Data Dictionary: Census 2000
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Survey: Census 2000
Data Source:U.S. Census Bureau
Table: P148G. Sex By Educational Attainment For The Population 25+ Years (Two Or More Races) [17]
Universe: Two or more races population 25 years and over
Table Details
P148G. Sex By Educational Attainment For The Population 25+ Years (Two Or More Races)
Universe: Two or more races population 25 years and over
Relevant Documentation:
Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Sex
The data on sex, which was asked of all people, were derived from answers to long-form questionnaire Item 3 and short-form questionnaire Item 5. Individuals were asked to mark either "male" or "female" to indicate their sex. For most cases in which sex was not reported, it was determined from the persons given (i.e., first) name and household relationship. Otherwise, sex was imputed according to the relationship to the householder and the age of the person. (For more information on imputation, see "Accuracy of the Data.")

Sex ratio
A measure derived by dividing the total number of males by the total number of females, and then multiplying by 100. This measure is rounded to the nearest tenth.

Comparability
A question on the sex of individuals has been included in every census. Census 2000 was the first time that first name was used for imputation of cases where sex was not reported.

Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Educational Attainment
Data on educational attainment were derived from answers to long-form questionnaire Item 9, which was asked of a sample of the population. Data on attainment are tabulated for the population 25 years old and over. However, when educational attainment is cross-tabulated by other variables, the universe may change. (For example, when educational attainment is crossed by disability status, the data are tabulated for the civilian noninstitutionalized population 18 to 34 years old.) People are classified according to the highest degree or level of school completed.

The order in which degrees were listed on the questionnaire suggested that doctorate degrees were "higher" than professional school degrees, which were "higher" than master's degrees. The question included instructions for people currently enrolled in school to report the level of the previous grade attended or the highest degree received. Respondents who did not report educational attainment or enrollment level were assigned the attainment of a person of the same age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, occupation and sex, where possible, who resided in the same or a nearby area. Respondents who filled more than one box were edited to the highest level or degree reported.

The question included a response category that allowed respondents to report completing the 12th grade without receiving a high school diploma. It allowed people who received either a high school diploma or the equivalent, for example, passed the Test of General Educational Development (G.E.D.) and did not attend college, to be reported as "high school graduate(s)." The category "Associate degree" included people whose highest degree is an associate degree, which generally requires 2 years of college level work and is either in an occupational program that prepares them for a specific occupation, or an academic program primarily in the arts and sciences. The course work may or may not be transferable to a Bachelor's degree. master's degrees include the traditional MA and MS degrees and field-specific degrees, such as MSW, MEd, MBA, MLS, and MEng. Some examples of professional degrees include medicine, dentistry, chiropractic, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, podiatry, veterinary medicine, law, and theology. Vocational and technical training, such as barber school training; business, trade, technical, and vocational schools; or other training for a specific trade, are specifically excluded.

High school graduate or higher
This category includes people whose highest degree was a high school diploma or its equivalent, people who attended college but did not receive a degree, and people who received a college, university, or professional degree. People who reported completing the 12th grade but not receiving a diploma are not high school graduates.

Not enrolled, not high school graduate
This category includes people of compulsory school attendance age or above who were not enrolled in school and were not high school graduates. These people may be referred to as "high school dropouts." However, there is no criterion regarding when they "dropped out" of school, so they may have never attended high school.

Comparability
From 1840 to 1930, the census measured educational attainment by means of a basic literacy question. In 1940, a single question was asked on highest grade of school completed. In the 1950 to 1980 censuses, a two-part question was used to construct highest grade or year of school completed. The question asked (1) the highest grade of school attended and (2) whether that grade was finished. For people who have not attended college, the response categories in the current educational attainment question should produce data that are comparable to data on highest grade completed from earlier censuses. For people who attended college, there is less comparability between years of school completed and highest degree.

