RGED is a recode variable that indicates whether and how a respondent completed high school. When completing the survey, respondents age 18+ with less than a high school credential (EEDUC lt 39) are asked whether they completed a GED or similar equivalency program. Additionally, all respondents age 15+ with at least a high school credential (EEDUC ge 39) indicate how they obtained their high school credential (i.e., diploma or equivalency exam). These are internal variables not available to the public and are used to construct RGED.

The universe for RGED is currently TAGE ge 18. This age restriction omits respondents aged 15 to 17 with a high school credential from being assigned an RGED value. Because RGED is constructed using internal variables, data users cannot correct this issue; however, data users can identify which respondents are missing by setting TAGE to 15:17 and EEDUC ge 39.