11 Facts About Education in America

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1. Our nation’s education assessment is largely based on graduation rate. In 2012, Black students had only a 69% graduation rate and Hispanic students had a 73% rate, while Asian students had a 88% graduation rate and Caucasian students had an 86% rate. Demand high-speed Internet at your school with a badass photo. Sign up for School Standstill!^[Layton, Lyndsey. "National high school graduation rates at historic high, but disparities still exist." The Washington Post. Accessed February 18, 2015. .]
2. 30 years ago, America was the leader in quantity and quality of high school diplomas. Today, our nation is ranked 36th in the world.^[Coleman, Megan. "New survey ranks U.S. students 36th in the world - How do we improve?" CNYCentral. Accessed February 18, 2015. .]
3. 1.3 million high school students don't graduate on time yearly. States with highest rates (80-89%) are Wisconsin, Iowa, Vermont, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. States with lowest (less than 60%) are Nevada, New Mexico, Louisiana, Georgia and S. Carolina.^[Swanson, Christopher B.. "U.S.Graduation Rate Continues Decline." Education Week. Accessed February 24, 2014, http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/10/34swanson.h29.html.]
4. 97% of low-income students rely on school for internet access, but 40 million students do not have high-speed Internet in school.^[Purcell, Kristen, Alan Heapes, Judy Buchanan, Linda Friedrich, "How Teachers Are Using Technology at home and in Their Classrooms", Education Superhighway, 2013. Accessed February 18, 2015.]
5. If the 1.3 million dropouts from the Class of 2010 had graduated, the nation would have seen $337 billion more in earnings over the course of the students’ lifetimes.^[Campaign for CHSE High School Equity. "Plan for Success: Communities of Color Define Policy Priorities for High School Reform." Campaign for CHSE High School Equity. Accessed February 18, 2015. .]
6. A 3rd grade student who reads at the appropriate reading level compared to a 3rd grade student who does not is 4 times more likely to graduate by age 19. Furthermore, a student living in poverty is 13 times less likely to graduate on time.^[Sparks, Sarah D. "Study: Third Grade Reading Predicts Later High School Graduation." Education Week. Accessed February 18, 2015. .]
7. Teacher quality is one of the most significant factors related to student achievement. In the U.S., 14% of new teachers resign by the end of their first year, 33% leave within their first 3 years, and almost 50% leave by their 5th year.^[Kopkowski, Cynthia. "Why They Leave." National Education Association. Accessed February 18, 2015. .]
8. In the workplace, 85% of current jobs and 90% of new jobs require some or more college or post-secondary education.^[Alliance for Excellent Education. "High School Teaching for the Twenty-First Century: Preparing Students for College."Alliance for Excellent Education. Accessed February 18, 2015. .]
9. Roughly half of the students who enter a 4-year school will receive a bachelor’s degree within 6 years.^[U.S. Department of Education. "Fast Facts: Graduation rates." National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 22, 2014, http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=40.]
10. In schools made up of 75% or more low-income students, there are 3 times the number of out-of-field teachers than in wealthier school districts.^[Darling-Hammond, Linda, and Gary Sykes. "Wanted: A National Teacher Supply Policy for Education: The Right Way to Meet The "Highly Qualified Teacher" Challenge." Education Policy Analysis Archives 11, no. 33 (2003). Accessed February 24, 2014, http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/viewFile/261/387.]
11. High schools are not preparing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel after graduation. Only 1 in 4 high school students graduate college-ready in the 4 core subjects of English, Reading, Math and Science.^[Sheehy, Kelsey. "High School Students Not Prepared for College, Career." US News. Accessed February 24, 2014, http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2012/08/22/high-school-students-not-prepared-for-college-career.]