Community Connection | March 2013 | Maricopa Community Colleges
COMMUNITY COLLEGES & THE SHARING OF THE AMERICAN … · •Wealth •Life expectancy •Culture &...
Transcript of COMMUNITY COLLEGES & THE SHARING OF THE AMERICAN … · •Wealth •Life expectancy •Culture &...
0
COMMUNITY COLLEGES & THE SHARING OF THE
AMERICAN DREAMAmerican Association of Community Colleges
10th June 2019
Richard V. Reeves, Brookings Institution
@richardvreeves
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Distribution of 529 holders
15
We are the 99%!
16
Or not?...
17
Separation also in…
• Family structure and stability• Health• Wealth• Life expectancy• Culture & social capital• Neighborhoods• Education…
18
19
Education: The Great Equalizer
20
The leveling power of college…
21
But 4-year+ biggest pay bump
22
The ROI on college…
23
But….
24
Stickiness of….education
25
Big Class Gaps in College Going
26
46%
28%
22%
27%
38%
43%
50%47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
All first-time enrollees Under 100% povertythreshold
Neither parent finished highschool
First-generation
4-year public orprivate nonprofit
2-year public
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2011-12 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up (BPS:12/14).
Community Colleges: serving those in need
27
Community college for the middle class
28
Increasingly so over time..
29
Transfer rates vary by state
30
31
Williams’ Warrior Society
32
Williams’ Warrior Society“The reformers protest that equality of opportunity has not really been achieved; the wealthy reply that in fact it has, and that the poor now have the opportunity of becoming warriors - it is just bad luck that their characteristics are such that they do not pass the test. ‘We are not’, they might say, ‘excluding anyone for being poor, we exclude people for being weak, and it is unfortunate that those who are poor are also weak’.” – Bernard Williams
33
America’s Test-Taker Society“The reformers protest that equality of opportunity has not really been achieved; the wealthy reply that in fact it has, and that the poor now have the opportunity of getting good college educations - it is just bad luck that their characteristics are such that they do not pass the test. ‘We are not’, they might say, ‘excluding anyone for being poor, we exclude people for being dumb, and it is unfortunate that those who are poor are also dumb’.” – Bernard Williams (adapted!)
34
Conclusions
• Higher education can act to magnify or mitigate class inequality
• Community colleges are vital for upward mobility into the middle class
• Improving flexibility and movement within the system is vital
• The myth of meritocracy is dampening efforts for equitable reform