"The Condition of Education" summarizes leading developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report, which is required by law, is an indicator report intended for a general audience of readers who are interested in education. The indicators represent a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education for which reliable data are available. For the 2008 edition, a special analysis was prepared to take a closer look at community colleges. Drawing upon a range of data sources collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the 2008 special analysis provides a descriptive profile of community colleges in the United States, examines the characteristics of community college students who entered directly from high school, and looks at rates of postsecondary persistence and attainment among community college students in general. It also compares the characteristics