1 An Invisible Epidemic AAC&U 2011 Conference General Education and Assessment 3.0 March 5, 2011

2 One hundred million Americans are in families that make less in real income than their parents did at the same age. If you were born to wealthy parents but did not go to college, you are more likely to be wealthy than if you did go to college but had poor parents. One out of every six blue-collar workers has lost his or her job in the latest recession.

3 Companies with revenues of $5 billion and over are expected to take an estimated 350,000 jobs offshore in the next two years alone. By 2020, interest on the total U.S. debt will reach $900 billion per year. The future is that of the division between the geriatric set and the pediatric hopefuls.

4 Distribution of Total U.S. Population by Race/Ethnicity, % 12% 15% 5% 1% White Black Hispanic Asian-PI Native American Multiracial Source: NCES 2010

5 Distribution of U.S. Population by Race/Ethnicity, 2007 (Under Age 18) 57% 14% 21% 4% 1% 3% Source: NCES 2010 White Black Hispanic Asian-PI Native American Multiracial

6 Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of condition among the people…. Democratic laws generally tend to promote the welfare of the greatest possible number; for they emanate from the majority of the citizens, who are subject to error, but who cannot have an interest opposed to their own advantage. - Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835

7 From 1980 to around 1987, wage inequality increased in a rapid and steady fashion. In September 1979, the median income (in constant, inflation-adjusted dollars) was $25,896. In September 1995, the median income was $24,700a five percent cut over the intervening decade and a half.

8 The nations top 5 percent saw their pay rise 29 percent over the same period, up to $177,518. Between 1977 and 1989, the top 1 percent of Americas richest saw their income rise from $323,942 to $576,553. The average middle-class income between 2000 and 2007 fell $1,175, while expenses rose $4,655.

9 In 2009, 9.1 percent of the people who filed for bankruptcy earned $60,000 a year or more. Among those who declared bankruptcy in 2009, 57.7 percent had attended college. In 2007, 14.7 percent of American households had debt totaling more than 40 percent of their annual income.

10 There are timesthey mark the danger point for a political systemwhen politicians can no longer communicate, when they stop understanding the language of the people they are supposed to be representing. - Ian Kersaw

11 Anger Building Across America Oklahoma Tea Party Hutaree group So-called Patriot groups Like-minded militia groups Nativist extremist groups

12 In the mid-1960s, only 29 percent of voters thought big interests ran the nation. By the mid-1990s, that number climbed to 76 percent. In 2008, 80 percent of Americans surveyed believed government was controlled by a few big interests looking out for themselves. For the Benefit of All?

13 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ranked U.S. 25 th in math and 21 st in science among 30 developed countries. Ranked top 10 percent of American students 24 th in the world in math literacy.

14 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006 Total includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. Percentage of Male Inmates in State or Federal Prisons and Local Jails, by Race, Hispanic origin, and Age: June 30, 2006

15 High-School Completion Rates by Race/ Ethnicity and Gender, 2005 (18-to-24-Year-Olds) Percentage WhiteBlackHispanicAsian Amer.Nat. Am. Source: Ryu, ACE, 2008 Men (18-24 ) Women (18-24)

16 Proportion of Men/Women with AA Degree or Higher, 2006 (25-to-29-Year-Olds) Percentage WhiteBlackHispanic AA-PI Nat. Am. Source: Ryu, ACE, 2008 Men (25-29 ) Women (25-29)

17 Public School Suspensions, K-12, by Race/ Ethnicity and Gender, Percentage WhiteBlackHispanicAA-PINA-AN Source: Devoe, NCES, 2008 Men Women

18 Status Dropout Rates Among Noninstitutionalized 16-to-24-Year-Olds by Race/Ethnicity and Gender, Percentage White BlackHispanicAA-PINA-AN Source: Devoe, NCES, 2008 Male Female

19 Ronald A. Williams Vice President The College Board th St., NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC phone fax