average in
science, and below the average in mathematics.
On the whole, 17-year-olds have shown modest improvements in reading
between the early 1970s and 1992, no improvement in mathematics during
the same time period, and a slight decline in science. Although
17-year-olds of the early 1990s are performing about as well, or better,
on mathematics and reading performance assessments as 17-year-olds of
the early 1980s, many educators doubt whether current achievement levels
are sufficient to ensure American competitiveness in the future.
Out-of-School Experiences
How students spend their outofschool time affects their success in
school as well as their success in life. Some activities support
learning; others siphon off valuable time from studies. Some activities
enrich students' lives, help prepare them for the responsibilities of
citizenship, and enhance students' selfimage. Researchers continue to
investigate the effects of athletic, aesthetic or expressive, and
academic extracurricular activities on adolescent development.
In 1992 as in 1980 and 1972, academic clubs, and newspaper and yearbook
activities remained popular extracurricular activities (#39). Sports was
another popular activity among young adults. In fact, teenagers and
young adults were far more likely to participate in many types of
sporting activities than older adults. Younger adolescents ages 12 to 17
tended to participate in organized group sports, while older youths ages
18 to 34 were more likely to participate in aerobics, exercise walking,
or exercising with equipment (#40).
Many high school students work while going to school. Some students help
support their families, others need money for higher education, and
still others want more spending money. Twofifths of high school seniors
said they spent most of their earnings on personal items (#43). Black
students were more likely to contribute their earnings to meet family
expenses than were white students. Seniors planning to attend a 4year
college were more likely to save for their education than other seniors.
Students' employment opportunities appear to fluctuate with the overall
economy. Between 1989 and 1993, employment rates declined for 16 to
17-year-olds, especially among black youth (#42). Although employment
rates for female students fell between 1989 and 1993, they were still
more likely to be employed in 1993 than in 1970. Employment rates for
white students were about three times higher than those for black
students.
HEALTH
While people live longer than ever before, youths still suffer their
share of lifethreatening problems. Overall, the number of deaths per
100,000 men 15 to 24 years old fell from 168 in 1950 to 144 in 1993. For
young women, the rate fell from 89 to 49 (#50). These drops reflect
advances in medicine and disease prevention which resulted in declining
death rates from diseases during this time.
Much of the physical threats to youth stem from behavior rather than
disease. In 1992, the leading causes of death among 15 to 24 -year-olds
were motor vehicle accidents, homicide, and suicide (#51). The rate of
deaths from homicide and suicide rose between 1960 and 1992. White male
suicide rates exceeded those for women or black males. In contrast, the
homicide death rate for black males was particularly high. Between 1985
and 1992 the homicide death rate for black males rose from 66 to 154 per
100,000. This rate is many times the rates for white males or black or
white females. Motor vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause
of death among 15 to 24-year-olds, although the rate has been declining
in recent years and is lower now than in 1960. Homicides are now the
second leading cause of death for young adults.
Health care often depends on the availability of health insurance. In
1993, about 68 percent of children under 18 were covered by some type of
private health insurance (#45). An additional 24 percent were covered by
Medicaid. Lower proportions of 18 to 24 -year-olds were covered by
private health insurance (62 percent) and Medicaid (12 percent).
Illegal drugs remain a problem for youth. Although the proportion of
high school seniors who reported having ever used illegal drugs fell
from 55 percent in 1975 to 41 percent in 1992, there was a significant
increase between 1992 and 1994 (#49). The proportion who had ever used
illegal drugs increased to 46 percent and the proportion who had used
drugs in the previous 30 days rose from 14 percent to 22 percent.
Alcohol continues to be the most popular substance with 80 percent of
seniors in 1994 reporting using or ''having used'' it. Alcohol is
followed in popularity by cigarettes (62 percent) and marijuana/ hashish
(38 percent).
CITIZENSHIP AND VALUES
How are American young people developing as citizens? Many youths
volunteer for school and other organizations, and their proportions have
grown in recent years. After declining during the 1980s, the proportion
of seniors who participated in volunteer activities at least once per
month rose from 22 percent in 1990 to 28 percent in 1994 (#53).
Religion is becoming less important in the lives of some youth. The
proportion who felt that religion was important in their lives dropped
from 65 percent in 1980 to 58 percent in 1994 (#54). A smaller
proportion of high school seniors reported attending religious services
every week in 1994 than in 1980-32 and 43 percent respectively.
Young adults continue to believe in the value of work, family, and
friends. Young people two years out of high school in 1994 placed more
value on finding steady work and providing better opportunities for
their children than their counterparts 10 years earlier. In contrast to
earlier decades, there was no significant difference in the proportion
of men and women feeling that ''being successful in work'' was very
important (#55).
On the less positive side, crime among young people has been on the rise.
In 1993, about 45 percent of those arrested for serious crimes were
under 25 years old. The number of arrests per 1,000 young adults 18 to
24 years old more than doubled between 1965 and 1993, but most of the
increase was between 1965 and 1980 (#59).
FUTURE
Income of Youth
Youth should be a time of optimism and anticipation. Student aspirations
and their modifications over time are intriguing topics for researchers.
