A Bright Future for (some in) The Class of 2010

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday asks how you would feel if you had a graduate in the Class of 2010 at Kentucky high school.

Here's why:

• For every 1,000 9th graders who entered high school in the 2006-07 school year, only 740 actually graduated in 2010.
• Of the 740 who graduated, 670 indicated they would attend two- or four-year postsecondary institutions; however, only 592 will actually attend a postsecondary institution.
• Of the 592, 112 will attend two-year colleges, and only 18 of the 112 will be college-ready (no remediation courses).
• Of the 480 graduates who will attend four-year colleges, only 237 will be college-ready (no remediation courses).
• Of the 112 graduates attending two-year colleges, only 67 will return for the second year of school.* Of the 480 attending four-year colleges, only 340 will return for the second year.
• Of the 112 attending two-year colleges, only 26 will graduate within three years with a degree.
• Of the 480 attending four-year colleges, only 225 will graduate within six years.

In summary, of the 1,000 bright and eager high school freshmen from 2006-07 who entered with dreams of college and career, only 251 will achieve their dream of a two- or four-year degree within three or six years of graduation from high school.

Holliday wonders what will happen to the other 749?