Educational Attainment Rankings

The U.S. Department of Education produces a report on educational attainment by state. Here you can view in detail what % of adults 18 years and over have attained high school, two-year, four-year and graduate degrees.

Changing the trajectory of a region in this critical arena of life is difficult. Most of the lower-ranking states are poor and southern, demonstrating how long-term politics and economics shape the future of regions. There is such a tight correlation between the level of academic achievement, the economic prosperity of individuals and their long-term health that it's a wonder that states lacking in these rankings haven't risen up and demanded signficant change.

It's often been the case that desperate times call for desperate measures. But the willingness in West Virginia to embrace new educational paradigms and pilot projects has not matched the urgency that our results would indicate. While the WV State Department of Education has received positive feedback nationally for its 21st Century Education plans, it is difficult to infuse these new concepts and ensure teacher readiness at a local level.

We are very excited about the "Disrupting the Classroom" theme of this year's Education Track at the Create WV Conference. We encourage everyone across the state to personally invite their superintendent of schools and school board members to attend. Watch this blog site for ongoing updates on the topics covered in this track.