Washington — The number of American Indian and Alaska Native students enrolled in higher education has more than doubled in the past 30 years, according to a report on the educational progress of American Indians that was released today by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.

The report notes, however, that though the attainment expectations of American Indians have increased, progress has been uneven compared with other racial groups. Twenty-six percent of American Indians ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college in 2006, the most recent year with data available, compared with 58 percent of Asians, 41 percent of whites, 33 percent of African-Americans, and 27 percent of Hispanics.

American Indians now account for 1.1 percent of total enrollment in colleges and universities, but just 0.5 percent of faculty members at degree-granting institutions. More than half of American Indians attending college are enrolled at four-year institutions, according to the report, while just 8 percent attend one of the 32 tribally controlled colleges. —Reeves Wiedeman