Educational attainment means the highest level of education a person has successfully completed, usually proven by a certificate, diploma, or degree.

Quick Scoop: Core Idea

When someone asks, “What is your educational attainment?”, they’re asking about the top formal qualification you’ve finished, not what you’re currently studying.

It’s used in statistics and surveys to describe the overall education level of people or groups (for example, all adults aged 25–64 in a country).

Simple Examples

Here are clear examples of educational attainment:

  • Finished Grade 10 but did not finish high school → “Completed some secondary education.”
  • Got a high school diploma or GED → “High school graduate (secondary diploma).”
  • Completed a 1‑ or 2‑year college/technical program → “Postsecondary certificate or diploma (non‑degree).”
  • Finished a 4‑year college program → “Bachelor’s degree.”
  • Finished a Master’s program → “Master’s degree.”
  • Completed medical school, law school, or a PhD → “Doctoral or professional degree.”

A concrete illustration: a report might say, “Nearly 50% of registered nurses have a Bachelor’s degree and about 9% have a Master’s degree,” describing their educational attainment levels.

How It’s Measured Today

Governments and organizations usually measure educational attainment by:

  • Asking “What is the highest qualification you have completed?” and classifying answers into levels (e.g., below upper secondary, upper secondary, tertiary).
  • Using census or survey data to show what share of a population has reached each level (for example, what percentage of adults have a tertiary/college degree).

For instance, across OECD countries, about 40% of adults 25–64 have a tertiary credential (college or higher), about 40% have upper secondary or postsecondary non‑tertiary, and about 20% have not finished upper secondary.

Mini Story Example

Imagine three friends filling out a job application:

  • Ana stopped school after completing Grade 11. Her educational attainment is “some secondary education, no diploma.”
  • Ben graduated high school and then earned a 2‑year technical diploma. His educational attainment is “postsecondary non‑degree diploma.”
  • Cara finished a Bachelor’s in Business, then a Master’s in Data Science. Her educational attainment is “Master’s degree” (that’s her highest completed level).

Even though all three studied, the attainment is always the highest level each one actually completed and has a qualification for.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.