Top 10 LearnmoreMN Facts

  1. High school graduates in Minnesota will decrease 9% between 2008 and 2014.1
  2. High school student make up will change
    • 20% will be students of color by 2016, up from 12% in 2005.2a
    • Low-income students will increase — from 26% of high school graduates in 1998 to 36.5% in 2019 (based on subsidized government lunch data).2b
  3. Of the 63,000 Minnesota ninth graders starting high school in fall 2008, 84 percent will graduate from high school, 55 percent will enter college, and 27 percent will complete a two-year college degree within three years or a four-year degree within six years of high school graduation.3
  4. High school graduation rates for many students of color in Minnesota are lower than the overall rate of 91% (70% for American Indian students, 70% for Hispanic students, 73% for Black students).4
  5. Minnesota’s low-income high school seniors are less likely to go on to college (29% of low-income seniors vs. 65% of all seniors).5
  6. More than two-thirds of Minnesota students failed to meet the benchmarks for college readiness in four key areas (English, reading, math and science).6
  7. When the overall number of high school graduates drops, so will the number of college graduates — by about 12 percent in less than 10 years.7
  8. There is a graduation gap among races. 39% of White students graduate from a 4-year college within 4 years — compared to 20% of Blacks, 19% of American Indians, 30% of Asian, and 32% of Hispanic.  This gap holds for graduation within 6 years as well as graduation or transfer from a 2-year college.8
  9. Other nations have dramatically increased the share of their citizens earning college degrees compared to the US. In a ranking of 29 countries of growth in number of 25-to-34 year olds with some college education compared to 55-to-64 year olds, the US comes in last.9
  10. Fifteen of the 30 fastest-growing jobs between 2006 and 2016 will require at minimum a bachelor’s degree. Job growth is expected in industries such as architecture, engineering and applied sciences. Labor shortages already exist in some of these fields, in part due to retiring Baby Boomers.10

Sources

1 Knocking at the College Door, Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education
2a Knocking at the College Door, Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education
2b Minnesota Private College Research Foundation analysis of Minnesota Department of Education data
3 Student Pipeline — Transition and Completion Rates from 9th Grade to College, National Center for Higher Education Management
4 2006-07 graduation rate analysis, Minnesota Department of Education
5 College Participation Rates for Students from Low Income Families by State FY1993 to FY2006 (PDF), Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY
6 ACT/Minnesota Office of Higher Education
7 Projections of High School Graduates (PDF)), Minnesota Private College Research Foundation
8 Minnesota Office of Higher Education
9 Education at a Glance 2007, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 
10 Employment Projections: 2006-16 Summary, Bureau of Labor Statistics