10 Spooky Facts about Education in the U.S.

  1. Students from households that earned less than $35,000 represented just 10% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2014. Source
  2. 97% of low-income students rely on school for internet access, but 40 million students do not have high-speed Internet in school. Source
  3. 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. Source
  4. High schools are not preparing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel after graduation. Only 1 in 4 high school students graduate college-ready in the 4 core subjects of English, Reading, Math and Science. Source
  5. American Indian and Native-Alaskan students represented less than 1% of students, but 3% of expulsions. Source
  6. Black students were more than three times as likely to attend schools where fewer than 60 percent of teachers meet all state certification and licensure requirements. Source
  7. By the end of the 4th grade, African-American, Hispanic and low-income students are already 2 years behind grade level. By the time they reach the 12th grade they are 4 years behind. Source
  8. 16 to 24-years-old students who come from low income families are seven times more likely not to graduate high school than those from families with higher incomes. Source
  9. Children that live below the poverty line are 1.3 times more likely to have developmental delays or learning disabilities than those who don’t live in poverty. Source
  10. The fraction of children who earn more than their parents (“absolute mobility”) has fallen from approximately 90% for children born in 1940 to 50 percent for children born in the 1980s. Source