If Kentucky is going to be an economic engine in the global marketplace, a lot is going to have to change in education.
Consider that nationally Kentucky ranks:
- 47th in workforce education.
- 47th in the number of scientists and engineers.
- 44th in the number of high-tech businesses.
- 42nd in the number of high-tech jobs.
- 41st in the number of science and engineering occupations.
- 39th in industry investment in research and development.
Those statistics are according to a study released in March by the Council on Postsecondary Education STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Task Force and the University of Kentucky.
In a study released in August by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, of every 100 ninth-grade Kentucky students in 2004:
- 64.8 percent of students graduated from high school.
- 37.2 percent directly entered college.
- 24.2 percent enrolled in their second year.
- 12.3 percent graduated within 150 percent of the program time.
- 22.2 percent from ages 25-44 had bachelor's degrees.
All five of those statistics are below the national averages, and far below the best-performing states.
So why is Kentucky lagging, and how can those numbers be improved?
That will be discussed at a couple of workshops - "Getting There from Here" and "Can We Supply the Demand?" - at the Vision 2015 "Champions for Education" summit Wednesday at Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
Vision 2015 is a strategic plan of providing regional economic and social solutions by 2015. The purpose of the summit is to inform and empower local citizens to promote and support a better education system in Northern Kentucky....
This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
