State Reports: (Oklahoma, 2006)

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STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Oklahoma’s underperformance in educating its young population could limit the state’s access to a competitive workforce and weaken its economy over time. Compared with leading states, Oklahoma students are not well prepared for education beyond high school, and relatively few 9th graders enroll in college by age 19. Internationally, Oklahoma not only ranks very low in the proportion of certificates and degrees produced, but is comparable to such low-performing nations as Hungary and Poland. Since the early 1990s, colleges and universities in Oklahoma have become less affordable for students and their families. If these trends are not addressed, they could undermine the state’s ability to compete successfully in a global economy.

2006 REPORT CARD

Preparation
Participation
Affordability
Completion
Benefits
Learning

CHANGE IN OKLAHOMA SINCE 1992


Preparation	Participation	Affordability	Completion	Benefits	Learning

What do the arrows mean?

	The state has improved on more than half of the indicators in the category.
	The state has improved on some, but no more than half, of the indicators in the category.
	The state has declined on most or all indicators.

STRENGTHS

Preparation

The percentages of high school students enrolled in upper-level math and science courses have increased substantially over the past 12 years, keeping pace with the national increase.

Completion

A substantial gap remains between whites and blacks in the proportion of students completing certificates and degrees relative to the number enrolled, even though Oklahoma has narrowed this gap over the past decade.

Benefits

A substantial gap remains between whites and non-whites in the percentage of adults holding a bachelor’s degree, although Oklahoma has narrowed this gap over the past 12 years.

WEAKNESSES

Preparation

A very small percentage of 8th graders take algebra, and this percentage has decreased over the past 12 years.
Eighth graders are not well prepared to succeed in challenging high school courses. They perform poorly on national assessments in science and writing, and very poorly on national assessments in math.
Only fair percentages of high school students enroll in upper-level science courses, despite substantial improvement on this measure over the past 12 years.
Very small proportions of 11th and 12th graders take and score well on Advanced Placement tests, even though the state has been among the top performers in improvement on this measure over the past 12 years.

Participation

Oklahoma high school students are not very likely to enroll in college by age 19, primarily because few graduates go directly on to college after high school.
The percentage of working-age adults enrolled part-time in education or training beyond high school has declined by 11% over the past decade, compared with a national decline of 12%.
About 15% of Oklahoma adults do not have a high school diploma (compared with a national average of 14%), reducing their likelihood of participating or succeeding in higher education.

Affordability

Net college costs for low- and middle-income students to attend public two- and four-year colleges represent about one-third of their annual family income. (Net college costs equal tuition, room, and board after financial aid.) These families earn on average $19,114 annually.
The state makes a very low investment in need-based financial aid compared with top-performing states, even though Oklahoma has increased this investment since 1992.

Completion

A fairly small proportion of students at four-year colleges and universities earn a bachelor’s degree within six years of enrolling, despite the fact that this proportion has increased faster than the national average over the past seven years.
Oklahoma performs poorly on international comparisons of enrolled students who complete certificate and degree programs.