What percentage of US whites, blacks, hispanics, etc. have high school
diplomas?  How has the answer to this question changed over time?

Hello mrd7742-ga,

The Statistical Abstracts of the United States, published by the US
Census Bureau, has the information for the years between 1960 and
2004.  The data shown below are the percentage of adults 25 years and
older who are high school graduates or more.

2004:
Total:                      85.2
White:                      85.8 
Black:                      80.6
Asian:                      86.8
Hispanic:                   58.4

2003:
Total:                      84.6
White:                      85.1 
Black:                      80.0
Asian:                      87.6
Hispanic:                   57.0

2002:
Total:                      84.1
White:                      84.8 
Black:                      78.7
Asian and Pacific Islander: 87.4
Hispanic:                   57.0

2001:
Total:                      84.1
White:                      84.8
Black:                      78.8
Asian and Pacific Islander: 87.6
Hispanic:                   56.8

2000:
Total:                      84.1
White:                      84.9
Black:                      78.5
Asian and Pacific Islander: 85.7
Hispanic:                   57.0


1995:
Total:                      81.7
White:                      83.0
Black:                      73.8
Asian and Pacific Islander: NA
Hispanic:                   53.4

1990:
Total:                      77.6
White:                      79.1
Black:                      66.2
Asian and Pacific Islander: 80.4
Hispanic:                   50.8

1980:
Total:                      66.5
White:                      68.8
Black:                      51.2
Asian and Pacific Islander: NA
Hispanic:                   44.0

1970:
Total:                      52.3
White:                      54.5
Black:                      31.4
Asian and Pacific Islander: NA
Hispanic:                   32.1

1960:
Total:                      41.1
White:                      43.2
Black:                      20.1
Asian and Pacific Islander: NA
Hispanic:                   NA

I trust that this is what you're looking for.  If you need
clarification or this information in another format, please use the
request for clarificiation feature to request for it before rating
this answer.

Source:
Educational Attainment by Race and Hispanic Origins:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/06statab/educ.pdf p. 147

secret901-ga