DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SOUTH DAKOTA’S YOUTH:FACT SHEET Download PDF |
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THE NEW WORKFORCE: BENEFITS OF BEING PREPARED WITH TECHNOLOGY SKILLS |
- At present, over half (56%) of employed Americans over age 18 use a computer at work.[1]
- Between 2004 and 2014, jobs in the information technology fields are expected to increase by about 30%, for an addition of over 1 million jobs nationally.[2]
- 28 out of every 1,000 private sector workers in South Dakota are employed by high-tech firms (45th highest rate in the nation).[3]
- South Dakota ranks 51st in the U.S. for overall number of high-tech workers and 50th for average high-tech wage.[4]
- In South Dakota, high-tech industry workers earn an average of $15,890 more per year than other private sector workers.[5]
HOW WIDE IS THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY GAP? |
- 70% of households in South Dakota earning less than $15,000 per year do not own a computer compared to 38% of all South Dakota's households and 38% of all households nationally.[6]
- 81% of households in South Dakota earning less than $15,000 per year do not use the Internet at home compared to 46% of all South Dakota's households and 45% of all households nationally.[7]
- 21% of all South Dakota's households have broadband compared to 20% of all households nationally.[8]
- Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, South Dakota ranks 26th in percentage of households with a computer, 29th in percentage of households with Internet access, and 15th in percentage of households with broadband access.[9]
ARE SCHOOLS EQUIPPING TODAY’S YOUTH? WHERE SOUTH DAKOTA STANDS |
- 14% of 4th graders and 19% of 8th graders in South Dakota scored below the basic level of math that is expected in their grade (national average is 19% and 30%, respectively).[10]
- There are 1.9 students for every Internet-connected computer in South Dakota's public schools; in high-poverty schools there are 1.3 students per connected computer (the national average is 3.7 and 3.8, respectively).[11]
- In 3% of schools in South Dakota, the majority of teachers (at least half) are "beginners" when it comes to using technology (the national average is 15%).[12]
- South Dakota is among the 34 states that has education technology standards by grade level.[13]
SOUTH DAKOTA'S YOUNG PEOPLE MOST IN NEED |
- Of the 186,000 children in South Dakota, 35,000, or 19%, are living in poverty.[14] Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, South Dakota ranks 17th in percentage of children living in poverty.[15]
- 30% of South Dakota's children live with parents who do not have full-time, year-round employment (the national average is 34%).[16]
- 8% of teens in South Dakota do not attend school and do not work (the national average is 8%).[17]
- South Dakota residents aged 20-24 have an unemployment rate of 5.0% (the state unemployment rate for all ages is 3.1%).[18]
March 2008
[1] U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Computer Use and Internet Use in the United States: 2003, Issued October 2005, Viewed March 5, 2008: 23-208. http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p23-208.pdf
[2] Jay Vesgo, BLS Current and Projected IT Employment Figures by Detailed Occupation, Computing Research Association, Revised January 13, 2006, Viewed March 10, 2008. http://www.cra.org/wp/index.php?p=71
[3] U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Covered Employment and Wages as reported in American Electronics Association, Cyberstates 2007: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry. State rankings associated with footnotes #3-4 are based on data that includes Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, along with the fifty states. A ranking of #1 represents the best state; a ranking of #52 represents the worst. (Not available online.)
[6] U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey: Computer and Internet Use 2003, special tabulation by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Calculation by The Children's Partnership. (2003 represents the most recent data available.)
[9] Ibid. Rankings calculated by The Children’s Partnership. A ranking of #1 represents the best state; a ranking of #51 represents the worst.
[10] U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Mathematics Assessment, as reported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Profiles by State, March 11, 2008. http://www.kidscount.org/sld/profile.jsp
[11] Market Data Retrieval, “2005-06 Public School Technology Survey,” and unpublished tabulations from MDR's Public School Technology Survey (2005), as reported in Education Week, Technology Counts 2007: A Digital Decade. This figure includes only computers that are available for student instruction. High-poverty schools refer to schools in which more than half the students are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. March 6, 2008: 3.http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/tc/2007/SD_STR2007.pdf[12] Education Counts Custom Table Builder. Education Week, August 23, 2007. http://www.edweek.org/rc/2007/06/07/edcounts.html
[13] The Children's Partnership, review of the Department of Education Web sites for the 50 states, conducted December 2007.
[14] U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Revised November 2, 2006, Viewed March 5, 2008. http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032005/pov/new46_100125_03.htm
[15] Ibid. Rankings calculated by The Children's Partnership. A ranking of #1 represents the worst state (highest percentage of children living in poverty); a ranking of #51 represents the best (lowest percentage of children living in poverty).
[16]Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007 Kids Count Data Book, as reported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, February 29, 2008: 51.http://www.aecf.org/upload/PublicationFiles/databook_2007.pdf
[18] U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Preliminary 2006 Data on Employment Status by State and Demographic Group, March 5, 2008: 3-53.http://www.bls.gov/lau/ptable14full2006.pdf
