In 2000, 75.3% of Alabamians age 25 and older were high school graduates. Some 19% had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher.
The total enrollment for fall 1999 in Alabama's public schools stood at 740,732. Of these, 538,687 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 202,045 attended high school. Minority students made up approximately 42% of the total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools in 2001. Total enrollment was estimated at 726,259 in fall 2000 and was expected to reach 768,000 by fall 2005. Enrollment in nonpublic schools in fall 2001 was 73,352. Expenditures for public education in 2000/01 were estimated at $4,334,139.
As of fall 2000, there were 243,275 students enrolled in college or graduate school. In the same year Alabama had 76 degree-granting institutions. The largest state universities are Auburn University and the three University of Alabama campuses, including Birmingham, Huntsville, and the main campus in Tuscaloosa. Tuskegee University, founded as a normal and industrial school in 1881 under the leadership of Booker T. Washington, has become one of the nation's most famous black colleges. Minority students comprised 27.8% of total postsecondary enrollment as of 1997.