Radio Commentary
The percentage of the United States
population that has completed high school and college has increased over the
past generation.
As late as 1970,
only 55 percent of the population age 25 years and older had completed four or
more years of high school.
That total
has jumped from 55 percent to nearly 80 percent.
The
percentage of 25-year-olds who have completed four years of college has
increased from 11 percent to 23 percent.
These are
findings of the National Center for Education Statistics.
Many people
find it surprising to learn that, at any given time, nearly one-third of
Americans are involved with our education system.
Think about that.
The United
States has a population of nearly 314 million.
Of those
residents, more than 77 million students are enrolled in American schools and
colleges.
Many
residents also work in the education system. An additional six million
Americans are employed as elementary and secondary school teachers and as college
faculty.
Another
five million work as professional, administrative, or support staff of
educational institutions.
Clearly, education is a central
portion of who we are as Americans, and nearly a third of us cherish it enough
to participate in it or work for it. It’s an impressive statistic.
