DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY FOR VERMONT’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]
- 59 out of every 1,000 private sector workers in Vermont are employed by high-tech firms (13th highest rate in the nation).[3]
- Vermont ranks 45th in the U.S. for overall number of high-tech workers and 26th for average high-tech wage.[4]
- In Vermont, high-tech industry workers earn an average of $30,632 more per year than other private sector workers.[5]
HOW WIDE IS THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY GAP? |
- 59% of households in Vermont earning less than $15,000 per year do not own a computer compared to 34% of all Vermont's households and 38% of all households nationally.[6]
- 69% of households in Vermont earning less than $15,000 per year do not use the Internet at home compared to 42% of all Vermont's households and 45% of all households nationally.[7]
- 17% of all Vermont's households have broadband compared to 20% of all households nationally.[8]
- Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Vermont ranks 15th in percentage of households with a computer, 14th in percentage of households with Internet access, and 32nd in percentage of households with broadband access.[9]
ARE SCHOOLS EQUIPPING TODAY’S YOUTH? WHERE VERMONT STANDS |
- 11% of 4th graders and 19% of 8th graders in Vermont scored below the basic level of math that is expected in their grade (national average is 19% and 30%, respectively).[10]
- There are 3.1 students for every Internet-connected computer in Vermont's public schools; in high-poverty schools there are 3.5 students per connected computer (the national average is 3.7 and 3.8, respectively).[11]
- In 9% of schools in Vermont, the majority of teachers (at least half) are "beginners" when it comes to using technology (the national average is 15%).[12]
- Vermont is among the 34 states that has education technology standards by grade level.[13]
VERMONT'S YOUNG PEOPLE MOST IN NEED |
- Of the 133,000 children in Vermont, 14,000, or 10%, are living in poverty.[14] Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Vermont ranks 47th in percentage of children living in poverty.[15]
- 31% of Vermont's children live with parents who do not have full-time, year-round employment (the national average is 34%).[16]
- 7% of teens in Vermont do not attend school and do not work (the national average is 8%).[17]
- Vermont residents aged 20-24 have an unemployment rate of 6.4% (the state unemployment rate for all ages is 3.6%).[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/VT_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
