A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

A Look at Today's Youth

More of today's young people finish college; marry at a later age; participate in extracurricular activities; value work, family, and friends; and take longer to leave home. They are also more likely to be living in a single-parent family.

These are some of the statistical findings from Youth Indicators 1996, a new report from OERI's National Center for Education Statistics. The report offers a composite picture of American youth and the environment in which they live and learn. Its 69 indicators cover such diverse topics as family structure and income, school, employment, extracurricular activities, health, dropouts, and citizenship and values.

This edition of Youth Indicators highlights high school graduates and dropouts entering the workforce and forming families. This report also offers a historical perspective, since many of the indicators contain data as far back as 1950. For example, between 1950 and 1995, the percentage of 25- to 29-year-olds who had completed high school rose from 53 percent to 87 percent and the percentage who had completed college rose from 8 percent to 25 percent.

Copies of Youth Indicators 1996 are available for $12 from the Government Printing Office, stock #065-000-00898-0. See ordering information.
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[Georgraphy Updated]

[New Adult Learning and Literacy Research Center]