As youth consider their future economic prospects, the importance of
postsecondary education becomes apparent.Clearly, education adds to
future earning power.
There have been substantial declines in the earnings of 25 to
34-year-old males. Among male dropouts, the average earnings for 1993
were worth about half of what they were in 1970. There were also very
large drops for males with 4 years of high school and those with some
college. Although the earnings for the male college graduates did not
decline at such a fast rate, they were still earning only about as much
as high school graduates in 1970. As a result of these shifts, the
earnings disparity by level of education widened considerably. In 1970,
dropouts earned about 16 percent less than high school graduates and
those with 4 years of college earned about 24 percent more than the high
school graduates. By 1993, dropouts earned 33 percent less than the high
school graduates, and college graduates about 57 percent more than the
high school graduates (#69).
The experience for women has been similar, although the drops in
earnings have not been as severe. Earnings for women with college
degrees remained fairly steady throughout the period. As a result, the
disparity in men's and women's earnings narrowed somewhat.
Transitions to the Labor Force: Examples from the Class of 1992 (1)
The entry of high school graduates and dropouts into the workforce
appears to be a difficult transition. After leaving school, high school
graduates, and especially their peers who dropped out, had high rates of
partyear employment and relatively low earnings. About 34 percent of the
high school graduates of the class of 1992 2 were involved exclusively
in labor force activities in 1994, about 2 years after high school (#61).
Another 33 percent were in the labor force and attending postsecondary
education. About 22 percent were attending college and not working.
Others were serving in the military or were working as homemakers.
Dropouts and 9 other noncompleters 3 were less likely to be enrolled in
college or serving in the military, but more likely to be homemakers
than the graduates.
Unemployment rates for 16 to 19-year-olds and 20 to 24-year-olds
historically have been high, but these data do not adequately describe
the problems many individuals face in finding steady employment. Even
those who found jobs frequently faced intermittent employment. Less than
threefourths of the 1992 high school graduates,(2) who were not
attending school and worked during 1993, were employed for 10 or more
months (#66). About 61 percent of the employed dropouts(3) from their
high school class worked 10 or more months. About 1/4 of the dropouts
employed during the year worked half of the year or less. Of the black
dropouts who were able to find jobs, 41 percent worked half of the year
or less.
Some graduates(2) and dropouts(3) had no job experiences at all. About 4
percent of the male graduates from the class of 1992 reported no job in
the 2-year period between summer 1992 and spring 1994. About 10 percent
of the male dropouts from the same class cohort had no job experiences
during the 2-yearperiod. The problem was acute for some minority groups.
About 12 percent of black high school graduates and 23 percent of
American Indian graduates had no jobs over the 2-year period. Among
black and Hispanic dropouts, about 27 percent had no job over the 2-year
period.
In contrast, some workers from the class of 1992 had a relatively large
number of jobs in a short period of time, sometimes referred to as ''job
churning.'' About 26 percent of the graduates had 5 to 9 jobs in about 2
years and 1 percent had 10 or more jobs. About half of the graduates
worked at 3 or 4 jobs over the same time period. Slightly smaller
proportions of dropouts also had frequent job changes.
The workers from the class of 1992 had mixed feelings about their jobs.
Most were at least ''somewhat satisfied'' about such issues as pay, job
challenge, job security, and working conditions. For example, about 77
percent of the high school graduates who were not enrolled in
postsecondary education were ''very satisfied'' or ''somewhat
satisfied'' with their job's pay and benefits (#56). However, only 26
percent were ''very satisfied'' and 51 percent were ''somewhat
satisfied.'' The dropouts who had jobs expressed roughly similar
satisfaction levels with 72 percent expressing at least some
satisfaction with their job's pay. Relatively high dissatisfaction
levels were expressed for job's ''opportunity for promotion'' and
''opportunity to further your education.'' About 42 percent of the
dropouts and 35 percent of the graduates were dissatisfied with their
job's ''opportunity for promotion and advancement. '' In many of the job
satisfaction measures, the differences in the opinions of the graduates
and dropouts were not large.
As might be expected from the trend data presented on declining earnings
for young adults, high unemployment levels, and frequent job changes,
earnings for the high school class of 1992 were modest. Contributing to
the low earnings may have been large proportions of young workers with
minimum wage jobs and significant periods of unemployment. The average
annual 1993 earnings for the graduates of the class of 1992(2) who were
not enrolled in school and who had some earnings that year was $9,421,
slightly more than a year of fulltime work at minimum wage. The
comparable figure for dropouts(3) was $7,840 (#65).
The distribution of earnings shows that a sizeable proportion of
graduates, and most dropouts, were clustered at very low earning levels.
About 17 percent of 1992 graduates(2) not enrolled in college had no
earnings in 1993 and another 23 percent earned less than $5,000. Among
dropouts,3 33 percent had no earnings in 1993 and another 25 percent
earned less than $5,000. The proportion of females and blacks with no or
low earnings was substantially higher than the proportions for males and
whites, respectively, among10 both dropouts and high school graduates
not enrolled in college.
Trend data on employment rates suggest that the experiences of the high
school class of 1992 were typical of the recent past in terms of
unemployment rates. The deterioration of earning power over time is well
documented and exemplified by the large proportions of graduates and
dropouts from the class of 1992 in low wage and part-year jobs.
