Michigan is Failing to Prepare Students for the 21st Century
Michigan ranks in the top quartile for spending:
– 11th out of 50 states for average teacher salary
– 13th out of 50 states for expenditures per student
Yet, Michigan ranks in the bottom quartile, 38th out of 50, for academic proficiency.
The chart below illustrates the percentage of Michigan students at or above proficiency:
Source: National Education Association, Rankings & Estimates, May 2014 based on 2013 NEAP data.
A college degree is very important to securing employment and high paying jobs. Yet, nearly two thirds of Michigan adults have no post-secondary degree.
Sources: See the Michigan dashboard for latest statistics.
Lack of college disproportionately impact students that come from families that do not have a history of higher education and cannot afford to support the growing costs of college.
Sources: Organization of Co-operation and for Economic Co-operation and Development, United States 2013 Country Note and the National Center for Education Statistics Information, IPEDS Data Center and U.S. Census Bureau
Nearly one in five dollars of family income is spent to cover college tuition costs in Michigan.
Michigan ranks 38 out of 50 for providing scholarship assistance.
For these reasons, Detroit students especially struggle to obtain a college degree.
Source: Michigan Department of Education
According to a recent study, Driving Opportunity in Detroit, the continued growth of the Southeast Michigan region depends heavily on the quality of its workforce and its ability to fill jobs with middle-skill workers that require specific post secondary training and credentials like a college degree.
The Michigan Education Excellence Foundation supports the Governor’s education initiatives and our mission through an approach that boosts K-12 preparedness at Michigan’s lowest performing schools and develops scholarships for Detroit students pursuing post-secondary education.
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