High school students are being told to take more rigorous math and science courses if they want to be prepared for college and get lucrative jobs in STEM careers.

New data from the National Center for Education Statistics suggest they are taking that advice.

In the 2013 Condition of Education report released Thursday, researchers looked at transcripts analyzed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress for 9th through 12th graders. They found that the percentages of high school graduates who had taken mathematics courses in Algebra 1, geometry, Algebra 2/trigonometry, analysis/precalculus, statistics/probability, and calculus increased in the past two decades.

While 7 percent of high school students took calculus in 1990, in 2009, nearly 16 percent did. The percentage of graduates who had completed Algebra 2/trigonometry increased from 54 percent to 76 percent in the same period.

Those from racial and ethnic minority groups also stepped up to the challenge. The percentage of Hispanic graduates completing calculus increased from 4 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in 2009. And those taking Algebra 2/trigonometry went from 40 percent to 71 percent. In the same period, black students taking calculus rose from 3 percent to 6 percent and those finishing Algebra 2/trigonometry increased from 44 percent to 71 percent.

Similar gains were seen in science course participation.

The percentage of high school graduates who had taken chemistry increased from 49 percent to 70 percent, and the percentage of graduates who had completed physics courses increased from 21 percent to 36 percent between 1990 and 2009. The percentage of graduates who earned at least one credit in biology, chemistry, and physics increased from 19 percent to 30 percent in the same two decades. Increases in science enrollment were reflected among students in most racial/ethnic groups.

Students at private schools were more likely to sign up for advanced-level math and science courses than those attending public schools, the NCES report found.

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Just as the K-12 system uses Title I money to provide extra educational support for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, a new report calls for innovative programs and big changes in the way higher education is funded to create a more level playing field for students from poor and minority families.

The report, Bridging the Higher Education Divide, released today at the nonprofit Century Foundation was the result of work by a community college task force led by Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library, and Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College.

The group details the growing stratification in American higher education, with more low-income students attending two-year schools that have lower graduation rates, compared with four-year universities where students tend to be wealthier and more likely to complete. According to the report, financial support for community colleges has not kept up with the need, which the task force argues is greater because students generally do not enter as prepared academically as those at more selective four-year schools.

Students enroll in community colleges with high hopes, but often struggle. While about 81 percent of students entering community college for the first time say they eventually want to transfer and earn at least a bachelor's degree, just 12 percent actually do so within six years, the report found.

Among low-income students with high academic qualifications for college, 69 percent who went to a four-year institution earned a bachelor's degree compared with 19 percent who started at a community college.

Campus diversity varies widely by the type of institution. The report finds that high-socioeconomic students outnumber low-socioeconomic students 14 to 1 in the most competitive four-year institutions, while low-SES students outnumber high-SES students in community colleges nearly 2 to 1. The report calls for four-year colleges to do more to reach out to more low-income applicants and for community colleges to try to attract students from more affluent backgrounds in an effort to diversify campuses.

Adding to the problem of completion at two-year schools is the lack of funding.

The report notes that community colleges received $8,594 per student in 2009 from federal, state, and local government sources, while public research institutions received $16,966. The amount of money spent on instruction at community colleges was about $5,000 per student in 2009, compared with $10,000 at public research universities and $20,000 at private research universities, the report says.

"A central problem is that two-year colleges are asked to educate those students with the greatest needs, using the least funds, and in increasingly separate and unequal institutions," the report says. "Our higher education system, like the larger society, is growing more and more unequal. We need radical innovations that redesign institutions and provide necessary funding tied to performance."

The report includes a number of proposed strategies to promote greater diversity across all higher education institutions and promote completion rates among disadvantaged students.

1. Adopt state and federal adequacy-based funding similar to that used in primary and secondary education, linking support with outcomes.
2. Establish greater transparency of public financial subsidies to higher education.
3. Encourage closer connections between community colleges and universities.
4. Take steps to improve transfers from community colleges to four-year institutions.
5. Encourage innovation in racially and economically inclusive community college honors programs.
6. Support more early-college programs that promote community college diversity.
7. Prioritize funding of new programs for economically and racially isolated community colleges.
8. Provide incentives for four-year institutions to engage in affirmative action for low-income students of all races.

"Efforts to make inequalities in higher education funding more transparent, coupled with legal and public-policy efforts to level-up public funding of community colleges, should make it possible to improve the quality of community colleges," the report concludes.

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Young people with increasingly higher levels of education are faring better in the job market, but they are also dealing with growing debt that is leading many to default on their student loans.

Today, the National Center for Education Statistics released its massive annual report, The Condition of Education with new data on participation and success of students in college, as well as their employment and financial status after graduation.