FINAL NOTES
On the previous pages we have tried to present the data in our charts
and tables without interpreting them, limiting our narrative to
illustration. We recognize it is never possible to succeed at this
effort-as some of our most supportive critics point out, the mere
selection of data and time periods suggests some interpretation. We wish,
therefore, to be judged on the basis of our success at being evenhanded
and at fueling in others the desire to examine and interpret the
information in this book.
We recognize that this book does not report on many important dimensions
of young peoples' lives. For some issues we have been unable to find
reliable data. Complete information on child abuse, runaways, and
drugaddicted babies, for example, are of considerable public interest
but difficult to obtain or verify. Indicators of more subjective
measures of human lives are also hard to discover.
We would like to think that the indicators that follow capture the
important features of American youth. But we know how much more is left
to be done. So our more modest goal is to sketch an outline others might
fill in and suggest connections that others might develop. While this
endeavor may inspire yet more questions, we trust it has also answered a
few.
(1) References to the class of 1992 are based on students who were 8th
graders in 1988 and who would be expected to have graduated in 1992.
This group includes students who did not complete high school until
later years or persons who dropped out sometime during the 1988 to 1994
period. Data based on the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.
(2) Includes regular ''ontime'' graduates as well as those who graduated
after spring 1992, but before spring 1994, through regular or
alternative education programs or GED certification. Data based on the
National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.
(3) Includes persons who dropped out after 8th grade and did not
complete a GED or high school equivalency program by 1994. Also includes
some students who were still enrolled or returned to high school, but
had not obtained their diploma by spring 1994. Data based on the
National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.
Glossary
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program provides cash
support for low-income families with dependent children who have been
deprived of parental support due to death, disability, continued absence
of a parent, or unemployment.
Average daily attendance (ADA) is the aggregate attendance of a school
during a reporting period (normally school year) divided by the number
of days school is in session during this period. Only days on which
pupils are under the guidance and direction of teachers are considered
as days in session.
Civilian labor force comprises the total of all civilians classified as
employed or unemployed in accordance with the criteria described below.
Members of the armed forces stationed either in the United States or
abroad are included in the "labor force" (see below), but not in the
civilian labor force.
Constant dollars are dollar amounts that have been adjusted by means of
price and cost indices to eliminate inflationary factors and allow
direct comparison across years. Constant dollars are expressed in two
ways in this publication: 1) according to calendar year and 2) according
to school year.
Consumer unit is 1) all members of a particular household who are
related by blood or legal arrangements; 2) persons living alone or
sharing a household with others; or 3) two or more persons together who
are making joint expenditure decisions. All units are considered
financially independent.
Current dollars are dollar amounts that have not been adjusted to
compensate for inflation.
Current expenditures (elementary/secondary) are the expenditures for
operating local public schools excluding capital outlay and interest on
school debt. These expenditures include such items as salaries for
school personnel, fixed charges, student transportation, school books
and materials, and energy costs. Beginning in 1980-81, expenditures for
state administration are excluded.
Dropouts are persons who are not enrolled in school and who have not
completed high school. People who have received high school equivalency
credentials are counted as having completed high school.
Employment includes activities of civilian, noninstitutionalized persons
such as 1) paid work during any part of a survey week; work at their own
business, profession, or farm; or unpaid work for 15 hours or more in a
family-owned enterprise; or 2) temporary absence due to illness, bad
weather, vacation, labor-management dispute, or personal reasons,
whether or not another job is being sought.
Estimated pregnancy rate is the sum of births, plus abortions, plus
miscarriages. Miscarriages are estimated as 20 percent of all births and
to 10 percent of all abortions. Family is a group of two persons or more
(one of whom is the householder, see below) related by birth, marriage,
or adoption and residing together; all such persons (including related
subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. Beginning
with the 1980 Current Population Survey (CPS), members of unrelated
subfamilies (referred to in the past as secondary families) are not
included in the count of family members.
Family household is a household maintained by a family (as defined above),
and any unrelated persons (unrelated subfamily members, other
individuals, or both) who may be residing there. The number of family
households is equal to the number of families. The count of family
household members differs from the count of family members, however, in
that the family household members include all persons living in the
household, whereas family members include only the householder and
his/her relatives (see "family").
Household consists of all the persons who occupy a housing unit. A house,
an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room, is regarded as a
housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate
living quarters, that is, when the occupants do not live and eat with
any other person in the structure and there is direct access from the
outside or through a common hall. A household includes the related
family members and all the unrelated persons, if any, such as lodgers,
foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit. A
person living alone in a housing unit, or a group of unrelated persons
sharing a housing unit as partners, is also counted as a household. The
count of households excludes group quarters.
Householder refers to the person (or one of the persons) in whose name
the housing unit is owned or rented (maintained) or, if there is no such
person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees.
If the housing unit is owned or rented jointly by a married couple, the
householder may be either the husband or the wife. The person designated
as the householder is the "reference person" to whom the relations of
all other household members, if any, are recorded. Prior to 1980, the
husband was always considered the householder in married-couple
households. The number of householders is equal to the number of
households. Also, the number of family householders is equal to the
number of families.Labor force includes persons employed as civilians or
as members of the armed forces, as well as the unemployed (see below)
during survey week. The "civilian labor force" (see above) comprises all
civilians classified as employed or unemployed.
