The Hoosier state is facing tough issues in this ever-changing, ever-complicated global economy.
A lot of time has been spent by our politicians and media on a number of topics, some of which, especially lately, have pulled our attention away from perhaps the biggest economic issue. Access to education, and access to an educated, drug-free workforce, require more attention than they’ve been getting.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce issued its 2015 report card recently on how the state is doing on economic development outlined in its Indiana 2025 project. The 59 measures of 33 goals in four areas show that Indiana is improving on education, but still has a way to go.
Of the 59 measures, Indiana has made progress since the 2013 report card. “We improved in 28 of them. We declined in 19. There were 12 in which rankings stayed the same or there was no data to make a comparison,” Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar told The Elkhart Truth’s editorial board this past week.
Students made strides in reading, math and science test scores. Indiana even ranked fourth nationally on fourth-graders’ math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. On high school graduation rates, Indiana ranked eighth with 87 percent.
Where Indiana falls woefully short is in the percentage of population with a college degree. A mere 30.5 percent has an associate degree or higher, ranking 45th nationally, according to the report card’s quoting of census figures. Only 23.8 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, ranking 42nd.