# Educational Attainment

**URL:** <https://forum.ipums.org/t/educational-attainment/3415>\
**Category:** CPS\
**Created:** [March 18, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/educational-attainment/3415 "2020-03-18T23:04:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sheldon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sheldon](https://forum.ipums.org/u/sheldon)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/educational-attainment/3415/1 "2020-03-18T23:04:30Z")

</div>

I have a question about the variable educ in IPUMS-CPS. When I plot the percentage of individuals having a high school degree (educ=73) over time I see a big increase in 1992. I see a similar pattern for college or more (educ\>110) as well as a reverse pattern for strictly less than high school education (educ\<73) and some college (80\<=educ\<=110). If I plot the percentage of individuals with high school or less (educ\<=73) or individuals with more than high school (educ\>73) over time, I don’t see big jumps and the time series are smooth. I think it has to do with the change in 1992 from highest grade attained to completed degree. So, I just wanted to make sure that my thinking is correct, and that the only educational categories that can be used consistently over time are high school or less (educ\<=73) and individuals with more than high school (educ\>73).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Matthew\_Bombyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Matthew\_Bombyk](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Matthew_Bombyk)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/educational-attainment/3415/2 "2020-03-20T21:43:11Z")

</div>

Your thinking is correct about this, although there are more comparable categories available beyond “HS or less” and “more than HS.” The [comparability page for EDUC](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/EDUC#comparability_section) notes:

> To maximize comparability across time, users should use **only the first two digits of EDUC**. In all years, these two digits will indicate the highest grade or year of schooling completed through the end of high school.
> 
> Prior to 1992, while it is known how many years of higher education was completed, there is no way to know definitively whether completing these years resulted in a degree.