MetroFuture identifies a need for programs to help 3,000 K-12 students each year, who might otherwise have dropped out before graduating from high school. An increasing share of high school graduates would continue on to college, and fewer will have to take remedial courses when they get there.

MetroFuture also identifies a need to expand programs to help 3,000 adults annually to obtain a GED or adult basic education, who otherwise would not have. As a result, the proportion of the working age (25 – 65) population without a high school diploma or equivalent would decline from 10% to 9%. It is likely that 50% of those who would benefit from the programs described above would be Black or Hispanic residents, whose cohorts tend to have lower education attainment.

If Current Trends continue, the number of working age adults without a high school diploma would increase by 50%, from 236,000 to 352,000. 15% of all working age adults, and 33% of working age Blacks and Hispanics would be without a diploma. With slow growth in the number of low-skill jobs, 62,000 workers without a high school diploma might be unable to find work, and will likely have lower pay, fewer benefits, and less job security. Meanwhile, there would be a shortage of 74,000 workers with a high school diploma, and a shortage of 219,000 workers with an associate, bachelors, or graduate degree.

Objectives:

• 91% of working age adults (25 – 65) will have a high school diploma or equivalent (up from 90% today, and 85% if Current Trends continue).
• 98% of 25 -34 year olds will have a high school diploma or equivalent (up from 91% today, and 89% if Current Trends continue).
• 90% of high school graduates will go on to 2- or 4-year college (up from 79% today).
• Only 10% of graduates from public high schools will need to take remedial courses during their first year of college (down from 37% today).