In July, Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, shared some exciting news with regard to America's postsecondary performance: The percentage of 25-34 year olds with some kind of postsecondary degree rose half a percentage point from 38.8 percent in 2009 to 39.3 percent in 2010.
While a half percentage-point increase may not seem like a substantial feat, CEOs for Cities research shows that small, tangible gains in college completion can have extremely large implications for the nation. Raising the national median of the top 51 metro areas from 29.4 percent to 30.4 percent, according to this research, would be associated with an increase in income of $124 billion per year for the nation. Thus, this half percentage-point increase in postsecondary degree achievement that Duncan recently spoke of has very exciting implications about national income levels and future city success.
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Source: CEOs for Cities / U.S. Dept. of Education
Writer: Catherine Bittar