This report provides an overview of the available racial and ethnic data on high school completion rates, college participation and enrollment trends, and degrees conferred for the period 1972-1992. Major data sources are reports of the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the National Center for Education Statistics. The report also includes a special focus on efforts to improve the retention of students of color in higher education. The focus provides detailed national persistence and completion data for African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and American Indians at 2-year institutions, 4-year institutions, and graduate and professional programs. Trends identified include the following: (1) the gender gap in the high school completion rate continues especially for Hispanics, with males graduating at a rate of 52 percent and females at a rate of 62.8 percent in 1992, while overall Hispanics still trail African Americans and whites by a large margin in overall high school completion rates; (2) the high school completion rate for African Americans is 74.2 percent in 1992, or down two percentage points since 1990; (3) Hispanics and African Americans remain under-represented in higher education, with 33.8 of African Americans and 37.1 percent of Hispanic Americans who are high school graduates aged 18-24 participating in higher education, compared to 42.2 percent of similar whites. Twenty-six tables provide detailed statistical data. (JLS)