2011 Index of Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Preparing for Economic Success
The region’s youth are making progress
on multiple measures of achievement,
but gaining access to higher education
is becoming more challenging.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT
The future success of the region’s young people in a knowledge-based
economy will be determined largely by how well elementary and
secondary education in Silicon Valley prepares its students for
higher levels of education.
How well the region is preparing its youth for postsecondary education
can be observed in graduation rates and the percentage of
graduates completing courses required for entrance to the
University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU).
Likewise, high school dropouts are significantly more likely to be
unemployed and earn less when they are employed than high
school graduates. Indicators in gateway skills such as algebra
proficiency are highly correlated with later academic success. As
tuition rises in both the CSU and UC systems statewide, paying
for college becomes a growing barrier to obtaining a universitylevel
education.
Rate of Graduation and Share of Graduates Who Meet UC/CSU Requirements
Silicon Valley High Schools
Percentage of High School Graduates
Who Meet UC/CSU Requirements
SOCIETY
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Graduation Rates
85%
52%
High School Graduation
86%
47%
87%
50%
81%
36%
80%
2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009
Silicon Valley
California
% of Graduates Who Meet UC/CSU Requirements
34%
78%
Notes: 2006-07 marks the first year in which the CDE derived graduate and dropout counts based upon student level data
Data Source: California Department of Education
Analysis: Collaborative Economics
35%
32
HOW ARE WE DOING
Graduation rates improved one percent in the region and fell two
percent statewide from 2007-08 academic year to 2008-09. Up
from three percent from the prior year, 50 percent of high school
graduates in Silicon Valley met UC/CSU requirements in the 2008-
09 school year. Compared with California, 15 percent more
graduates met these requirements in the region.
African Americans showed the greatest improvement over the previous
year with a three percent increase in overall graduation rates and
an eight percent increase in those graduates meeting UC/CSU
requirements. Asian (95%), White (93%) and Filipino (92%) groups
reported the highest graduation rates and American Indians
reported the lowest at 73 percent.
Of all Silicon Valley eighth graders tested in 2010, 55 percent scored
proficient or higher on the California Standards Test (CST) Algebra
I Test. After falling from a peak of 61 percent in 2006 to 53
percent in 2007, 55 percent represents gradual progress.
Total enrollment in the UC and CSU schools is slowing, and the
percentage of enrolled foreign students is growing. Following a
dramatic drop in 2004, enrollment in the UC/CSU schools
increased ten percent over the five-year period. Possibly a result
of increasing tuition costs, total enrollment slowed to less than
one percent from 2008 to 2009 - the smallest increase in the last
five years. UC enrollment has grown at a faster rate than the
CSU system since 2004, but CSU comprises approximately two
thirds of total enrollment. Foreign enrollment increased 26
percent from 2004 to 2009 and three percent just in the last
year. In 2009, foreign students accounted for six percent of UC
enrollment and five percent of CSU enrollment.
After falling in the 2006-07 academic year, the percentage of full-time
freshmen with student loans or some form of financial aid in
2007-08 jumped nationwide. In terms of loans and financial aid,
a smaller percentage of students receive financial aid.
Percentage of High School Students who Dropout
Percentage of High School Students who Graduated in 4 Years
28%
24%
20%
16%
12%
8%
4%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
26%
95%
Hispanic American
Indian
High School Graduation Rates
By Ethnicity
Silicon Valley High Schools, 2008-2009
93%
Data Source: California Department of Education
Analysis: Collaborative Economics
0%
Asian White Filipino Pacific
Islander
19%
by Ethnicity
Silicon Valley High Schools, 2008-2009
African
American
92%
Pacific
Islander
84%
80%
High School Dropout Rates
18%
15%
*Other includes students who selected multiple or did not respond
Data Source: California Department of Education
Analysis: Collaborative Economics
13%
75%
73%
African Hispanic American
American
Indian
10%
9%
5%
14%
87%
Silicon
Valley
Total
Other* Filipino White Asian Silicon
Valley
Total