KDK-Harman Foundation's mission to break the cycle of poverty through education was derived from analyzing research and considering research-based educational statistics. These statistics prompted us to support programs that work at the root-level to improve education across all levels for economically disadvantaged individuals. Please see the statistics below that moved us to take action.

Please also visit the E3 Alliance website to to view their 2010 Central Texas Education Profile, which has the most recent statistics on the state of education in Central Texas. 

Did you know?

Elementary and Middle School

• About 40% of Central Texas children enter kindergarten with up to an 18-month delay in skills expected for thier age (E3 Alliance).
• Central Texas data show that TAKS passing rates of different subpopulations are relatively close in 3rd grade, but widen by 5th grade.  By 8th grade, there are large disparities with Black, Hispanic and Low Income students passing at rates 30-40 percentage points lower than white students (E3 Alliance).
• Only 29% of fourth grade public school students are proficient in reading on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) (Quality Counts, 2007). 
• Only 31% of fourth graders and 33% of eighth graders read at or above proficient level on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1999).
• Only 30.7% of eighth grade public school student are proficient on the NAEP (Quality Counts, 2007).
• The low income student population is growing at twice the rate of overall Central Texas student population (Texas Education Agency AEIS Reports 2003 and 2007).

High School

• One in every three high school students and one in every two African American high school students fail to graduate from high school. These students face a lifetime of economic challenge, earning 29% less than high school graduates and half as much as college graduates. (US Census Bureau as reported by the Heritage Foundation, The Cost of American Education.)
• 30% of entering ninth-graders leave school without a regular high school diploma (Sum & Harrington, 2003).
• More than half of dropouts leave school by the tenth grade (Focus Adolescent Services, 2000).
• A dropout is 75% more likely to be unemployed (Communities In Schools, 2008).
• Of all heads of households who have dropped out of school, 50% are on welfare (Communities In Schools, 2008).
• 2/3 of all inmates in the Texas prison system are dropouts (Communities In Schools, 2008).
• Only 66.8% of public high school students graduate with a diploma. (Quality Counts, 2007).
• 68% of Americans aged 75 and older have completed high school (U.S. Census Bureau, Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003, 2004).
• Achievement in 8th grade (where gaps are huge) is highly predictive of ultimate educational attainment.  A Hispanic Texan is four times less likely to have a high school diploma than a White Texan. (E3 Alliance).
• Each cohort year of high school dropouts costs Central Texas a minimum of $425 million in lost earnings (E3 Alliance 2008 Central Texas Education Profile).

College Access and Career Ready 

• Only 42.1% of young adults enrolled in postsecondary or earned a postsecondary degree (Quality Counts, 2007).
• Nationally, the percent of 9th graders who persist through high school to enroll in postsecondary education four years later is only 37.5% (Thomas Mortensen, Postsecondary Education Opportunity, 2003).
• Only 39% of Central Texas high school graduates are tested as "college ready" (Texas Education Agency).
• Nationally, only 32% of all students leave high school qualified to attend four-year colleges and over a million incoming college students must take remedial courses to acquire basic academic skills in math and reading in order to take and comprehend entry-level college courses.(Strong American Schools)
• 90% of the fastest-growing jobs now require some postsecondary education, and more than two-thirds of new job types being created require at least a bachelor's degree (U.S. Census data).
• Central Texas stands to lose 85,000 jobs and $10 billion in personal income if it does not increase the percentage of students who go to college (Perryman Group).
• Hispanics, the fastest growing population group in Texas, are the least likely to complete high school and attend college (Texas Data Center).
   

English Language Learners (ELL) 

• In 2001-02, there were an estimated 3,977,819 English Language Learner (ELL) students in grades K-12 in public schools, a 72% increase from the 1991-92 school year (National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota, September 2003).
• Spanish was the native language of 76.9% of ELL students. No other language accounted for more than 3% of ELL students (National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota, September 2003).

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics 

• Completing Algebra II correlates significantly with success in college; those students who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college compared to students with less preparation in mathematics (Dept. of Education, The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008).
• The combination of the highest level of math taken and the number of units of core lab science is the largest factor in academic intensity of curriculum, which is in turn the most important determinant of whether a student will complete a degree.
• In the next five years, demand for scientists and engineers will increase at least 70% faster than the overall growth rate for all occupations in the U.S. (National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006).
• Math and science education are absolutely critical to our states’ and nation’s economic competitiveness—but expert math and science teachers are in short supply. 52% of middle school and 15% of high school mathematics teachers did not have a major or minor in mathematics, while 40% of middle school and 11% of high school science teachers did not have a major or a minor in science. (US Dept. of Education, Schools and Staffing Survey.)

 Austin Affordability and Mobility 

• $30,500 ($15 per hour) is needed to sustain a family of one parent and one child in Austin (PeopleFund 2008).
• $40,000 annual income is needed to qualify for a $200,000 mortgage, which is the average sales price in East Austin (PeopleFund 2008).
• 40% of East Austin residents age 25 or older have not graduated from hgh school (PeopleFund 2008). 
• The fastest growing, highest paying occupations in Central Texas will increase by over 33,000 new jobs between 2008 and 2018 with a current average salary of $66,000 (E3Alliance 2008).