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The percentage of young adults in the United States attaining higher levels of education than previous generations has fallen for many minorities and has stalled for young adults overall, a new report from the American Council on Education finds.

Funded by the GE Foundation, the report, Minorities in Higher Education 2008 Twenty-Third Status Report, found that in 2006 the overall percentage of young adults ages 25 to 29 and adults ages 30 and older with at least an associate's degree was about the same (approximately 35 percent). For Hispanics and Native Americans, however, young adults have less education than previous generations. In the same year, 18 percent and 21 percent of older Hispanics and Native Americans, respectively, had at least an associate's degree, compared with 16 percent of young Hispanics and 18 percent of young Native Americans.

The postsecondary educational attainment rates of African Americans remained relatively stable for both age groups, at approximately 24 percent. Asian Americans and whites were the only groups in which young adults were more educated than prior generations, with 66 percent of young Asian Americans and 41 percent of young whites holding at least an associate's degree, compared with 54 percent of older Asian Americans and 37 percent of older whites.

The report also found that total minority enrollment at the nation's colleges and universities rose by almost 50 percent between 1995 and 2005, from 3.4 million students to 5 million students, while white enrollment increased by 8 percent, from 9.9 million to 10.7 million. Despite the gains in enrollment rates for young people from all races, progress was uneven and gaps widened. In 2006, 61 percent of Asian Americans ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college, compared with 44 percent of whites, 32 percent of African Americans, and 25 percent of Hispanics and Native Americans.

"It appears we are at a tipping point in our nation's history," said ACE president Molly Corbett Broad. "One of the core tenets of the American dream is the hope that younger generations, who've had greater opportunities for educational advancement than their parents and grandparents, will be better off than the generations before them, yet this report shows that aspiration is at serious risk."

“Generational Gains in Postsecondary Education Appear To Have Stalled, New ACE Report Finds.” American Council on Education Press Release 10/09/08.