Educational success. From 1990 to 2012, the percent of 25- to 29-year-olds who had received at least a high school diploma or its equivalent increased from 86 percent to 90 percent, and the percentage who had completed a bachelor's degree or higher increased from 23 percent to 33 percent. Also, 7 percent of these young people held a master's degree or higher, which is a 3 percentage-point increase from 1995, according to the 2013 NCES report.

A gender gap in college attainment is widening. In 1990, there was no measurable difference in the percentage of males and females who had completed a bachelor's degree or higher. In 2012, the percentage of women with at least a four-year degree was 37 percent compared with 30 percent for men. Women are also more likely to complete a master's degree now, which was not the case a decade ago.

Nearly 61 percent of females and 56 percent of males who enrolled in a four-year college in 2005 finished with a degree within six years, the NCES data show.

While all racial and ethnic groups improved their educational levels, the white-black gap still remains and is not measurably different from 1990 to 2012, the NCES reports. Whites in their late 20's who had at least a high school diploma rose from 90 percent to 95 percent, while the rate among blacks went from 82 percent to 92 percent. The gap did close among Latinos, as high school attainment increased from 58 percent to 75 percent in that period.

The job payoff. For young adults with a bachelor's degree, the employment rate was 86 percent, compared with 74 percent for those with some college, 64 percent for high school graduates, and 48 percent for high school dropouts, the NCES finds. For those with less education, men are faring better on the job market. In 2012, the employment rate for young adults with less than a high school diploma was 57 percent for males and 36 percent for females, and among high school graduates, 68 percent of men had jobs compared with 59 percent of women. For young adults with college degrees, the jobless rate was not measurably different by gender.

Between 2000 and 2011, the earnings of young adults with a high school education from $32,700 to $30,000 (an 8 percent drop), while those with a bachelor's degree made 14 percent more with salaries rising from $52,100 to $45,000.

The financial investment. The NCES report quotes figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's "Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit" of total student-loan debt, across all age groups, reaching $956 billion in the fall of 2012, triple what it was in 2003 at $304 billion (in constant 2011 dollars). In 2011-12, on average, students at private for-profit colleges took out $8,700 in debt, compared with $7,500 for those attending private nonprofit four-year institutions. At public four-year institutions, about half of students had loans, and the amount averaged $6,300.

Of the nearly 4 million students who entered the repayment phase in fiscal 2010, about 9.2 percent, had defaulted on the payments within the year, up from 8.8 percent that defaulted in 2009 and 7.1 percent who did in 2008. Those who had the most trouble meeting their loan obligation were from private for-profit four-year institutions.

For more on other aspects of the report, see Inside School Research.

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New numbers out from the U.S. Department of Education show a slight drop in college enrollment last year, but an increase in degree attainment.

In 2011-12, there were 1.6 percent fewer students attending the nation's colleges and universities than the year before, a decline from 29.5 million to 29 million, according to a First Look report released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics. In the same period, the number of degrees granted by those institutions was up 5.1 percent.

Last week, the National Student Clearinghouse reported 2.3 percent fewer students enrolled on campuses this spring compared with 2012. The clearinghouse showed a decline of 1.8 percent in the fall of 2012 over the fall of 2011.

The NCES data reveal that public two-year colleges suffered the largest drop in enrollment, down about 250,000 students, while private for-profits had 200,000 fewer students. Public four-year universities experienced an increase of 100,000 students, and private four-year college enrollment rose slightly.

Although the total student body was smaller, completion improved. There was an 8 percent increase in associate degrees earned (about 1 million total) and a 4.3 percent rise in bachelor's degrees awarded (1.8 million) in 2010-11 compared with the previous year.

The Department of Education reports in 2012-13 that there were 7,416 institutions of higher education participating in the Title IV federal financial aid program. Of those, 3,110 were four-year schools, 2,263 two-year colleges, and 2,043 less than two-year institutions.

Average tuition and required fees for full-time, first-time undergraduates at public institutions increased by about 7 percent to $7,500 for in-state students and $17,000 for out-of-state students. For-profit institutions reported average tuition and required fees of about $15,400 for 2012-13, a 2 percent increase over the previous year, according to the NCES report.

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To highlight the work being done to better prepare high school students for future success, ACT Inc. gave four College and Career Readiness Awards at a ceremony in Washington Tuesday night.

The Iowa-City, Iowa-based testing company recognized a student, a high school, a community college, and an employer for their accomplishments in the first year of the competition. In this inaugural year, six states participated and submitted nominations: Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. ACT officials hope that more will join as the annual program expands.

The Student Readiness Award was presented to Sheree Gremillion, a senior at Rogers High School in Florence, Ala., who was honored for her ACT performance, grade point average, extracurricular activities, community service, and work experience. She received a $4,000 scholarship, and five other student finalists received $2,000 each toward their college expenses.

