A report issued by the Lumina Foundation finds that 39.4 percent of Americans ages 25 to 64 have a two- or four-year college degree, an increase from 37.8 percent reported last year.
The report reflects education levels in 2012. Lumina still finds equity gaps in completion rates and notes that some other countries surpass the United States in higher education attainment. (The Lumina Foundation supports coverage of P-16 alignment in Education Week.)
Fifty-nine percent of working-age Asian-Americans and 44 percent of whites hold a postsecondary degree, according to the report. Meanwhile, 28 percent of black adults, 23 percent of Native Americans, and 20 percent of Latinos have a college education. And college-going rates are increasing for all groups.
The U.S. ranks 11th globally in postsecondary education attainment, the report finds.