Labor force participation rate represents the proportion of the
noninstitutional population (see below) that is in the labor force. The
civilian labor force participation rate is the ratio of the civilian
labor force to the civilian noninstitutional population. Married couple
is defined for census purposes as a husband and wife enumerated as
members of the same household. The married couple may or may not have
children living with them. The expression "married-couple" before the
term "household", "family", or "subfamily" indicates that the household,
family or subfamily is maintained by a husband and wife. The number of
married couples equals the count of married-couple families plus related
and unrelated married-couple subfamilies.
Median is the measure of central tendency that occupies the middle
position in a rank order of values. It generally has the same number of
items above it as below it. If there is an even number of items in the
group, the median is taken to be the average of the middle two items.
Nonfamily householder is a person maintaining a household alone or with
nonrelatives only.
Noninstitutional population is all those who are not inmates of an
institution such as a home, school, hospital or ward for the physically
or mentally handicapped; a hospital or ward for mental, tubercular, or
chronic disease patients; a home for unmarried mothers; a nursing,
convalescent, or rest home for the aged and dependent; an orphanage; or
a correctional institution.
Own children are family members who are sons and daughters, including
stepchildren and adopted children, of the householder. "Own children" in
a subfamily are sons and daughters of the married couple or parent in
the subfamily.
Poverty is based on a definition developed by the Social Security
Administration in 1964 and revised in 1969 and 1981. The poverty index
provides a range of income cutoffs adjusted by such factors as family
size, sex of the family head, and number of children under 18 years old.
The poverty thresholds rise each year by the same percentage as the
annual average Consumer Price Index.
Racial/ethnic group is a classification that indicates racial or ethnic
heritage based on self-identification based on the Office of Management
and Budget standard classification scheme presented below. (Note that
two groups, American Indian or Alaskan Native and Asian or Pacific
Islander, are not presented in most indicators in this report because
separate data for these groups are unreliable because of small sample
sizes.)
White includes persons having origins in any of the original
peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. Normally
excludes persons of Hispanic origin except for tabulations produced
by the Bureau of the Census, which are noted accordingly in this
book.
Black includes those having origins in any of the black racial
groups of Africa. Normally excludes persons of Hispanic origin
except for tabulations produced by the Bureau of the Census, which
are noted accordingly in this book.
Black and other races includes all persons who identify themselves
in the enumeration process to be other than white. At the time of
the 1970 Census of Population, 89 percent of the black and other
population group were black; the remainder were American Indian,
Alaskan Natives, and Asian and Pacific Islanders. The term "black"
is used in this book when the relevant data are provided
exclusively for the black population.
Hispanic or Spanish origin are persons who identify themselves as
being of Hispanic or Spanish origin or descent. Persons of Hispanic
origin, in particular, are those who indicate that their origin is
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or some
other Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any
race. In the 1970 Census of Population, approximately 96 percent of
the Hispanic population were white.
Subfamily or related subfamily is a married couple with or without
children, or one parent with one or more own single (never-married)
children under 18 years old, living in a household and related to, but
not including, the person or couple who maintains the household. The
most common example of a related subfamily is a young married couple
sharing the home of the husband's or wife's parents. The number of
related subfamilies is not included in the count of families.
Total expenditures per pupil in average daily attendance includes all
expenditures allocable to per pupil costs divided by average daily
attendance. These allocable expenditures include current expenditures of
regular school programs, interest on school debt, and capital outlay.
Beginning in 1980- 81, expenditures for other programs (summer schools,
community colleges, and private schools) have been included.
Unemployed persons include all persons who did not work during the
survey week, who had made specific efforts to find a job within the past
4 weeks, and who were available for work during the survey week (except
for temporary illness). Also included as unemployed are those who did
not work at all, were available for work, and were waiting to be called
back to a job from which they had been laid off, or were waiting to
report to a new wage or salary job within 30 days.
Unemployment rate represents the number unemployed as a percent of the
civilian labor force (see above).Unrelated subfamily is a group of two
persons or more who are related to each other by birth, marriage, or
adoption, but who are not related to the householder. The unrelated
subfamily may include persons such as guests, roomers, boarders, or
resident employees and their relatives living in a household. The number
of unrelated subfamily members is included in the number of household
members but is not included in the count of family members.