The 1,440-student Rufus King International School in Milwaukee was given the College and Career Transition Award. This honor recognizes growth in reaching ACT benchmarks in grades 8-12, success in helping disadvantaged students achieve, efforts to improve preparation for school and work after high school, and providing leadership opportunities for students. King has an International Baccalaureate program and was spotlighted for its work in creating a college-going culture.

Edgecombe Community College, with campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount, N.C., was named the winner of the Community College Career Preparedness Award. The school uses job fairs, mentoring programs, and student-assistance funds to help students graduate with work skills needed to secure employment. The selection for this award was based on availability of career-readiness assessments for students, partnerships with local employers, student graduation rates, and efforts to help with career planning.

The ACT Workplace Success Award was presented to Sargento Foods Inc. in Plymouth, Wis., for its efforts in providing work experience to high school and community college students.

The new awareness campaign and award program was announced earlier this year by ACT.

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Half of all recent college graduates say they are "surprised" at how much debt they accumulated in college, according to a survey conducted by the research firm ORC International for Fidelity Investments.

Nearly 70 percent of graduates left school owing an average of $35,200 in government and private student loans, credit-card debt, and loans to family members, the Cost-Conscious College Graduates Study found. The results were based on a national online survey of 750 graduates from the classes of 2011, 2012, and 2013 conducted in April.

(This figure is higher than reports by the Project on Student Debt, which calculates two-thirds of recent grads carry an average of $26,600 in student-loan debt, because the Fidelity poll includes all debt, not just student loans.)

While graduates don't regret going to college, nearly 39 percent of Fidelity respondents said they would have made different choices related to college planning had they understood the total cost, which was an increase of 14 percentage points from a Fidelity survey in 2011.

If they could do it over again, graduates advise they would: save early, research scholarships and financial-aid options, look for ways to control costs while in college, and open a dedicated college savings account.

The students polled did say they were partners in financing college along with their families. Eighty-five percent indicated they contributed some of their personal savings to cover college tuition and related expenses. And, of those, 27 percent came up with at least $10,000 to support their own education.

Still, 57 percent of recent graduates think they could have saved more for college. About 69 percent acknowledge they could have cut back on entertainment, and 64 percent could have spent less on retail spending. A little more than half of students say they could have saved more from summer jobs.

Just how long do students think it will take them to climb out of debt? On average, about 10 years, according to the Fidelity responses.

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There was cause for celebration in February when the Grad Nation report indicated for the first time the country was on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by the class of 2020.

Yet progress is uneven and some states are struggling to keep students from dropping out. To help educators and policymakers boost graduation rates in their communities, America's Promise Alliance has released a new, free online toolkit. The Community Guidebook, written by Robert Balfanz and Joanna Hornig Fox of the Everyone Graduates Center and John Bridgeland and Mary Bruce of Civic Enterprises, contains resources to help communities determine their actual graduation rates and strategies to keep more kids in school.

It includes research-based information about tracking attendance, analyzing student performance, and establishing early-warning systems to help intervene with students before they drop out. The tool kits cover issues of education reform, school transformation, Common Core State Standards, social-emotional learning, and multiple pathways to graduation.

The book is available on the American's Promise website and has ready-to-print tools and links to other online resources. It will be used at Grad Nation community summits, which are scheduled in 15 cities later this year.

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The House Education and the Workforce Committee today approved a bill that would change the financing of college student loans and, according to the Congressional Research Service, make it more expensive for students to borrow.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911), supported by House Republicans, would tie student loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note, plus 2.5 percent for both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans. (For more background, see Politics K-12.)

The proposal is intended to address the automatic interest rate hike from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on subsidized student loans that will kick in if Congress fails to act by July 1.

On Wednesday, the nonpartisan CRS issued a memo analyzing the impact of the bill and described the additional cost that students would face if the proposal were to become law. The CRS outlined examples of the costs with different scenarios. It found, for instance, that students who borrow the maximum amount of $27,000 of unsubsidized and subsidized Stafford Loans over five years would pay $12,374 in interest under H.R. 1911, or $10,867 in interest under current law if rates are allowed to double to 6.8 percent, or $7,033 if rates stay at 3.4 percent.

The new proposal would also impact borrowing fees for loans parents take out. The CRS estimates that a parent who borrows the maximum amount of $40,000 in PLUS loans for their child would pay $27,680 in interest under the Republican bill, more than the $21,654 in interest under the current law.

During the markup today, committee Democrats Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and John Tierney, D-Mass., offered amendments to keep interest rates at 3.4 percent and give lawmakers additional time to seek a long-term solution to address student loans and college affordability, but the proposals did not advance.

