There’s no doubt in my mind. If social security is the “third rail” in national politics, education is the “third rail” in state and local politics. With state government budgets in most states once again expected to be in excess of projected revenues, spending on education will continue to be a major battleground.
On the one hand, you have the folks who don’t want to raise taxes for anything, regardless of the circumstances. On the other hand, you have folks who measure the success of public education based upon how much more money they spend each year.
Sure, I’m oversimplifying, but you get the point. Education is about spending. However, how do you really know if you’re getting your money’s worth?
We all agree about how important education is, not only on a personal level, but for the economic future of our country. Our relative advantage rests in industries that require innovation and skill — knowledge-based industries, if you will.
| Our future is in the knowledge-driven, value-added sector of the economy. Someone much smarter than I once said that when a job becomes routine and can be outlined in a “how to” manual, it’s probably soon headed for overseas. |
With the increased globalization of the economy, routine, low-skilled jobs will continue to make their way overseas. An economic developer whose strategy for growth is to position his or her community as a low-cost alternative will soon discover that the U.S. minimum hourly wage is still higher than the average daily wage for much of the world.
No, our future is in the knowledge-driven, value-added sector of the economy. Someone much smarter than I once said that when a job becomes routine and can be outlined in a “how to” manual, it’s probably soon headed for overseas.
While much of the political rhetoric and angst is devoted to K-12 education in the state, mainly because more people have kids in those grades, we can’t afford to lose track of our colleges and universities.
Most states invest an enormous amount of money, relatively speaking, on their colleges and universities. That’s because it is these colleges and universities that will provide the educated work force that knowledge-based companies require. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand — if your state or community has these well-educated individuals in abundance, then companies will seek you out. If you don’t have them, then companies will look elsewhere.
How do you know if your state or community is improving, declining or treading water when it comes to producing educated workers?
One way, of course, would be to wait for the next Census to take place in 2010. I figure by 2011 or 2012 they should have the data available for public release.
A quicker way might be to look at the number of graduates — from AAs to Ph.D.s — on a yearly basis (you can get that data from the National Center for Education Statistics at www.nces.ed.gov) and compare it to your state’s population. The Census Bureau does a pretty good job of projecting population growth on a year-to-year basis, so you won’t be stuck comparing 2004 graduation numbers with 2000 population figures.
Granted, this is not exactly what you would call scientific, but it does serve to point out some interesting factors that might be worth further investigation.
For example, the state of Nevada ranks No. 35 in total population, but ranks No. 48 in granting bachelors’ degrees, No. 42 in master’s, No. 44 in Ph.D.s, and No. 47 in professional degrees. It also ranks No. 44 in granting associate degrees. Is that a leading indicator of a future problem? I don’t know, but it could be.
Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee and New Jersey have a similar situation, although not nearly to the extent that Nevada has.
On the other hand, the District of Columbia ranks No. 50 in population (just ahead of Wyoming), but ranks No. 9 in professional degrees, No. 26 in Ph.D.s and No. 25 in master’s degrees.
Colleges and universities in Iowa, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts also seem to attract and educate more than their fair share of students. Will these states have a higher percentage of knowledge-based companies a decade from now? I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they do.
How else can you tell if your state taxpayers are getting their money’s worth from its colleges and universities?
The National Center for Education Statistics can also tell you how many of those students received their degrees from public colleges and universities, and how many received them from private schools.
Is this the best way to evaluate your state’s colleges and universities? I doubt it. But at least it gives you a way to measure the output of college-educated workers into your local labor pool.
One thing is for certain. You can’t wait until the end of the decade to find out whether your state has been producing the number and type of skilled workers that will determine how bright — or dim — the future of your state or community will be.
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