The future success of Silicon Valley’s knowledge-based economy depends on younger generations being prepared for and having access to higher education.

Preparation for postsecondary education can be measured by the proportion of Silicon Valley youth that complete high school and meet entrance requirements for the University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU). Educational achievement can also be measured by proficiency in algebra, which is correlated with later academic success. Breaking down high school dropout rates by ethnicity sheds light on the inequality of educational achievement in the region. Disconnected youth, young people who are neither in school nor working, are at greatest risk for being unemployed in the long term. Access to higher education is determined in part by the cost of tuition at colleges and universities as well as the proportion of incoming students that receive financial aid.

Overall, Silicon Valley students are more likely to graduate and meet UC/CSU requirements than the average student in California. During the 2010-11 school year, 47 percent of Silicon Valley students met the UC/CSU requirements compared with 40 percent in the state as a whole. This reflects a two percent drop regionally since 2008-09 and a five percent gain statewide over the same time period. The dropout rate in both the region and the state rose three percent over the last year, with 14 percent of students dropping out in Silicon Valley, and 16 percent in California overall.

There is significant variation in academic achievement among Silicon Valley students. While the overall graduation rate was 87 percent in the 2010-11 school year, only 76 percent of Hispanic students graduated from high school in the region. Asians had the highest graduation rate in 2010-11 at 96 percent, followed by Whites (93%) and Filipinos (91%). With respect to college eligibility, the share of students meeting UC/CSU requirements varied greatly by ethnicity, with a nearly 50 percentage point difference between the highest rates (Asians) and lowest rates (African Americans and Hispanics). African Americans had one of the greatest increases in graduation rates (+3%) from 2009-11, but experienced the largest drop (-4%) in the share of graduates meeting UC/CSU requirements. Meeting UC/CSU requirement rates fell for the bottom three ranked groups (Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, African Americans) in addition to Whites, while all other groups witnessed growth.

Starting in 2011 all students enrolled in Algebra in California were required to take the California Standards Test (CST) in the subject. The share of Silicon Valley eighth graders with advanced or proficient scores in Algebra I fell 1.3 percent in 2012 to 26 percent and 30 percent respectively. This marks the first year since 2007 that fewer advanced scores have been awarded to students. The proportion of students scoring at or below basic increased, with a quarter of eighth graders scoring below basic or far below basic.

Rates of student borrowing and financial aid at Silicon Valley colleges and universities increased slightly during the 2009-10 school year, but remained well below California and national levels. During the 2009-10 school year, 29 percent of Silicon Valley college freshmen took out student loans, far less than both the state (44%) and the nation (54%). The percentage of Silicon Valley college freshmen receiving any form of financial aid rose to 64 percent, while state and national rates declined. Silicon Valley college freshmen who took out loans borrowed an average of roughly $6,900 to pay for the costs of college, a 17 percent increase from the 2008-09 school year. The increase in the average amount of student loans borrowed parallels the rise in average undergraduate in-state tuition in the region, which jumped 16 percent to over $18,000 in the 2009-10 school year.

Silicon Valley has a significantly lower proportion of disconnected youth – youth between the ages of 16 and 19 who are neither in school nor working – as compared to the state overall. While rates of disconnection in the state have been rising, Silicon Valley has seen a decline since 2009. In 2011, disconnected youth levels reached 8.7 percent in the state, nearly double Silicon Valley levels (4.7%).

• High School Graduation Rate, Share of Graduates Who Meet UC/CSU Requirements and Dropout Rate
• High School Graduation Rates
• Share of Graduates Who Meet UC/CSU Requirements
• Algebra I Scores
• College Student Debt
• Average Student Loans and Undergraduate Tuition
• Disconnected Youth