Indicator 53. Volunteer Work and Community Affairs
Percent of high school seniors who participate in community affairs or
volunteer work by sex and race: 1980 to 1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Participation | 1980 | 1984 | 1986 | 1988 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994
------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------
All students
Almost everyday ........ 2.5 2.6 1.7 2.6 1.8 2.4 2.8 2.7 3.2
At least once a week ... 7.4 7.4 8.4 6.3 6.9 5.9 7.4 8.0 7.6
Once or twice a month .. 14.0 14.1 14.0 13.4 13.0 14.6 16.5 15.0 17.2
A few times a year ..... 45.2 44.9 44.9 45.4 43.3 44.6 41.7 44.0 44.8
Never .................. 30.9 31.0 31.0 32.3 35.1 32.4 31.6 30.3 27.2
Males
Almost everyday ........ 2.4 3.1 1.5 1.9 1.5 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.7
At least once a week ... 7.3 6.5 6.7 5.3 5.8 5.2 7.3 6.6 6.9
Once or twice a month .. 13.6 13.2 11.6 12.3 11.8 12.0 14.2 12.2 15.6
A few times a year ..... 44.2 40.1 43.2 43.9 43.1 42.0 41.4 44.5 43.3
Never .................. 32.6 37.2 37.1 36.5 37.8 38.2 34.5 34.3 31.4
Females
Almost everyday ........ 2.6 2.0 1.8 3.1 2.1 2.2 3.0 3.1 3.4
At least once a week ... 7.3 8.3 10.1 7.2 8.0 6.9 7.5 9.4 8.5
Once or twice a month .. 15.0 15.4 16.1 14.4 14.7 17.4 19.2 17.6 18.8
A few times a year ..... 46.6 49.8 46.9 47.4 43.7 47.1 42.4 44.3 46.3
Never .................. 28.6 24.4 25.1 27.9 31.5 26.5 27.9 25.7 23.0
Whites
Almost everyday ........ 2.2 2.3 1.2 2.6 1.4 1.8 2.6 2.5 2.9
At least once a week ... 7.0 6.5 7.7 5.6 7.2 6.1 7.9 7.7 7.5
Once or twice a month .. 14.8 14.8 14.4 13.8 13.4 14.4 17.6 15.5 17.2
A few times a year ..... 47.3 46.1 46.5 46.5 44.4 46.6 42.6 45.2 47.5
Never .................. 28.7 30.3 30.3 31.5 33.7 31.1 29.4 29.2 24.9
Blacks
Almost everyday ........ 3.9 4.1 2.9 3.0 4.8 4.5 3.5 3.9 4.9
At least once a week ... 8.9 10.1 12.3 8.9 5.2 7.3 5.9 9.9 8.7
Once or twice a month .. 13.2 12.5 14.0 14.5 14.4 14.5 16.8 16.0 17.2
A few times a year ..... 37.4 43.0 40.4 41.6 37.9 43.0 37.0 37.2 35.7
Never .................. 36.5 30.3 30.4 32.0 37.7 30.8 36.8 33.1 33.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future, various years.
Indicator 54. Religion
Religious involvement of high school seniors: 1976 to 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Attending religious services | Importance of religion in my life
| (in percent) | (in percent)
|-------------------------------|------------------------------------
Year | 1 to 2 |
| times per | Very Pretty A Not
|Weekly month Rarely Never |important important little important
--------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------
1976 .... 40.7 16.3 32.0 11.0 28.8 30.5 27.8 12.9
1978 .... 39.4 17.2 34.4 9.0 27.8 33.0 27.9 11.2
1980 .... 43.1 16.3 32.0 8.6 32.4 32.6 25.3 9.8
1982 .... 37.3 17.4 35.8 9.6 28.4 33.0 27.9 10.7
1984 .... 37.7 16.2 35.8 10.2 29.7 32.6 26.7 11.0
1985 .... 35.3 16.6 37.0 11.1 27.3 32.4 27.6 12.7
1986 .... 34.3 16.8 36.9 12.0 26.3 32.7 27.8 13.3
1987 .... 31.8 15.6 39.6 13.0 24.9 31.7 28.8 14.5
1988 .... 31.9 17.3 39.0 11.7 26.1 31.9 28.4 13.6
1989 .... 31.4 16.6 38.5 13.5 27.2 30.3 27.8 14.7
1990 .... 30.4 15.7 39.7 14.1 26.4 29.5 28.7 15.5
1991 .... 31.2 16.8 37.6 14.4 27.7 30.0 27.0 15.3
1992 .... 32.4 17.6 36.3 13.8 29.4 29.8 26.2 14.6
1993 .... 31.6 16.4 37.6 14.4 29.3 28.6 27.2 14.9
1994 .... 32.3 16.5 36.8 14.3 29.6 28.6 26.4 15.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Data not available.
/1/ Subcategories may not sum to total due to rounding.
/2/ Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases.
SOURCE: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future, various years.