Today, the committee also approved The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act (H.R. 1949), which would establish an advisory committee to study what factors would be useful to students and families in the college-search process.

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Starting the college talk as early as 9th grade can make a big difference in students' likelihood of enrolling, yet just 18 percent of high school freshmen had spoken to a counselor about college, a new report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling shows.

The Arlington, Va.-based professional group of high school and college counselors discovered a strong connection between the percentage of time that counselors spent on college-readiness activities and students' belief that their family can afford college, even when controlling for several other factors. Students were also more inclined to take the SAT or ACT if they had talked about it with a counselor.

The influence of a counselor was especially critical in influencing the behaviors of first-generation college students, the NACAC report found.

A family member talking to a counselor or teacher about postsecondary admission requirements was positively related to first-generation college students' plans to enroll in a bachelor's degree program, as well.

The report is based on analysis of new, nationally representative data from the 2009 High School Longitudinal Study of 24,000 9th graders at 944 public and private high schools that year, along with their parents, math and science teachers, school administrators, and lead school counselors.

Outreach is often a matter of time and personnel. Half of all high schools reported a student-to-counselor ratio of 250-to-1. Counselors were stretched more at public high schools. While 39 percent of public high schools reported this relatively low ratio, 89 percent of private high schools did.

Counselors also have a range of responsibilities. NACAC found that about 13 percent spent more than half their time counseling students on college readiness, and 38 percent spent between one-fifth and half their time preparing them for college. Another 20 percent of all counselors spent no more than 10 percent of their time and 30 percent spent no more than a one-fifth of their time on college readiness with students, the report found.

Nearly half (48 percent) of counselors reported that helping students "prepare for postsecondary schooling" was their counseling program's primary goal. Other goals included helping students improve their achievement in high school (23 percent), work on personal growth and development (21 percent) and prepare for work goals after high school (7 percent).

Another way to boost college enrollment is by offering rigorous courses in high school. NACAC reports that 86 percent of high schools had dual-enrollment programs, where students can earn college credit in high school; 67 percent offered Advanced Placement classes on site; and 3 percent had an International Baccalaureate program.

To improve college-going rates, the NACAC report recommends that counselors devote more time to college-readiness efforts and the application process. The report encourages counselors to initiate discussions with 9th graders and their parents about college.

"We recognize that high schools and counselors do not only serve ninth graders and that the actions of high schools and counselors may have different effects on students' attitudes, aspirations, plans, and steps actually taken later on in their transition to college," the report says, noting the need for further research on these relationships. A better educated workforce is critical to the economy, it says. "Perhaps never before in our nation's history has helping Americans successfully transition into and complete postsecondary credentials been more important."

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Closing the achievement gap should be about more than raising the performance of struggling students, says a new report from the Education Trust that calls for more effort to help low-income and students of color succeed at the highest academic levels.

While fewer black, Hispanic, and low-income students are scoring "below basic" in reading and math national assessments, the report, Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color, shows those same students aren't making similar progress at "advanced" levels and the problem is even more pronounced in high school.

The Washington-based research and advocacy organization reviewed recent trends on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in it analysis.

The percent of white and higher-income students scoring at the advanced level has increased significantly in recent years, but the gap is widening compared with students of color and from low-income families. In math, for example, in 2011, about one in 10 white 4th graders reached advanced in math, compared with one in 50 Hispanic students and and one in 100 black students in fourth grade.

This gap-widening trend at the advanced level also occurred in 4th and 8th grade reading, but only between lower- and higher-income students, not between students of color and white students, the report says.

In 2004, among students in 12th grade math, 62 percent of low-income students and 34 percent of higher-income students performed at the below basic level on NAEP. By 2009, those numbers had dropped to 55 percent and 29 percent, respectively. At the high end, the same progress was not met. About 3 percent of white and higher-income students reached advanced in 2005 and 2009, while so few students of color and low-income students reached that benchmark in math that estimates were rounded to zero, according to the report.

The report shows gaps in high-end achievement for disadvantaged students was greater in 12th grade than in 4th or 8th grades.

The Education Trust report highlights some schools that have closed the achievement gap among students groups at all levels by setting data-based goals, creating individualized student plans, and raising expectations for all students.

"If we are going to get these gaps behind us, once and for all, we have to bring our middle-achieving low-income students and students of color higher, and move our higher-end students higher still," writes Kati Haycock, the president of the Education Trust, in the report. "If full racial equality is our goal, getting more black, Latino, and American Indian students into the highest reaches of achievement—the top 25 percent or top 10 percent—is especially important. This is where many local and national leaders in government, business, and the nonprofit sector are drawn from. And having leaders who look like the country is crucial, especially to children looking toward their own futures."

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