Common Good Forecaster

Common Good Forecaster Website

Those who advocate for greater investment in education often make the economic argument: more education leads to higher wages and is critical for financial stability and independence. They’re right. Robust evidence supports the view that higher levels of educational attainment are linked to higher incomes, less unemployment, less poverty, and less reliance on public assistance.

But education is about more than just better jobs and bigger paychecks, important though they are in making families and individuals more financially stable. More education is also linked to better physical and mental health, longer lives, fewer crimes, less incarceration, more voting, greater tolerance, and brighter prospects for the next generation. More education is good for individuals who stay in school to earn their high school degree or who enter and graduate college, but it is also good for all of us, paying big dividends in the form of increased civic engagement, greater neighborhood safety, and a healthy, vibrant democracy.

The online Common Good Forecaster (TM), a joint product of United Way and the American Human Development Project takes a look at the ten indicators and makes the case for why education matters to each of these critical areas.

Life expectancy: On average, the more education people have, the longer they live.

Low birth weight: Infants born to less-educated mothers are more likely to have low birth weight, which is associated with developmental delays and infant death.

Murder: A one-year increase in the average level of schooling in a community is associated with a 30 percent decrease in the murder rate.

Obesity: Obesity has increased among all Americans, yet the more educated are less likely to be overweight or obese.

Income: The median annual earnings of Americans 25 and over who did not complete high school are less than $18,500, while those who completed high school typically earn early $26,000. College graduates earn $44,000 annually, and those with graduate or professional degrees typically earn $57,500.

Poverty: Education is the single most important factor in the determination of a person’s poverty status: almost 24 percent of the adult population without a high school diploma is poor, compared to 11 percent of those who are high school
graduates and only 3.6 percent of college graduates.

Unemployment: The less education a person has, the more likely he or she is to be unemployed. A high school dropout is four times more likely to be unemployed than a college graduate.

Children’s reading proficiency: Among eighth graders whose parents have less than a high school education, 13 percent read proficiently (beyond a basic level), compared with 42 percent of their classmates whose parents have a college degree.

Voting: In the 2004 presidential election, those with a college degree were 50 percent more likely to vote than high school graduates, and two and a half times more likely to vote than high school dropouts.

Incarceration: Nearly three-quarters of state inmates did not complete high school; fewer than three percent completed college or more.

The Measure of America Quiz

How sensitive are you to the factors that shape the quality of life for average Americans? Take this two-part quiz to determine your Human Development Sensitivity Index. Part I unpacks the human development index. Part II concerns the data contained in The Measure of America, America’s first-ever human development report. Take the quiz now.