For directions on reading the variable description see Data Dictionary Introduction.

Availability: 
 

1850	1860	1870	1880	1900	1910	1920	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
							X	SL	X	X	X

Universe: 
1940: All persons. 
1950: All sample-line persons. 
1960: Persons age 5+. 
1970: Persons age 3+. 
1980: Persons age 3+. 

Codes and Frequencies - General, Detailed

Description: 
HIGRADE indicates the highest grade of school attended or completed by the respondent. The general code gives the highest grade completed. The detail codes for 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1980 identify persons who began but did not finish the next grade, or who were still attending that grade at census time. (The IPUMS variable SCHOOL, available for all years, identifies persons who attended school during each year.) 

Comparability: 
While this variable is generally comparable across years, some censuses did not include some types of schooling that other years did count—see SCHOOL. Furthermore, the variable contains higher topcodes for later years than for earlier ones. 

In 1940, 1950, and 1980, persons who attended ungraded schools or schools in foreign countries were instructed to estimate the American grade equivalent of their education. This is probably what respondents did in 1960 and 1970 as well, but they were not specifically instructed to do so. 

In 1980, persons who had passed a high school equivalency examination (such as the GED) were to indicate that they had attended and completed the 12^th grade. The 1990 census asked respondents to describe their "educational attainment," a concept not precisely comparable with that used for HIGRADE—see the IPUMS variable EDUC99. The IPUMS variable EDUCREC attempts to integrate HIGRADE with EDUC99. 

Flags: QEDUC 

Topcodes: 
1940: 5 years of college 
1950: 5 years of college 
1960: 6 years of college 
1970: 6 years of college 
1980: 8 years of college 

Census Questions:
1940   1950   1960   1970   1980

Enumerator Instructions:
1940   1950   1960   1970   1980