Get an Education and Double Your Salary (Part 1 of a 2-Part Series) COMMUNITY INDICATORS
Issue 6, December, 2003 By: Andy Lewis Center for Community Economic Development University of Wisconsin Extension 610 Langdon Street, Room 334 Madison, WI 53703 (608) 265-8136, cced@uwex.edu , http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/ It would be difficult to cover the topic of educational attainment in a single issue of Community Indicators so this topic is being divided into two issues. This first part of the 2-part series deals primarily with high school graduates. Perhaps there is no better predictor of income then educational attainment. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average annual income for an individual with a Bachelor's degree in 1999 was $48,378 compared to the average income of $24,030 for the High School graduate (See table 1). A high-school dropout earns just 49% of what an average adult worker earns each year.
Table 1 Income in 2000 by Educational Attainment for People 18 Years Old and Over
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, March, 2001: http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/ppl-157/tab08.pdf Calculated over a 30-year career, an individual with a bachelor's degree earns about one million more in income then the high school drop out. Simply earning a high school degree equates to an additional $252,000 over that same 30-year career. When factoring inflation, the educational earnings gap is widening (See Table 2). In 1981, the difference in annual earnings between a High School graduate and an individual earning a Bachelors degree was $13,718. Twenty years later that gap has grown by more then $10,000 to $24,150 (expressed in 2001 dollars).
Table 2 Educational Earnings Gap Expressed in 2001 Dollars
This widening gap does not bode well for Wisconsin which has historically relied heavily on manufacturing jobs that have traditionally paid high wages without the educational requirements. According to a recent report released by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Wisconsin has lost 54,000 manufacturing jobs between 2001 and 2003 (a 9.5% decrease).
So how do the educational attainment levels in Wisconsin compare to the nation?
Overall, High School graduation rates are quite high in Wisconsin , with one study indicating that Wisconsin ranks third in the Country behind only Iowa , and North Dakota . However, these averages mask real problems. Wisconsin ranks high for the population as a whole, but the state ranked dead last in terms of graduating African American students (only 39 states track graduation rates for African Americans). African Americans in Wisconsin have a graduation rate of 40% compared to a graduation rate of 92% for whites.
Given the level of interest in "Brain Drain" at the community level, I thought it would be interesting to compare graduation rates of a School District to the educational attainment of the adult population (persons 25 years and older) within that school district. Census Data on Educational attainment is reported at the school district level on the National Center for Educational Statistics web site. This data illustrates interesting contrasts. Chart 1
Chart 2
The Granton Area High School for example reports graduation rates of 100% for the class of 2001-2002 (See Chart 2) and yet only 63% of the population age 25 and over has a high school diploma or higher level of educational attainment (Chart 1). The Menominee Indian High School district , Milwaukee Public Schools, and Madison Metropolitan School District on the other hand, have an adult population (age 25 and over) with a higher percentage that graduated from High school than the class of 2001-2002 in those districts. High Schools such as Racine, Webster, Lakeland, and Whitefish Bay had graduation rates which were nearly identical for the population 25+ and the current graduating class. As might be expected, almost all of the other school districts had a current graduation rate that was higher than the general population in the district. This reflects the increased emphasis on obtaining a High School diploma, but may also reflect the loss of High School graduates from the community.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction maintains a web site known as the Wisconsin's Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS) that provides communities with useful data on post graduation plans. In the "academic performance" section of the web site, users can view survey data for each school in Wisconsin which reveals the post-graduation plans for seniors.
A quick analysis of this data reveals dramatic differences between school districts. For example, at Beloit Memorial High School, only 3.1% of the High School Seniors indicated that they planned on attending a University following graduation from High School (61% of this student body was "undecided"). At Milwaukee King, Nicolet, and Whitefish Bay High Schools, over 80% of the seniors indicated an intention to attend a college following graduation. On average, 48% of Wisconsin seniors indicated an intention to attend a University.
The same kinds of variations can be seen when looking at plans for attending a vocational/technical college to pursue an Associate degree. While on average, about 22% of Wisconsin seniors indicated their intention to attend a vocational technical school, over 50% of the seniors at Pulaski, Benton , Seneca, Flambeau, Weston, Winter, and other High Schools indicated such plans. There are also numerous schools where less then 10% of the seniors indicate an interest in pursuing an Associate degree (High Schools such as: Pecatonica, Eau Claire Memorial, Shorewood, and Central High in Waukesha County). While high school counselors follow graduates' paths on to college or other post-high school education, it is there that the trail ends. While communities ought to do a better job of keeping track of former graduates, no state agency consistently collects this data. A study titled, " Where the High School Graduates Go " was conducted by the University of Wisconsin- Extension in 1995 to examine the issue of what happens to High School graduates. This study examined the 1984 class reunion lists of 8 Wisconsin High Schools to current address lists of graduates a decade later (1994). The study concluded that half (44.6%) of all of the high school graduates in 1984 had moved in the ten years to a community more then 25-miles from the high school they attended. This percentage ranged from 33% to 64% for the classes which ranged in size from 53 to 315.
Several Questions come to mind that might trigger community strategies:
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