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Would-be mathematicians, engineers, and accountants usually take advanced math in high school. But so do many aspiring librarians, writers, and anyone else who wants to earn a college degree. In part, that's because people who take advanced math in high school are more likely to complete a college degree, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The data show that over 60 percent of students who took a trigonometry, precalculus, or calculus class in high school earned a bachelor's or higher degree. Even finishing lower levels of high school math increased students' odds of earning a degree, however--and the odds increased with each additional math class completed. For example, students who took high school math through Algebra 1 earned college degrees 10 percent of the time. more than twice the rate of those who didn't take algebra. Taking geometry in high school more than doubled the degree-completion rate (22 percent), and students whose highest math class was Algebra 2 nearly doubled that rate (40 percent). Taking trigonometry raised the degree-completion rate to 62 percent.

Not surprisingly, most students who studied calculus in high school went on to complete a bachelor's or higher degree. Students who stopped at precalculus earned college degrees 75 percent of the rime; those who continued taking math through calculus had an 83-percent completion rate.

Data are from a September 2003 report, "Postsecondary Attainment, Attendance, Curriculum, and Performance: Selected Results From the NELS: 88/2000 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study, 2000." The report examines the high school and posthigh school transcripts for a group of 1992 high school graduates who attended postsecondary institutions between 1992 and 2000. The data were collected as part of a National Educational Longitudinal Study.

The full report is available online at nces.ed.gov/ pubs2003/2003394.pdf. For more information, write the National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K St. NW., Washington, DC 20006. Or call toll-free, 1 (877) 4-ED-PUBS (433-7827), or call (202) 502-7300.