Bailey noted it was only in the last 10 to 15 years that education leaders have had a consistent measure for graduation rates at colleges. He said leaders need to focus especially on low-income and minority students, who have the lowest college completion rates.
Community colleges and vocational schools could also play an important role in improving the numbers.
President Barack Obama set a goal shortly after taking office for the U.S. to lead the world in the proportion of college graduates by the year 2020. He also called on every American to commit to at least one year of higher education or career training.
To meet the president’s goal, an estimated 10 million more Americans ages 25 to 34 will need to earn a two- or four-year degree, according to figures previously released from the Education Department.
The data released July 12 shows most states will need to make dramatic leaps in order to meet the goal of having 60 percent of the nation’s young adults with a college degree.
In Florida, there were 816,946 adults ages 25 to 34 with a post-secondary degree. That number will need to increase to at least 1.48 million. In New York, the number will need to rise from 1.3 million to 1.67 million.
Montana saw the largest year to year increase in young college graduates, rising from 37.1 percent in 2009 to 40.3 percent in 2010, but the state also is among the smallest in terms of population. North Dakota is the state with the highest percent of college graduates in the 25 to 34 age range, at 50.8 percent, but again, its population is relatively small compared to other states.
Nearly 69 percent of young adults in the District of Columbia had a college degree.
Education leaders and advocates for increasing college access and completion said the overall increase was not strong enough.
“It is a small jump and it’s nothing near what we need to see to be competitive,” said James Applegate, vice president for program development at the Lumina Foundation, which works toward improving college enrollment and completion.
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