Graduates in all racial/ethnic groups earned on average more credits in core academic courses in 2009 than they earned in either 1990 or 2005.
Graduates in all racial/ethnic groups earned on average more credits in other academic courses in 2009 than in 1990. Only White and Asian/Pacific Islander graduates earned more credits in other academic courses in 2009 than in 2005.
White, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander graduates on average earned fewer credits in other courses (i.e., not core or other academic) in 2009 than they earned in 1990. The apparent decrease in average credits for Black graduates was not significant. Only Asian/Pacific Islander graduates earned fewer credits in 2009 than in 2005.
Trend in average credits earned, by course type and race/ethnicity: 1990-2009
| 1990 |
1994 |
1998 |
2000 |
2005 |
2009 |
| Average credits earned |
Standard error |
Average credits earned |
Standard error |
Average credits earned |
Standard error |
Average credits earned |
Standard error |
Average credits earned |
Standard error |
Average credits earned |
Standard error |
|---|
| White |
13.7 |
* |
(0.08) |
14.4 |
* |
(0.08) |
14.7 |
* |
(0.10) |
15.1 |
* |
(0.10) |
15.7 |
* |
(0.06) |
16.0 |
|
(0.06) |
|---|
| Black |
13.7 |
* |
(0.15) |
14.0 |
* |
(0.09) |
14.4 |
* |
(0.15) |
14.9 |
* |
(0.13) |
15.7 |
* |
(0.11) |
16.1 |
|
(0.08) |
|---|
| Hispanic |
13.3 |
* |
(0.17) |
13.9 |
* |
(0.14) |
13.9 |
* |
(0.18) |
14.5 |
* |
(0.38) |
14.9 |
* |
(0.10) |
15.3 |
|
(0.07) |
|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
14.4 |
* |
(0.15) |
14.9 |
* |
(0.13) |
15.2 |
* |
(0.12) |
15.6 |
* |
(0.32) |
16.1 |
* |
(0.12) |
16.6 |
|
(0.14) |
|---|
| White |
3.6 |
* |
(0.07) |
4.1 |
* |
(0.07) |
4.6 |
* |
(0.10) |
4.9 |
* |
(0.10) |
5.1 |
* |
(0.05) |
5.4 |
|
(0.06) |
|---|
| Black |
3.1 |
* |
(0.11) |
3.3 |
* |
(0.11) |
4.0 |
* |
(0.18) |
4.5 |
|
(0.13) |
4.6 |
|
(0.11) |
4.7 |
|
(0.08) |
|---|
| Hispanic |
4.0 |
* |
(0.16) |
4.3 |
* |
(0.10) |
4.8 |
* |
(0.16) |
4.8 |
* |
(0.12) |
5.2 |
|
(0.09) |
5.1 |
|
(0.08) |
|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
4.3 |
* |
(0.34) |
4.6 |
* |
(0.25) |
5.0 |
* |
(0.14) |
5.5 |
|
(0.17) |
5.5 |
* |
(0.10) |
5.8 |
|
(0.08) |
|---|
| White |
6.3 |
* |
(0.11) |
6.0 |
|
(0.11) |
6.1 |
|
(0.16) |
6.4 |
* |
(0.16) |
6.2 |
|
(0.08) |
6.0 |
|
(0.11) |
|---|
| Black |
6.7 |
|
(0.19) |
6.4 |
|
(0.12) |
6.4 |
|
(0.16) |
6.5 |
|
(0.20) |
6.5 |
|
(0.10) |
6.5 |
|
(0.13) |
|---|
| Hispanic |
6.6 |
* |
(0.16) |
6.0 |
|
(0.06) |
6.7 |
* |
(0.18) |
6.4 |
|
(0.16) |
6.2 |
|
(0.10) |
6.1 |
|
(0.13) |
|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
5.5 |
* |
(0.20) |
5.2 |
* |
(0.20) |
5.2 |
* |
(0.15) |
5.1 |
* |
(0.16) |
5.0 |
* |
(0.10) |
4.7 |
|
(0.12) |
|---|
* Significantly different (p<.05) from 2009.
NOTE: Core academic courses are English, mathematics, science, and social studies. Other academic courses are fine arts, foreign languages, and computer-related studies. Other courses include courses such as vocational education, personal health, and physical education. Black includes African American, Hispanic includes Latino, Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, High School Transcript Study (HSTS), various years, 1990-2009.