Indicator 55. Values
Percent of 1972, 1982, and 1992 high school seniors who felt that
certain life values were "very important," by sex: 1974 to 1994
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|1972 seniors|1982 seniors| Percent of 1992 seniors
|in 1974 |in 1984 |-------------------------------
Values |(2 years |(2 years | | 1994 (2 years
| after high | after high | 1992 | after high
| school) | school) | | school)
|------------|------------|------------|------------------
|Male |Female|Male |Female|Male |Female|Total|Male |Female
----------------------------|-----|------|-----|------|-----|------|-----|-----|------
Being successful in work ... 81.2 74.9 88.7 84.2 89.0 89.6 90.1 89.9 90.3
Finding steady work ........ 74.7 59.9 87.4 83.3 87.1 88.6 89.7 88.7 90.7
Having lots of money ....... 17.8 9.1 35.8 20.9 45.3 29.4 35.2 39.5 30.9
Being a leader in the
community ................ 8.5 4.4 13.7 6.4 --- --- --- --- ---
Correcting inequalities .... 16.6 18.2 13.3 13.9 17.0 23.6 --- --- ---
Having children ............ --- --- 42.7 56.3 39.0 49.2 --- --- ---
Having a happy family life . 83.1 86.7 86.1 90.2 --- --- --- --- ---
Providing better opportu-
nities for my children ... 59.5 61.6 72.1 69.9 74.5 76.5 90.5 90.3 90.8
Living closer to parents
or relatives ............ 8.3 12.4 15.6 20.1 15.2 18.7 --- --- ---
Moving from area ........... 8.3 7.4 10.5 9.1 20.7 20.1 --- --- ---
Having strong friendships .. 76.5 74.7 80.1 79.7 79.8 80.0 87.6 88.1 87.0
Having leisure time ........ 60.9 55.1 74.5 72.0 65.3 62.0 --- --- ---
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Question not asked.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, "National Longitudinal Study" First Followup study, "High
School and Beyond" Second Followup survey, and "National Education
Longitudinal Study," Second and Third Followup surveys.
Indicator 56. Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction of the high school class of 1992 with their jobs, by sex,
high school program, and graduation status: 1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| High school graduates from the class of 1992, |
| not enrolled in postsecondary education\1\ |Dropouts\2\
|------------------------------------------------| and other
Job value | | Sex | High school program\3\ |noncompleters
|Total |-------------|---------------------------|
| | Male |Female|Academic|General|Vocational|
---------------------------------|------|------|------|--------|-------|----------|-----------
Job's pay and fringe benefits ... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 26.0 28.3 23.0 25.4 25.2 27.8 23.8
Somewhat satisfied ............ 50.7 51.0 50.2 52.9 50.2 53.0 48.4
Dissatisfied .................. 23.3 20.7 26.8 21.7 24.6 19.2 27.8
Importance and challenge ... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 34.9 36.2 33.3 32.8 33.7 38.0 30.7
Somewhat satisfied ............ 47.8 47.9 47.7 50.9 49.8 45.5 47.7
Dissatisfied .................. 17.3 15.9 19.1 16.3 16.6 16.5 21.6
Working conditions ........ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 41.8 39.4 45.0 41.9 41.4 44.5 36.9
Somewhat satisfied ............ 43.2 45.0 40.8 44.7 43.4 40.2 44.9
Dissatisfied .................. 15.0 15.6 14.1 13.5 15.3 15.4 18.2
Opportunity for promotion
and advancement ................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 30.6 33.3 27.0 30.0 30.4 30.7 27.8
Somewhat satisfied ............ 34.1 34.6 33.5 37.7 34.0 33.5 30.2
Dissatisfied .................. 35.3 32.1 39.5 32.3 35.6 35.9 42.0
Opportunity to use past
training and education ......... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 29.2 29.9 28.2 26.4 28.0 34.4 21.7
Somewhat satisfied ............ 41.1 41.4 40.8 42.5 41.6 38.8 40.9
Dissatisfied .................. 29.7 28.8 31.0 31.1 30.4 26.8 37.4
Security and permanence ........ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 43.2 44.6 41.4 47.3 42.2 46.3 36.3
Somewhat satisfied ............ 33.0 32.5 33.6 32.6 32.0 32.2 31.6
Dissatisfied .................. 23.8 22.9 25.1 20.1 25.8 21.5 32.1
Opportunity to further
education ...................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Very satisfied ................ 29.6 31.8 26.6 29.9 28.4 32.1 24.0
Somewhat satisfied ............ 31.9 32.1 31.7 34.4 32.4 31.7 28.0
Dissatisfied .................. 38.5 36.1 41.8 35.7 39.2 36.1 48.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/1/ Includes persons receiving diplomas and GED credentials by the
spring of 1994. Excludes working persons who were enrolled full-time or
part-time in postsecondary education. Persons not in labor force and
unemployed are excluded.
/2/ Dropouts from the class of 1992 may have left school any time after
the middle of the 8th grade. Also includes some who still enrolled in
high school in 1994.
/3/ Last high school program reported by students. Excludes students in
special education, alternative, and other programs.
NOTE: References to the class of 1992 are based on students who were 8th
graders in 1988 and who would be expected to have graduated in 1992.
This group includes students who did not complete high school until
later as well as persons who dropped out between 1988 and 1992.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, "National Education Longitudinal Study," Third Followup
survey.
Indicator 57. Attitudes Compared with Parents' Views
Percent of high school seniors indicating that they agree with their
parents on selected topics: 1975 to 1992
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | | |
Topic |1975 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
-----------------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
What to do with your life ... 67 74 72 72 72 71 73 71 70 73
How to dress ................ 63 68 66 65 64 64 63 62 62 63
How to spend money .......... 48 47 44 43 42 42 42 41 39 41
What is permitted on a date . 41 48 46 46 45 49 50 47 48 50
Value of an education ....... 82 87 87 87 87 87 87 86 86 87
Roles for women ............. 61 69 70 71 71 72 69 71 71 73
Environmental issues ........ 58 54 53 50 50 48 53 55 57 57
Racial issues ............... 56 61 63 62 62 63 64 64 67 66
Religion .................... 65 72 69 70 68 69 68 69 70 70
Politics .................... 49 49 52 49 46 46 51 48 51 49
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Includes students reporting "very similar" or "mostly similar" views.