Beginning in 1990, the response categories for people who have attended college were modified from earlier censuses because there was some ambiguity in interpreting responses in terms of the number of years of college completed. For instance, it was not clear whether "completed the fourth year of college," "completed the senior year of college," and "college graduate" were synonymous. Research conducted shortly before the 1990 census suggests that these terms were more distinct than in earlier decades, and this change may have threatened the ability to estimate the number of "college graduates" from the number of people reported as having completed the fourth or a higher year of college. It was even more difficult to make inferences about post-baccalaureate degrees and "Associate" degrees from highest year of college completed. Thus, comparisons of post-secondary educational attainment in the 2000 and 1990 censuses with data from the earlier censuses should be made with great caution.

Changes between 1990 and Census 2000 were slight. The two associate degree categories in 1990 were combined into one for Census 2000. "Some college, no degree" was split into two categories, "Some college credit, but less than 1 year," and "1 or more years of college, no degree." Prior to 1990, the college levels reported began with "Completed 1 year of college." Beginning in 1990, the first category was "Some college, no degree," which allowed people with less than 1 year of college to be given credit for college. Prior to 1990, they were included in "High school, 4 years." The two revised categories will accommodate comparisons with either data series and allow the tabulation of students who completed at least 1 year of college, as some data users wish. This will not change the total number who completed some college.

The category "12th grade, no diploma" was counted as high school completion or "Completed high school, 4 years" prior to 1990 and as "Less than high school graduate" in 1990 and 2000. In the 1960 and subsequent censuses, people for whom educational attainment was not reported were assigned the same attainment level as a similar person whose residence was in the same or a nearby area. In the 1940 and 1950 censuses, people for whom educational attainment was not reported were not allocated.

In censuses prior to 1990, "median school years completed" was used as a summary measure of educational attainment. Using the current educational attainment question, the median can only be calculated for groups of which less than half the members have attended college. "Percent high school graduate or higher" and "percent Bachelor's degree or higher" are summary measures that can be calculated from the present data and offer quite readily interpretable measures of differences between population subgroups.

Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Two or more races
People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses. The race response categories shown on the questionnaire are collapsed into the five minimum races identified by the OMB, and the Census Bureau "Some other race" category. For data product purposes, "Two or more races" refers to combinations of two or more of the following race categories:
  1. White
  2. Black or African American
  3. American Indian and Alaska Native
  4. Asian
  5. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
  6. Some other race
There are 57 possible combinations (see below) involving the race categories shown above. Thus, according to this approach, a response of "White" and "Asian" was tallied as two or more races, while a response of "Japanese" and "Chinese" was not because "Japanese" and "Chinese" are both Asian responses. Tabulations of responses involving reporting of two or more races within the American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander categories are available in other data products.

Two or More Races (57 Possible Specified Combinations)
1. White; Black or African American
2. White; American Indian and Alaska Native
3. White; Asian
4. White; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
5. White; Some other race
6. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native
7. Black or African American; Asian
8. Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
9. Black or African American; Some other race
10. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
11. American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
12. American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
13. Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
14. Asian; Some other race
15. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
16. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native
17. White; Black or African American; Asian
18. White; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
19. White; Black or African American; Some other race
20. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
21. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
22. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
23. White; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
24. White; Asian; Some other race
25. White; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
26. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
27. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
28. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
29. Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
30. Black or African American; Asian; Some other race
31. Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
32. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
33. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
34. American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
35. Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
36. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
37. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
38. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
39. White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
40. White; Black or African American; Asian; Some other race
41. White; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
42. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
43. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
44. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
45. White; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
46. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
47. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
48. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
49. Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
50. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
51. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
52. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
53. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
54. White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
55. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
56. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
57. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race

Given the many possible ways of displaying data on two or more races, data products will provide varying levels of detail. The most common presentation shows a single line indicating "Two or more races." Some data products provide totals of all 57 possible combinations of two or more races, as well as subtotals of people reporting a specific number of races, such as people reporting two races, people reporting three races, and so on.

In other presentations on race, data are shown for the total number of people who reported one of the six categories alone or in combination with one or more other race categories. For example, the category, "Asian alone or in combination with one or more other races" includes people who reported Asian alone and people who reported Asian in combination with White, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Some other race. This number, therefore, represents the maximum number of people who reported as Asian in the question on race. When this data presentation is used, the individual race categories will add to more than the total population because people may be included in more than one category.

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