In a high-tech state, too little homegrown talent

Washington boasts one of the country’s most high-tech economies, but the state’s higher education system isn’t producing enough workers who are qualified for available jobs.

An educated population makes for a strong work force and a vibrant economy. Considering this relationship, it’s no surprise that Washington state has both one of the most high-tech economies in the country and one of the most educated populations – Nationally, the state ranks 11th in the percentage of adults with at least an associate’s degree.

But a new study by two Penn GSE researchers reveals that Washington’s higher education system isn’t doing enough to produce those degrees.

The report, the second installment of a five-state study led by Penn GSE professors Laura Perna and Joni Finney, finds that Washington’s higher education system is failing to produce enough graduates to adequately supply the state’s workforce. As a result, many of Washington’s best jobs go to recruits from out-of-state and overseas.

“Washington is a national leader in the educational attainment of its population,” the researchers say. “However, much of the state’s success in this area stems from its ability to attract well-educated residents from other states and countries, who help to raise the level of attainment of the state population as a whole.”

By 2018, 67 percent of the jobs in Washington will require workers who have at least some postsecondary education. But Perna and Finney say too few Washington residents will have that training, citing a “policy and leadership vacuum” in the state’s higher education system for failing to adequately prepare its workforce.

“There’s no one looking out for the public’s interest,” Finney recently said in an interview with the Associated Press. “The citizens really should demand better from their elected officials.”

Washington is successful at graduating those students who actually enroll in colleges and universities – it leads the nation in the percentage of students who graduate within six years of enrolling – but not enough students enroll in the first place. Only 40 of every 100 students who start ninth grade enter college on time, and in 2007 Washington reported a 67.9 percent high school graduation rate – the 16th lowest in the country.

This means that not enough young members of the state’s workforce are accepted at four-year institutions, and those who are may not be adequately prepared. The researchers say that, despite the mild success of two college readiness initiatives, Washington “has made slower progress in systemically improving college readiness for all students by aligning high school graduation requirements with college entrance requirements.” The researchers also say the state has “failed to close gaps in performance based on race/ethnicity and family income.” 

Higher education has also become less affordable in Washington. Tuition ballooned between 1999 and 2009 – by 42.2 percent at public two-year colleges and 39.5 percent at public four-year institutions – even as median family income decreased and a budget crisis has prevented the state from meeting the demand for financial aid.

State Policy Leadership Vacuum: Performance and Policy in Washington Higher Education is the second installment in a five-state study of the impact of state policies and practices on higher education performance. Findings from Illinois were released late last year, and findings from other states in the study – Georgia, Maryland, and Texas – will be released later this year. The project is sponsored by the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

To read the full report on Washington, click here. For a summary, click here.


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