Facts
- On average, a high school graduate earns $600,000 more during his/her lifetime than a dropout.
Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- On average, a college graduate earns $1.4 million more during his/her lifetime than a high school dropout.
Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- On average, a high school graduate saves society $41,000 in Medicaid costs and $25,000 in prison costs.
Current Population Survey; Alliance for Excellent Education; Petit and Western, "Life Imprisonment and the Life Course," American Academy of Pediatrics.
- On average, a college graduate saves society $71,000 in Medicaid costs and $34,000 in prison costs.
Current Population Survey; Alliance for Excellent Education; Petit and Western, "Life Imprisonment and the Life Course," American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Only 30 percent of Delaware 8th grade students meet national standards in reading and mathematics.
NCES online NAEP Data Explorer.
- Delaware ranks 27th among the states in the percentage of 8th grade students meeting national standards in reading and mathematics.
NCES online NAEP Data Explorer.
- Delaware ranks 8th in education spending among the states, but only 27th in reading and mathematics performance.
NCES online NAEP Data Explorer.
- Only about one-third of Delaware's students are really prepared for college.
Education Counts database, Postsecondary Education Opportunity research letter #132, "College Entrance Rates by Race/Ethnicity for Recent High School Graduates 1960-2002," 2003; NCES, "Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2004; Graduation Rates, 1998 & 2001 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2004," 2006.
- Only 2 in 10 whites and 1 in 10 African Americans and Hispanics will earn a two- or four-year college degree by their mid-20s.
Education Counts database, Postsecondary Education Opportunity research letter #132, "College Entrance Rates by Race/Ethnicity for Recent High School Graduates 1960-2002," 2003; NCES, "Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2004; Graduation Rates, 1998 & 2001 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2004," 2006.
- Only 1 in 4 Delaware students who are behind in mathematics in 3rd grade will catch up by 10th grade.
Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis. The data is a comparison of Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) scores for a cohort of students who entered 3rd grade in 1997-8 and remained in the Delaware public school system through 10th grade (2004-5). The "1 in 4" is the number of students who scored a 2 or lower on the math DSTP in the 3rd grade and a 3 or higher in the 10th grade.
- While 50 percent of Delaware's white 4th graders meet national standards in reading and math, only 15 percent of our African American students do so.
NECS online NAEP Data Explorer.
- While 40 percent of Delaware's white 8th graders meet national standards in reading and math, only 13 percent of our African American students do so.
NECS online NAEP Data Explorer.
- American 8th graders rank 17th internationally in reading, 27th in mathematics and 20th in science.
OECD, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2003.
