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Brewer, Goddard spar over immigration, state budget

Thursday September 2nd

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and Democratic challenger Terry Goddard attacked each other's ... LEARN MORE »

AZ Fact Check - Proposition 107

Thursday September 2nd

Proposition 107 would amend the Arizona Constitution to prohibit affirmative-action programs. If ... LEARN MORE »

School notes

Thursday September 2nd

Tucson, AZ:  Parents interested in building a better relationship with their children can ... LEARN MORE »

New education report card grades student success, Arizona lags behind

Wednesday September 1st

Today, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released a new book that provides a ... LEARN MORE »

Judge to hear arguments on Arizona's efforts to help students learn English

Wednesday September 1st

A federal judge is hearing arguments this week over whether the state is complying with federal ... LEARN MORE »

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Statistical Sources

Two-thirds of the jobs of the future will require a college degree or advanced training.
Source:  Educating Arizona:  Assessing our Education System (Birth - Grade 12), January 2008.
http://www.educatingarizona.org/report.          

America was the only country out of 23 that didn’t show an increase in postsecondary degree attainment from 2000-2005.
Postsecondary Education Opportunity (2007, November).  Upper Secondary and Tertiary Graduation and Attainment in OECD and Partner Countries:  1996-2005.
 
The United States’ production of college graduates has fallen from 30% to 14% globally.     
OECD, PISA 2003 Results, Chart A4.1.
 
Fifty percent of college freshmen have to take some level of remedial courses, costing education institutions and taxpayers an estimated $2 billion annually.
Source:  http://www.makingopportunityaffordable.org.
 
America ranks 21st in high school graduation rates among the top industrialized countries.
http://www.strongamericanschools.org/sas-says-facts
 
America’s 15 year olds rank 25th in math and 21st in science compared to their peers around the globe.
Source:  Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2007) PISA 2006:  Science Competencies for Tomorrow's World, Exeuctive Summary.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/13/39725224.pdf
 
Only 24% of Arizona 4th and 8th graders demonstrate proficiency in reading.
Source:  Educating Arizona:  Assessing our Education System (Birth - Grade 12), January 2008.
http://www.educatingarizona.org/report.
 
Arizona is ranked 38th in the nation for 8th graders who are proficient in math.
Source:  http://www.strongamericanschools.org/themes/edin08/flash/your-state.
 
Arizona is frequently cited as having one of the highest high school dropout rates in the nation.
http://www.strongamericanschools.org/themes/edin08/flash/your-state
http://www.arizonafuture.org/news/articles/2008-05-grad-drop.html
 
Arizona is ranked 43rd in the nation for high school graduates who go directly to college.
NCES; Common Core Data, Private High Schools Survey, courtesy of NCHEMS Information Center, higheredinfo.org.
 
Fewer than half of our public high school graduates qualify academically to enroll in public universities.
Source:  Green, J. & Winters, M. (2005).  Public high school graduation and college-readiness rates:  1991-2002.  New York:  Manhattan Institute. 
 
For every 100 ninth graders in Arizona, only 17% will graduate from college on time.
Source:  The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Information Center for State Higher Education Policy and Analysis, 2003-2004.