A Call to Action

The Leaking Pipeline

  • WashingtonStateis one of less than 10 states in which the achievement gaps in math and science are large and still growing http://www.partnership4learning.org/files/STEM_FinalSpec9-28-10.pdf
  • Nearly 30% of all entering 9th graders will not graduate from high school nationally.   25% - 30% Washington State; 27% Benton County;32% Franklin County
  • National Annual High School Dropout Rate (2008) 8%; Washington State Annual High School Dropout Rate (2009-10) 5%; Local Annual High School Dropout Rate (2009-10) 6% OSPI Report cards 2009-10
  • The United States is now 20th in high school graduation rate among industrialized nations. Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5, available at National Academy of Sciences http://www.nap.edu
  • Nearly 50% of our community college students require remediation, mostly in math, and the number rises to nearly 70% for students of color. 77 percent of college freshman are unable to pass a college preparatory examination in at least one of three core subjects, and about one third have to take remedial work in college . Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5, available at National Academy of Sciences http://www.nap.edu
  • Washingtonranks fourth in the country for technology based corporations but 46th in participation in science and engineering higher education graduate programs.  Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5, available at National Academy of Sciences http://www.nap.edu
  • The World Economic Forum ranks the United States 48th in quality of mathematics and science education. World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010, Available at: http://www.weforum.org/pdf/GCR09/Report/Countries/United%20States.pdf.
  • The average American K-12 student spends four hours a day in front of a TV P. McDonough, TV Viewing Among Kids at an Eight-Year High, Nielsen Wire, October 26, 2009. Available at: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_ entertainment/tv-viewing-among-kids-at-an-eight-year-high/