EDUCATION OUTCOMES ARE UNDER GROWING THREAT
Why Is This Important?
Early education can put a child on a good footing for life, better prepared to face the rigors of K-12 education. Similarly, high school graduation rates indicate how well a region is preparing its students for post-secondary education. High school dropouts are more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates and earn less when they are employed.Variations in dropout rates by race and ethnicity reveal further disparities in opportunity. Also of particular interest are the percentage of graduating students that meet University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) entrance requirements. Meeting these requirements is the first step toward attaining higher education and professional training.
How Are We Doing?
Solano County preschool enrollment remains behind the rest of the Bay Area, Sacramento & Yolo Counties and the state. In 2009, 29 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds in Solano County were enrolled in preschool, a 4 percent drop over the previous year. Solano County lags behind the rest of the Bay Area by 17 percent, which reported a rate of 46 percent preschool enrollment in 2009. After increasing steadily over the previous two years, Solano County preschool enrollment levels dropped nearly to 2006 levels. California and Sacramento and Yolo Counties have maintained steady preschool enrollment rates of 38 percent since 2006.
Solano County’s youth continue to be at risk of falling behind in the job market compared to students in the rest of the state despite efforts by the county. Solano County has witnessed increasing high school dropout rates across almost all ethnicities and races. Overall, the dropout rate rose to 28 percent, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. Statewide dropout rates also increased (3%), reaching 22 percent in 2008-09. African Americans reported the highest dropout rates for the second consecutive year reaching 40 percent in 2009, an 8 percent increase over the previous year. Pacific Islanders posted the largest increase, jumping from 24 percent in 2007-08 to 35 percent in 2008-09.The high school dropout rate fell for American Indians who dropped 5 percent to 27 percent and the “other” category which fell to 13 percent, less than half of its 2007-08 level of 27 percent.
In conjunction with increasing high school dropout rates, high school graduation rates in Solano County as well as California have declined. High school graduation rates in both Solano County and the state fell 1 percent from the previous year, but Solano rates remain 5 percent below the state average. Solano County’s graduation rate fell to 74 percent and the state’s declined to 79 percent during the 2008-09 school years. Despite decreasing graduation rates, the share of Solano graduates who met UC/CSU requirement increased by 1 percent in both Solano County as well as the state. In 2008-09, the percentage of graduates who met UC/CSU requirements for Solano County was 28 percent compared to 35 percent statewide.Although Solano County graduates as a whole lagged behind the state in UC/CSU requirements, Solano County Asian (43%) and Filipino (40%) graduates beat the state average. In contrast, only 14 percent of African American graduates and 17 percent of American Indian graduates met the UC/CSU requirements.