Priority Area: Workforce and Education

Success Measure:
Increase average per-capita income by

$4,838

per year by 2030

GOAL: Reduce income inequality and economic hardship and improve high school graduation rates by advancing careers and career pathways into high wage, high demand jobs.
‍
REASON: Those with lower incomes and less educational attainment have poorer health outcomes than those with higher educational attainment and higher incomes.

Across several health ranking measures, people with lower incomes and less educational attainment have poorer outcomes than those with higher educational attainment and higher incomes.
‍
Recognizing the impact of these factors on health, America’s Health Rankings included several measures: income and income inequality, high school graduation, unemployment, poverty, dependency, and crowded housing.

The connection between education and health is well-documented. Higher educational attainment is associated with better jobs, higher earnings, increased health literacy, better self-reported health, and fewer chronic conditions. Individuals with lower educational attainment are at a greater risk of adverse health outcomes such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, mental health problems and premature death. Additionally, students who drop out of high school are more likely to experience incarceration.

Working to improve education statewide will lead to a healthier population long-term while building a pipeline of talented people who will train and stay in Louisiana. (AHR)

What we should know and do to drive change:

Issue specific to High School Graduation

Louisiana ranks 50^th in high school graduation rates (WiseVoter)

LA Rate

80.1%

US Rate

85.8%

Percentage of high school students graduating with a regular high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade. (2018-2019 school year) (AHR)‍‍

Who is affected most?

Asian and non-Hispanic white students compared with American Indian/AlaskaNative and non-Hispanic Black students
Students who do not have children compared with students who have children
Students who do not have a disability compared with students who have a disability
Students who are proficient in English compared with students with limited English proficiency

High school graduation rates in my community

As of 2022, only 80% of Louisiana high school students are graduating with a regular high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade (AHR)

Solutions

Developing interventions that target social, economic, and health-related barriers to graduation will increase high school graduation rates
Keeping children and adolescents in school through high school graduation and beyond is key to increasing equitable health outcomes (AHR)
Increase work-based learning programs including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships
Identify strategies to keep students stay in school longer by adjusting policies and graduation requirements
Idea exchange on best practices and policies

Current state of the policy

Programs aimed at increasing high school graduation rates include:

Vocational training and alternative schooling
Social-emotional skills training
College-oriented programming, mentoring, and counseling
Attendance monitoring and case management
Community service opportunities

Source

Other gulf states, specifically Mississippi,Alabama, and Florida have higher high school graduation rates than Louisiana. State Rankings: Educational Attainment by State

LA (50th)

14.2%

MS (49th)

14.7%

AL (46th)

13.1%

FL (27th)

11.5%

GA (36th)

12.2%

Percentage of people over 25 years who do not have a high school diploma‍‍

What other states are doing:
‍Alabama, Alabama, Mississippi

Issue specific to Labor Underutilization

Louisiana ranks 43^rd in unemployment (AHR)

The 43 percent of workers who were underemployed in their first job were five times as likely to be underemployed five years later as those who were not underemployed in their first job (Strada Education). Labor under utilization reflects the extent to which workers are unable to work as fully as desired and/or not doing work that makes full use of their skills and abilities. This brief examines labor underutilization using the following three measures:

US Rate: 6.3% unemployment
‍LA Rate: 7.6% of people 16-64 are jobless, looking for a job, and available for work
Sources: AHR; Strada Education; US Bureau of Labor and Statistics

Who is affected most?

Underemployment

Immigrant workers: Includes highly skilled immigrant workers and foreign degree holders
Career changers
Students rejected from professional programs
Formerly incarcerated people
Women ages 25-54
People of color, especially those of Asian decent

Unemployment

Widowed, divorced, or separated—especially men
25-44 years old; especially men
Women, especially Black/ African American and Latinx
People with temporary jobs
Underemployed people

Source

Solutions

FACTS:

Unemployment decreases with educational attainment
Students rejected from professional programs receiving career counseling and accessible or cheap training or retraining are the best practices to continue their careers
Right-size credentialing is an economic mobility opportunity for
Employer: Cost efficiency (salary matches expectations with credentials), lower turnover (increased job satisfaction),
Employee: greater job satisfaction, increased opportunity for professional development, career stability, and upward economic mobility

To combat labor underutilization organizations must create adaptive capacity:

Assessment of job required skills, education, and experience by role and industry
Develop experience and education equivalency models (Example: 5 years of experience = Degree level)
More robust skill development by employer or education partner
Learn by emersion

Next Steps:

Share findings and job descriptions with right-size credentialing opportunities
Identify ways to partner with new industries in Louisiana

Metrics:

Total Labor force
Total Labor participation
Employment rate

Current state of the policy

Interventions that work:

Those that focus on training, employing, and retaining those with Risk Factors for unemployment
Those that focus on stable employment
Those that support higher educational attainment

Source

High school graduation rates in my community

Unemployment by state.
Percentage of civilian workforce ages 16-64 that are unemployed. Click the map below to be directed to the America’s Health Rankings interactive map.

Issue specific to Language and Literacy

Louisiana ranks 47th in literacy (WiseVoter)

Children and adults with limited language skills and low literacy skills are more likely to experience lower educational attainment and less economic mobility (HHS)

US Rate: 21%, or about 43 million adults, have low literacy skills, bordering on illiteracy (NCES)
‍
‍LA Rate: 27.1% of people in Louisiana have low literacy skills, bordering on illiteracy (NCES)

Who is affected most?

Higher risk for having limited English language skills and low literacy:

Individuals who do not speak English at home
Immigrants
Individuals with lower levels of education

Solutions

FACTS:

Identify testing and assessment differences for early literacy
Identify differences in supports for 1^st-4^th grade students across states
Identify differences in supports for those with limited English proficiency
Expand tools for adult and early childhood literacy support networks
Proficiency test scores
Stratified literacy curriculum/programming
o Educational extenders (Ex: online support in school to assist varied literacy levels)
Adult literacy programs and partnerships
School systems: college, high schools offering adult literacy classes

Current state of the policy

Research indicates that limited language skills and low literacy skills are associated with lower educational attainment and worse health outcomes
In 2019, an estimated 21.6% of the United States population age 5 years or older spoke a language other than English at home
100% of individuals who immigrated to the United States between the ages of 1 and 11 years self-reported being fluent in English
1/3 of individuals who immigrated to the United States when they were age 12 years or older reported that they were not fluent in English — varied significantly by race/ethnicity, age at immigration, and amount of formal education prior to entering the United States
English-only speakers literacy scores increase by educational attainment, with scores varying by level of education

Source

Louisiana compared to other states:

4th Grade Reading Proficiency

32%

LA (50th)

28%

MS (49th)

31%

AL (46th)

28%

FL (27th)

39%

GA (36th)

32%

Reading, Singing, or Storytelling

57.2%

LA (50th)

50%

MS (49th)

48.8%

AL (46th)

55%

FL (27th)

60.4%

GA (36th)

52.5%

Literacy Rate

79%

LA (50th)

72.9%

MS (49th)

72%

AL (46th)

76.1%

FL (27th)

76.3%

GA (36th)

76.4%

Additional resources:
National Center for Educational Statistics

Priority Area: Workforce and Education

Education Rate

Unemployment Rate

Success Measures

Ratio of median household income

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