Introduction

This report compares data from the American Community Survey (ACS) with data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). This report focuses on national level comparisons between the 2004 ACS and the 2004 ASEC of the distribution of educational attainment of the population 25 years and over and the proportions of the population 25 years and over with at least a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree by a number of demographic characteristics. This report also compares the proportions of the adult population with a high school diploma or higher and a bachelor’s degree or higher, by state, between the two surveys. It then notes variations that are both statistically and substantively different, and for those found, offers possible explanations.