SOURCE: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future, various years.
Indicator 58. Arrests
Number of arrests per 1,000 persons, by age: 1950 to 1993
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Number of arrests per 1,000 persons, by age\1\
Year ------------------------------------------------------
14 to 17 years\2\ 18 to 24 years 25 to 34 years
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1950 ..... 4.1 12.9 9.9
1955 ..... 21.2 20.0 20.1
1960 ..... 47.0 41.5 34.6
1965 ..... 75.9 52.8 40.0
1970 ..... 104.3 74.4 44.9
1975 ..... 121.3 89.5 49.4
1980 ..... 125.5 113.8 61.4
1981 ..... 130.5 119.1 66.2
1982 ..... 120.0 117.5 68.0
1983 ..... 117.3 118.3 71.6
1984 ..... 104.6 101.9 61.6
1985 ..... 118.6 117.0 72.7
1986 ..... 118.1 118.9 73.3
1987 ..... 123.1 122.8 78.0
1988 ..... 117.0 117.0 ---
1989 ..... 114.9 130.2 82.8
1990 ..... 131.8 126.2 83.7
1991 ..... 116.0 120.0 78.8
1992 ..... 126.9 129.5 87.5
1993 ..... 130.3 126.1 85.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-Data not available
/1/ Based on population in age group. Data do not indicate the
proportion of persons who have been arrested, since some individuals
have been arrested more than once.
/2/ The arrest rate is an approximation for years 1950 to 1960. The rate
for 1965 to 1990 is based on the number of arrests of all persons under
18 per 1,000 persons in the population 14 to 17 years old. The 14- to
17-year-old arrest rate includes arrests of persons aged 13 and younger.
1991 to 1993 data for 14- to 17-year-olds include arrests for
13-year-olds but does not include arrests for children 12 years old and
younger. Data for 1950 to 1960 and for 1991 to 1993 are not directly
comparable to data for 1965 to 1990.
NOTE: Some fluctuations in arrest rates are caused by changes in the
response rates of law enforcement agencies.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Historical
Statistics of the United States to 1975; and Statistical Abstract of the
United States, various years. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the United States,
various years.
Indicator 59. Types of Crime
Persons arrested, by type of charge and age: 1969 to 1993
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | Number of | Number of
| Arrests, 1993 \4\ | arrests per | arrests per
Charge | | 1,000 14- to 17- | 1,000 18- to 24-
|---------------------| year-olds\1\ | year-olds\1\
|Percent of|Percent of| |
|offenders |offenders |----------------------------|----------------------------
| under 18 | 18 to 24 |1969 | 1979 |1991\2\|1993\2\|1969 | 1979 |1991\4\|1993\4\
---------------------------|----------|----------|-----|------|-------|-------|-----|------|-------|-------
Total arrests .......... 17.1 27.5 96.5 129.0 116.0 130.3 66.2 110.0 120.0 126.1
Serious crimes\3\ .......... 29.3 25.9 34.4 50.5 48.7 45.2 13.9 23.9 24.2 24.4
Murder and nonnegligent
manslaughter ........... 16.2 41.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3
Forcible rape ............ 16.3 26.7 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3
Robbery .................. 28.2 33.7 1.6 2.5 2.7 3.1 1.4 1.9 1.9 2.0
Aggravated assault ....... 15.3 26.8 1.2 2.4 4.0 4.9 1.5 3.0 4.0 4.6
Burglary ................. 34.3 28.5 8.8 13.7 8.2 7.2 3.3 5.4 3.9 3.8
Larceny/theft ............ 31.3 23.4 17.4 26.7 27.5 23.8 5.5 11.3 11.7 11.4
Motor vehicle theft ...... 44.6 28.7 4.7 4.3 5.3 5.2 1.6 1.6 1.9 1.9
Arson .................... 49.3 17.0 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
All others\4\ .............. 14.0 28.8 62.1 64.0 82.0 85.7 52.1 57.4 95.6 104.7
Other assaults ........... 16.2 24.8 2.9 5.1 9.1 9.7 3.3 5.2 8.1 9.3
Forgery/counterfeiting ... 7.3 32.8 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.1
Fraud .................... 4.8 27.4 0.2 0.5 0.8 1.1 0.8 2.6 3.1 3.6
Stolen property .......... 27.0 34.0 0.9 2.1 2.6 2.5 0.7 1.4 1.8 1.8
Vandalism ................ 45.6 24.3 5.0 7.8 8.0 6.9 0.7 2.2 2.6 2.5
Weapons (carrying, etc.) . 23.3 35.9 1.0 1.5 2.8 3.5 1.3 1.9 2.4 3.1
Prostitution and
commercialized vice ..... 1.1 24.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.1 1.6 0.9 0.8
Sex offenses.............. 18.7 19.2 0.7 0.7 1.1 1.2 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7
Drug abuse ............... 9.6 31.9 3.7 6.9 4.5 6.6 5.3 8.7 9.7 12.1
Gambling ................. 7.6 20.7 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.1
Drunk driving ............ 0.9 22.2 0.3 1.8 1.0 0.8 2.8 13.0 12.0 10.7
Liquor law violations .... 21.9 52.0 4.6 8.4 7.8 6.5 4.5 6.2 9.6 8.5
Drunkenness .............. 2.3 20.8 2.8 2.8 1.2 1.0 8.8 10.1 5.8 4.9
Disorderly conduct ....... 20.0 30.3 7.5 7.6 7.4 7.9 8.0 9.8 7.2 7.2
Vagrancy ................. 13.0 21.3 0.7 0.3 0.1 0.2 1.6 0.5 0.2 0.2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/1/ Based on population in age group. Data do not indicate the
proportion of persons who have been arrested, since some individuals
have been arrested more than once. Arrests for those under 18 may
include some persons below 14 years old. Data for 1991 and 1993 include
all arrests of 13-year-olds.
