Insights from the Education Pipeline

Early Education

• Substantial evidence shows that early education makes a critical difference for at-risk children. Studies have found that a dollar invested in early development returns up to $17 as a result of higher education attainment. While local schools have expanded programs for 3- and 4-year olds and added full-day kindergarten, access to high-quality early childhood education still falls short of the need.
• Of the 10,100 children born in Jefferson County in a typical year, about 2,100 are born into poverty, but more than twice that many qualify for free or reduced-price lunches based on family income when they enter first grade.

Middle School

• In Louisville, as throughout the nation, academic performance suffers among early adolescents. The percentage of public school students scoring at least “proficient” on state assessments drops from 66% to 61% in reading and from 59% to 48% in math between elementary school and middle school.
• In a typical year, JCPS identifies about a thousand eighth graders at serious risk for dropping out as they head off to high school.

High School

• Calculations of high school graduation rates are inconsistent and vary widely across the nation and among local high schools. Best estimates are that Jefferson County Public Schools graduate about three-quarters of students who enter 9th grade. Another 200 will go on to earn a diploma after a fifth or sixth year, and, by age 24, 830 more will earn a GED.
• A small number of the 10,100 children born each year do not make it to high school: a few actually drop out of school earlier, and a small number die before age 18. But the largest number of drop-outs occurs during the first two years of high school. A map plotting addresses for young people who dropped out during one recent year found that they came from every area of the community but clustered in the most challenged neighborhoods. Young men and minority students were disproportionately represented.
• Among the 6,900 students who graduate each year, approximately 5,000 come from Jefferson County Public Schools, 1,500 from Catholic schools, 400 from independent schools, and 30 from home schools.

Postsecondary

• The 80% of local high school graduates who enter postsecondary school is roughly comparable to the college-going rate in cities with higher education attainment. But the proportion that succeeds in earning a bachelor’s degree is lower.
• Of the 1,400 high school graduates who do not directly enter postsecondary school, 1,200 go straight to work, with about 300 of them employed in a field for which they earned a vocational credential.
• Jefferson Community and Technical College enrolls almost two-thirds of the 1,400 graduates who enter two-year programs, and the best estimate for a graduation rate among those students is 30%. The University of Louisville enrolls almost 30% of local students who enter four-year colleges, and its graduation rate has risen to 46% for the most recent students.
• Overall, about one in four of the 10,100 children born each year will earn a postsecondary degree, although some will return later, as adults, to finish. About 2,050 will earn a Bachelor’s Degree and 430 will complete a community college degree. The latest Census data showed that more than a hundred thousand residents of Jefferson County have some college credit but no degree.