This indicator measures the percentage of adults in the United States between 25 and 34 years old who have at least an associate degree. The indicator is important in assessing the postsecondary attainment of a new generation of workers in the United States. It can be used to monitor the progress that America makes toward the goal of being a world leader in educational attainment.

Although completion rate refer only to the percentage of students who enter a college or university and who actually go on to earn their degree (associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral) at that particular institution, the completion rate refers to the percentage of the population that eventually goes on to earn a college degree. Current completion rate metrics for colleges and universities currently do not account for those who persist to earn degrees after the specified time period (e.g., four years, six years or eight years), and do not currently count the percentage of part-time students or transfer students who go on to earn degrees. However, attainment rates capture those students who are currently left out of the definition of completion rates. Also, because of the attainment level goals that have been set by the Obama Administration, Lumina Foundation and the College Board, attainment sets goals for both access and completion.

While colleges and universities could decrease access in an effort to meet narrow completion goals, the same cannot be said for broader attainment goals that are also concerned about the percentage of the population who earn a degree. Although degree production is yet another way to measure the attainment goal that also accounts for part-time students and those who transfer, they are imperfect in determining institutional efficiency (e.g., time to degree) for colleges and universities. For example, even through colleges and universities could meet degree production goals, students could take 10 years to complete these degrees, and that would not be an efficient use of money when the expectation is from four years to six years. However, it is hard to ignore the fact that it is taking students more time to graduate from college because of many factors, including inadequate amounts of financial aid available to students, the under-preparedness of students entering colleges and universities and requiring remediation, and student responsibilities outside of school (in addition to other student, institutional and environmental factors).

For the United States to make headway in reaching the goal of 55 percent of young American adults with an associate degree or higher, all Americans must have the preparation and resources to access and successfully complete a higher education. A major part of the challenge lies in diminishing disparities in primary and secondary education so that low-income students and underrepresented minority populations have the Lumina Foundation needed to complete degrees without adversely affecting other populations. For this reason, we must monitor the educational attainment of all citizens, as well as further analyze the educational attainment of each race/ethnicity and income group.