U.S. Higher Ed Graduation Rate Slides to 14th among OECD Nations

In the nation with the greatest difference in lifetime incomes between those people with college degrees and those without, it may be surprising to learn the U.S. ranking for college graduation rates has fallen from 1st in 1995 to 14th in 2007. The finding is included in Education at a Glance 2009, an indicator report looking at countries who belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

U.S. graduation rates have not fallen as a percentage of those students attending American colleges and universities for degrees above an associate's degree - growing from 33 percent in 1995 to 37 percent in 2007 - but rather relative to the graduation rates attained by the other 25 OECD countries included in the study. Nevertheless, the finding should be troubling for policymakers and TBED practitioners in an increasingly knowledge-based and competitive global economy.

In addition to 13 nations graduating more students with bachelors or similar degrees, the U.S. figure of 37 percent is lower than the OECD-country average of 39 percent. Also, the rate of growth for the graduation rate in the U.S. is not keeping pace with the 18 percent average achieved over the 12 years for the OECD, suggesting a further slide in the rankings is likely without a corrective change in the U.S. trend. For comparison, in the Czech Republic and Switzerland, graduation rates almost tripled over this same period.

Emphasizing the importance of higher education, Education at a Glance 2009 focuses significant attention on the economic value of attaining a college degree, both to the individual and society. For example:

• The earnings for a male college graduate in the U.S. are more than twice as much for American men who have completed only a high school degree or a GED.
• Men in the U.S. with some form of college degree will earn over their working lives, on average, a present value of $367,000 more than an individual who chooses not to complete school but instead makes an investment in long-term government bonds.
• The report shows women in the U.S. with a college degree continue to earn considerably less over time than men with a similar educational background: women only collect on average of $229,000 above the same base investment in government bonds.
• Women college grads in the U.S. earn almost twice as much as women with high school degrees - but still less than men. This is not the case in all OECD countries however, as women with college degrees earn more than men with college degrees in Korea, Spain, and Turkey.

Besides examining the progress of students seeking post-secondary degrees, the report also focuses on younger students at the other end of the age spectrum. The growth of early (4-year olds and younger) childhood education has increased rapidly across the OECD, growing from 40 percent enrollment in 1998 to 71 percent ten years later. While in the U.S. early childhood enrollment was reported to be 50 percent in 2007, in the EU19 early childhood enrollment averaged 79 percent, and enrollment in ten of the OECD countries exceeded 90 percent.

Education at a Glance 2009 also includes sections comparing the 21 countries in terms of students' performance in science, economic returns for education, funds spent on students, tuition costs, studying abroad, teacher compensation, and various others. For several of the report's key indicators, the U.S. is holding steady or marginally increasing in certain metrics, other countries are gaining and surging past the U.S.

Education at a Glance 2009 is available at: www.oecd.org/edu/eag2009.