According to a study by WalletHub, Maryland ranks as the 3rd most educated state in America in 2024

“I believe they are. I contend that higher educated states are better positioned to withstand economic shocks because many of these individuals have jobs that are not the frontline manufacturer where a reduction in force can be done easier. Jobs with the requirement of a higher education are more resilient to economic downturns.”
Brett Geier – Professor, Western Michigan University

To what extent should states consider education policy as part of a broader economic development strategy?

“As someone who cares deeply about education, I know the importance education policy will have on our future, so states have to consider education policy as a potential economic development strategy. For example, if we create policies to ensure schools not only hire but retain teachers, our youth will have improved chances of succeeding in K-12 thus increasing chances that students enroll in some form of postsecondary education. These youth will go on to become our next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, nurses, lawyers, real estate investors, and voting taxpaying members of society which will continue to stimulate our economic growth. By creating policies to ensure all students succeed our economy will be a direct beneficiary.”
Dr. Ramon Goings – Associate Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

“I think it is a critical component to enticing industry to locate in a state or locality. First, the industry wants to know that they have a well-educated and well-trained workforce to hire making them efficient. I am convinced that support for early childhood education is imperative and if I had to prioritize expenditures, I would make early childhood the main focus of an education policy. Next, would be to lower class sizes as much as possible including support for intense remediation where needed. This would be followed by the social support required to provide students with the tools necessary to navigate a society that has seen significant trauma since 9/11.”
Brett Geier – Professor, Western Michigan University

What is the impact of K-12 school quality on rates of high school completion and later college attendance and completion?

“K-12 school quality broadly does impact high school completion and college attendance and completion. However, when folks consider K-12 school quality it is important to consider how exactly are they defining ‘school quality’? For example, some may consider a school to be quality if students are doing well on typical standardized measures of achievement. Others may consider school quality the fact that their child is in a school where their teacher recognizes their potential and puts their time and energy into ensuring they reach whatever their goals are in life. While no one view is necessarily right or wrong I think having a shared understanding is important. In one study I conducted with Dr. Qi Shi from Loyola University Maryland, we explored the predictors of Black male high school students’ educational attainment generally and bachelor’s degree attainment specifically. We found some evidence that self-expectation and the expectations teachers have of them as a predictor of their educational attainment after high school. I share this to underscore the importance K-12 teachers’ dispositions and expectations they hold of their students can have on students’ later educational attainment. So, in conversations about school quality, we have to move beyond just state educational assessments as the bar to measure K-12 school quality.”
Dr. Ramon Goings – Associate Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

“There has been a longstanding debate as to whether the rates of high school completion, college attendance, and college completion are due more to student ability or to school quality. When it comes to K-12 education, various studies have found that school districts with well-prepared teachers, sufficient levels of counseling and advising staff, student-centered educational practices, and ample financial and educational resources are likely to have higher levels of student high school completion and college attendance than districts that lack these (and other) determinants of school quality. When it comes to college attendance and completion, large-scale study findings suggest that student success is more likely when there is a strong match between the quality of the college and students’ ability levels. In other words, as the quality of the higher education institution increases, the completion rate for less academically inclined students tends to decrease. While these study findings are informative, it is important to remember that many factors determine whether or not a student graduates from high school, attends college, or completes their college degree. Most of these factors—socio-economic conditions, parents’ education levels, job opportunities, and others—have nothing to do with the quality of the school a student attends or their overall ability to succeed in school.”
Andrew Furco – Professor; Associate Chair, Dept. of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development; Co-Coordinator, Higher Education Program; Director, International Center for Research on Community Engagement, University of Minnesota