For every dollar invested in quality early childhood education programs, research shows long-term returns of $4 to $8. Benefits include higher employment and earnings, better health outcomes, lower crime rates, higher levels of verbal and mathematical intellectual achievement, greater success at school (lower special education and higher graduation rates), and higher government revenues due to lower government expenditures and higher economic activity. (RAND Corporation)
Washington’s high school graduation requirements do not match minimum entrance requirements for public 4-year universities and colleges. Universities require applicants to have 4.5 credits above what is needed to graduate from high school–1 in English, 1 in math, .5 in social science and 2 in foreign language. (Higher Education Coordinating Board)
The University of Washington annual economic impact totals $9.1 billion and is the state’s third-largest non-military employer, employing more than 29,200 people. (FY 08-09, The Economic and Societal Impact of The University of Washington)
The average high school graduate earns $33,419 annually, which is $25,447 less than the average person with a bachelor’s degree. Over a 45-year career, that equals a difference of $1,145,115. (August 2007, U.S. Census Bureau)
A high school diploma alone is not enough to pay the bills. By 2014, 77% of new family-wage jobs openings in Washington State will be held by people with some sort of post-secondary education/training. (College & Work Ready Agenda)
More than half of the students that go straight into a two-year college after high school need remedial courses before they are allowed to take credit-bearing classes. These students are also more prone to drop out of college. (College & Work Ready Agenda)
In 2005-06, Washington State spent $17.2 million on remediation to recent high school graduates in two-year community and technical colleges. (College & Work Ready Agenda)
National research shows students who took remedial classes were much less likely to obtain a college degree than students who were prepared for college when they entered. In fact, only half of students who took one remedial class completed college. (College & Work Ready Agenda)
Only 28 percent of Latino, 28 percent of Native American and 31 percent of African American students completed the courses needed to even be eligible to apply to Washington’s public four-year colleges. (2005-2006 in 42 sample schools, College & Work Ready Agenda)
Washington is 34th in the nation with an on-time graduation rate of 72.9%. (2006, National Center for Education Statistics)
This current generation of young adults is the least educated age group in WA right now. In 2006, 81.4 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds in Washington hold a high school diploma or equivalent, compared to 88.2 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds, 89.7 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds, 91.8 percent of 45- to 64-year-olds and 82.8 percent of those aged 65 and up. (Educational Attainment: Washington 2006. U.S. Census Bureau.)
