Participation, Persistence, and Attainment Rates: The US Standing

Writing in International Higher Education, Arthur M. Haputman compares metrics from other OECD countries and the US regarding persistence and attainment, describing some of the ways in which the apples and oranges differ:

Attainment in the United States really consists of two stories—one that relates to bachelor's degrees and the other to subbachelor's degrees such as associate's degrees awarded by community colleges. In terms of bachelor's degrees, the United States has ranked at the top of OECD countries for several decades. This continues to be the case; the United States is tied with Norway as having the highest rate among all adult workers (30 percent). But when attainment rates for bachelor's degrees among the youngest workers are compared, several OECD countries now have higher rates as their systems are growing rapidly while the United States has matured and reached an equilibrium point. . . . One key conclusion from this analysis is that a key challenge for the United States is to figure out how to improve the degree completion rate of its community college students.