High school completion among American adults doubled from 41 to 82 percent by 1998

Evidence

Although it is widely recognized that Americans today are better educated than our parents and grandparents, it is less often appreciated how massively and rapidly this trend transformed the educational composition of the adult population. As recently as 1960, only 41 percent of American adults had graduated from high school; in 1998, 82 percent had. In 1960, only 8 percent of American adults had a college degree; in 1998, 24 percent had. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 614

Categorization

• CANDY: The bare 41-to-82 and 8-to-24 statistics are quick, striking facts for conversation.