5-Education

More Selected Reserve NPS recruits completed high school than was the case for their civilian peers, as indicated in Table 5.6. Approximately 938 percent of FY 1999 Selected Reserve NPs accessions were in Tiers 1 (high school graduates) and 2 (alternative credentials), compared to 79 percent of 18- to 24-year-old civilians. The most marked differences among the Reserve Components in FY 1999 high school graduate NPs recruits were between the Army and "non-Army" Components. In the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, 91 and 71 percent, of NPs enlistees were high school diploma graduates, respectively. In comparison, the USMCR, accessed 97 percent NPs high school graduates. The percentage in Tier 1 for the Army Reserve and the USAFR decreased between FY 1998 and 1999 (from 77 and 96 percent to 71 and 93 percent, respectively). The Army National Guard increased by 4 percentage points while the USMCR and ANG remained the same from 1998 to 1999. The Army National Guard and Air National Guard had the highest proportion of Tier 2 accessions (8 and 613 percent, respectively). The Army Reserve experienced a significant increase in Tier 3 accessions from 20 percent in FY 1998 to 27 percent in FY 1999.

College experience refers to individuals who have completed at least one semester in junior college or a 4-year institution. The USNR had, by far, the highest proportion of accessions with college experience (36 percent), in part, due to college credit given by the Navy for technical training through their TechPrep program. Most enlisted occupations are generally comparable to civilian jobs not requiring college education.

Table 5.6. FY 1999 Selected Reserve Non-Prior Service Enlisted Accessions, by Education Tier and Component, and Civilians 18–24 Years Old (Percent)
Education Tier	Army National Guard	Army Reserve	Naval Reserve	Marine Corps Reserve	Air National Guard	Air Force Reserve	Total DoD	18- to 24-Year-Old Civilians*
Tier 1 Regular High School Graduate or Higher**	91.0	71.4	97.6	96.5	92.5	92.7	87.3	78.8
Tier 2 GED, Alternative Credentials	8.1	1.5	0.9	3.4	5.6	2.8	5.4
Tier 3: No Credentials	0.8	27.1	1.5	0.1	2.0	4.6	7.3	21.2
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
College Experience (Part of Tier 1)¹	2.**	4.1**	35.7**	3.8**	5.0**	6.4**	4.8**	45.9**
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. Civilian percentages combine Tiers 1 and 2. *Tier 1 includes members still in high school. ¹ These military data represent only Selected Reserve NPS enlisted accessions. Officers, who usually have college degrees, are not included. See Chapter 6 for a discussion of Reserve officers. Also see Appendix Tables C-7 (Education by Component and Gender) and C-8 (Education by Component and Race/Ethnicity). Source: Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, October 1998 – September 1999.