/2/ Data since 1991 may not be comparable to previous years.
/3/ 1969 figures for serious crimes include data on manslaughter by
negligence.
/4/ Includes other charges not listed separately.
NOTE: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States,
1969, 1979, 1991, and 1993; Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census,
Current Population Reports, Series P-25, nos. 519, 917, and 1057.
Indicator 60. Educational Aspirations
Percent of seniors who plan to go to college after graduation and
educational aspirations, by selected characteristics: 1982 and 1992
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Planned timing of postsecondary| Level of educational aspiration
| attendance |-------------------------------------------------
|-----------------------------------| |Two years or | |
Student and school |Right after|A year or | No or |High school|less of col- | College | Postgrad-
characteristics |high school|more after |don't know | diploma |lege or voca-| graduate | uate
| |graduation | | or less |tional school| | degree
|-----------|-----------|-----------|----- -----|------ ------|----- -----|----- -----
|1982 |1992 |1982 |1992 |1982 |1992 |1982 |1992 | 1982 | 1992 |1982 |1992 |1982 |1992
---------------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----
All seniors................ 58.3 76.6 11.0 14.8 30.6 8.6 24.6 5.3 36.6 25.3 21.3 36.1 17.5 33.3
Male .................... 53.4 73.0 10.6 16.0 35.9 11.2 28.2 6.7 34.0 26.0 20.5 36.2 17.3 31.1
Female .................. 63.0 80.1 11.4 13.8 25.8 6.1 21.1 3.9 39.2 24.5 22.0 36.2 17.8 35.4
Race/ethnicity
White ................... 60.2 76.6 10.4 15.2 29.5 8.4 22.7 5.4 35.6 25.1 23.4 37.3 18.3 32.3
Black ................... 57.5 75.2 13.9 14.4 28.7 10.6 25.3 4.7 40.7 23.5 17.1 34.0 16.9 37.9
Hispanic ................ 45.6 75.4 13.3 15.4 41.1 9.4 35.4 6.3 39.8 31.3 13.3 31.6 11.5 30.8
Asian/Pacific Islander .. 81.7 83.4 7.7 11.0 10.9 5.7 11.8 2.9 28.4 19.1 23.5 35.7 36.4 42.3
American Indian/ ........ 48.5 65.7 12.3 20.8 39.3 13.5 31.2 9.2 45.2 30.0 12.1 25.8 11.5 35.0
Alaskan Native
Test performance quartile
Lowest .................. 32.8 59.3 13.6 18.5 53.6 22.3 45.3 13.4 42.7 47.8 6.4 20.8 5.6 18.0
Second .................. 45.2 71.2 12.6 18.7 42.3 10.1 33.7 6.9 45.5 38.8 13.1 33.2 7.7 21.2
Third ................... 61.9 81.2 11.7 14.0 26.4 4.8 19.0 3.4 40.3 21.5 26.0 44.0 14.7 31.1
Highest ................. 85.4 90.9 7.1 7.4 7.6 1.8 6.6 0.9 20.5 6.1 35.1 38.7 37.9 54.3
Socioeconomic status\1\
Low ..................... 38.3 60.3 13.4 22.3 48.3 17.5 40.9 11.5 40.5 41.1 11.6 27.1 6.9 20.2
Middle .................. 56.6 74.6 12.2 16.5 31.2 8.9 23.1 5.4 41.3 28.7 21.1 38.7 14.4 27.2
High .................... 82.8 91.1 6.5 6.5 10.7 2.6 9.0 1.3 23.6 9.4 32.1 37.4 35.3 51.9
Control of school
Public................... 56.0 74.8 11.4 15.9 32.5 9.3 26.1 5.8 37.7 27.1 20.2 35.3 16.1 31.9
Catholic................. 80.0 93.0 6.5 5.0 13.6 2.1 12.0 0.7 26.7 10.1 32.5 47.7 28.8 41.5
Other private............ 77.3 92.0 8.9 3.6 13.8 4.4 11.1 1.5 28.1 7.9 27.2 37.4 33.6 53.2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/1/ Socioeconomic status was measured by a composite score on parental
education and occupation, and family income. The "low" SES group is the
lowest quartile; the "middle" SES group is the middle two quartiles; and
the "high" SES group is the upper quartile.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, "High School and Beyond," First Followup survey; and
"National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988," Second Followup survey.