Fast Facts

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  • American students rank 18th internationally in mathematics

    Summary of results from the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The National Center for Education Statistics

  • Someone with a college degree makes 84% more over a lifetime than someone with only a high school degree

    The College Payoff: Education, Occupations, Lifetime Earnings, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2010

  • The incidence of incarceration is 63 times higher among high school dropouts without a GED than among young four year college graduates.

    The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School, Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies, 2009

  • Reading and math scores improved 40 to 50% faster with teachers who reported high levels of parent outreach and participation

    The Longitudinal Evaluation of School Change and Performance in Title I Schools.

  • Of the 1,650,000 bachelor's degrees conferred in 2009-2010, the largest numbers of degrees were conferred in the fields of business (358,000), social sciences and history (173,000), health professions and related programs (130,000) and education (101,000).

    U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012

  • The number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in the combined fields of engineering and engineering technologies increased 8 percent between 1999-2000 and 2004-2005, and then increased a further 12 percent between 2004-2005 and 2009-2010.

    U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012

  • For the 2010-2011 academic year, annual current dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, room and board were estimated to be $13,600 at public institutions, $36,300 at private not-for-profit institutions, and $23,500 at private for-profit institutions. Between 2000-2001 and 2010-2011, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 42 percent, and prices at private not-for-profit institutions rose 31 percent. 

    U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012

Did You Know?

  • The Department of Defense spent $568.15 million on tuition assistance in FY12.
  • Army Soldiers earned 2,469 associate’s degrees, 3,264 bachelor’s degrees and approximately 1,625 graduate degrees in FY12.
  • The U.S. Army sponsors a wide range of education programs to help youth achieve their highest goals.
  • Army ROTC awards hundreds of full and partial scholarships and is available at more than 800 colleges and universities.
  • Army ROTC is a college elective students can try out for up to two years with no obligation.
  • The ASVAB program guide contains information on approximately 400 occupations and also helps students identify specific areas for which they have an aptitude.
  • Since 1981, the Army Reserve has presented the National Scholar Athlete Award to more than 235,000 studentsannually.
  • The NHRA's Youth and Education Program, presented by the U.S. Army, is motorsports' first and only full-time program devoted exclusively to educational programming.
  • The U.S. Army currently employs more than 14,000 Soldier-linguists, stationed in countries around the world, as well as in Alaska, Hawaii and the continental United States.
  • The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education to individuals who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. For more information, please visit www.GIBILL.va.gov.
  • The U.S. Army is one of the most significant investors in education in the nation.