Stats That Stick: May 4, 2011

Researchers found that by age 29 or 30, more than half of high school students who had worked less than 15 hours a week had completed a bachelor’s degree. But for every five additional hours worked over 15 hours a week, students experienced an 8% drop in college completion. Only about 20% of those who had worked 31 hours or more a week in high school finished college. –USA Today reporting on a University of Michigan study

Only 6% of prisoners were enrolled in vocational or academic post-secondary programs during the 2009-2010 school year. Of those who were enrolled, 86% were serving time in 13 states, suggesting other states provide little access to inmate education. –Institute for Higher Education Policy

Many high school seniors may be old enough to vote, but just one-quarter of them demonstrate at least a “proficient” level of civics knowledge and skills, based on the latest results from a prominent national exam. –National Assessment of Educational Progress

Homeless children fare significantly worse in school than other poor children. In Virginia, 21.2 percent of students who are homeless at some point during their high school years drop out, compared with 14.8 percent of all poor children, the state’s Department of Education says. In Colorado, the high school graduation rate is 72 percent for all students, 59 percent for poor students and 48 percent for homeless students, according to data from the state’s education Web site. –New York Times