Education System Facts & Figures

Education System

Global

$16 billion a year in aid would send all children to school in low income countries. This is about half of the amount Europeans and Americans spend on ice cream annually.

World Wildlife Fund


The U.S. ranks 23rd in high school graduation rate among rich nations of the world. In 1970, the U.S. was 1st.

The New York Times & The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development


U.S.

14% of U.S. schools exceed capacity.

The National Center for Education Statistics


States are responsible for 44% of total education funding in the U.S., and 34 states are contributing less funding on a per student basis than they did prior to the recession years.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities


Less than 50% of students who graduate from high school are able to proficiently read or complete math problems.

The U.S. Education Department


Fewer than 40% of graduating seniors have mastered reading and math and are poorly equipped for college and real world life. Many of these students have been passed to the next grade and have an increased chance of falling behind and dropping out of college.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress


A student living in poverty is 13 times less likely to graduate on time.

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Of student dropouts, nearly 60% will go to prison at some point.

Economic Opportunity Institute


40% of 5 year olds in the U.S. are not ready to learn when entering kindergarten.

Economic Opportunity Institute


75% of Americans ages 17-24 are not qualified for military service because they are overweight, too poorly educated, have emotional problems or have a criminal record.

Alliance for Excellent Education


High schools are not preparing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel after graduation. Only 25% of high school students graduate college-ready in the 4 core subjects of English, Reading, Math and Science.

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Teachers

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.

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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.

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Race

Black students have a 69% graduation rate and Hispanic students have a 73% rate, while Asian students have a 88% graduation rate and Caucasian students have an 86% rate.

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The unemployment rate for college educated black people is twice that of white people.

37% of black first time college students are not in school after 3 years.

30% of Hispanic first time college students are not in school after 3 years.


51% of all public elementary and secondary school students in the U.S. are nonwhite, but just 20% of the teachers.

Enrollment of black students in majority white Southern schools peaked in 1988 at 43%.

25% of black freshmen who start public high school don’t graduate with a regular diploma in 4 years.

Minority students are more likely to be taught by inexperienced teachers in 33 states.

Black public preschoolers are 3 times more likely to be suspended as white public preschoolers.

33% of public high schools with high black and Latino enrollment offer calculus, while 56% of high schools with low black and Latino enrollment offer calculus.

33% of students in gifted and talented programs are black and Latino, while black and Latino students represent 42% of enrollment at schools offering gifted and talented programs.

Schools with a high levels of black or Latino enrollment have 2 times as many first year teachers as schools with low black or Latino enrollment.

Black Kindergarten-12th Grade public school students are 3 times more likely to be suspended as white students and black students are almost 2 times more likely to be expelled as white students.

Nationwide, districts with the most minority students receive 15% less per student in state and local funding than the whitest districts.

Exposure to at least one black teacher in Grades 3-5 reduces the probability of low income black male students dropping out of school by almost 40%.