The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce has released its 2013 Competitiveness Redbook, featuring key indicators of Arkansas’s business climate.
The book ranks Arkansas in 54 major indicators, including nine in education (16.6%). Major education indicators are:
Science and Engineering Doctorates (2008 & 2009)*
- Number Awarded (2009) (127 – 40th)
- % Workforce with Doctorates (2008) (.18% – 50th)
Educational Attainment of Population 25 and Older (2010)**
- Completed High School (or EQ) (82.9% – 44th)
- Bachelors Degree (19.5% – 48th)
- Advanced Degree (6.3% – 50th)
Higher Education Total Fall Enrollment Public vs. Private (Fall 2010)***
- Total % (6.03% – 33rd)
- Public (5.34% – 16th)
- Private (.69% – 44th)
Total Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Public (Fall 2010)***
- 2-yr (2.12% – 17th)
- 4-yr Undergrad. (2.69% – 15th)
- 4-yr Grad/Prof. (.53% – 18th)
Total Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Private (Fall 2010)***
- % in Private (.69% – 44th)
- 2-yr (.02% – 47th)
- 4-yr Undergrd. (.56% – 42nd)
- 4-yr Grad/Prof. (.11% – 45th)
Fall Enrollment in Private For-Profit and Non-Profit Colleges (2010)***
- Total For-Profit (3,414 – 40th)
- Total Non-Profit (16,701 – 38th)
Import/Export Ratio of College-Bound High School Graduates (Fall 2010)****
- Import/Export Ratio (<1=Exporter, >1=Importer) (2.64 – 9th)
- Freshmen enrolled in Institutions inside state (22,169 – 33rd)
National Assessment of Educational Progress (2011)*****
- 4th Grade Reading (Score: 216.50 – 37th)
- 8th Grade Reading (Score: 259.1 – 42nd)
- 4th Grade Math (Score: 237.8 – 35th)
- 8th Grade Math (Score: 279.0 – 38th)
Estimated Public School Spending Per Pupil (2009-10)******
- Operating + Capital ($11,271 – 29th)
- Operating ($10,017 – 26th)
- Capital ($1,254 – 18th)
Sources
- * National Science Foundation’s “Science and Engineering Indicators 2012”
- ** American Community Survey (2010)
- *** U.S. Department of Education; U.S. Census Bureau
- **** U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
- ***** U.S. Department of Education
- ****** U.S. Census Bureau