Immersed in data!

The Chronicle of Higher Education's annual Almanac Issue is out with some interesting and easy-to-overlook data. This year, the Chronicle not only reports current and recent data, but in several areas projects forward with estimates, say, for the number of high school graduates in 2016. 

Some fast facts:

• 27% of the U.S. population has a Bachelor's degree or higher;
• Different states have remarkably different profiles, with 37% of Massachusetts and 34% of Colorado citizens having college degrees, compared with 16% for West Virginia and 18 or 19% in Mississippi, Nevada, Arkansas and Kentucky;
• In fact, states touching the Mississippi or Ohio rivers have the lowest degree percentages in the country; with the exception of Colorado and Minnesota, the highest are on the coasts;
• Women make up more than 57% of the college student population--a number that rises every year;
• The number of high school graduates and college freshmen is projected to decline a bit between now and 2010, but will return to 2006 levels by 2016; and
• The number of graduate degrees conferred will rise every year;

There's more, but already one can see the emerging portrait of two Americas--more food for thought for strategic planners.