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May 2006 — Vol. 84, No. 4

Connecticut has skilled workers now, but it has ...

 

An aging workforce

The state’s population is aging more rapidly than most states’. We had the seventh-oldest population in 2003, with a median age of 38.7. By 2008 the median age is projected to be 40. (CERC, EDDI 2005) The average age of a Connecticut ...

  • aerospace engineer is 54,
  • nurse is 46,
  • skilled machinist is 58, and teacher/administrator is 51.

And 44% of Connecticut math and physics teachers are over age 50. (Office of Workforce Competitiveness, April 2005)

Not enough replacement workers

  • The state’s workforce is not growing.
  • The state has twice as many households without children as with them.
  • Connecticut now has more individuals over age 62 than it has teenagers.

Persistent performance gaps

Forty percent of Connecticut’s potential workers live in the state’s cities, many of them in poverty. Significant achievement gaps persist among low-income, urban, minority students.

Average percentage of students meeting state goals in:

 

4th Grade

6th Grade

8th Grade

Average

62.5%

67.7%

62.2%

Black

30.8%

33.0%

31.2%

Hispanic

31.3%

33.0%

31.0%

(Connecticut Department of Education, 2005)

Inadequate math, science skills

Less than half of 10th graders meet state goals in math and science.

Average percentage of students meeting state goals on 10th-grade CAPT test:

  • Math 47.8%
  • Reading 49.1%
  • Science 47.3%
  • Writing 55.2%

(Connecticut Department of Education, 2006)

Too few students finishing college

An estimated 75% of Connecticut high school freshmen graduate on time, and only 26% of those who go on to college graduate college on time. (“Closing the Achievement Gap 2006,” Achieve Inc.)

 

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