A Quick Look At Our Nation's Education Data
If you're like me and love sharing data with others, infographics are a handy communications tool that breaks information into digestible chunks. Among the latest to join the infographic trend is the U.S. Census Bureau, as part of its "How Do We Know" campaign related to veterans, America's changing labor force, manufacturing, home-based workers, and two related to education that I wanted to share.
But first, a little bit about the Census Bureau. While it is best known for conducting the census (no surprise there), the Bureau is also quite an impressive treasure trove of data, which it collects from a variety of sources and analyzes to help uncover and make sense of changing national needs. The Bureau collects population and housing census information every ten years, and economic and government census information every five; and conducts the annual American Community Survey, asking a small population sample to provide information for community planning purposes.
The first infographic, "The Face of Government: Education," looks at government workers and their compensation. Check out the section on compensation by state; specifically, the geography of the ten lowest paying states.
The second infographic, "The Educational Path of Our Nation," displays data on education costs, outcomes, and enrollment. One particularly interesting finding: In 2010, more women than men graduated from college and graduate school! The section on median earnings by educational attainment level are worth taking a look at as well. This took me back to a post that I wrote a few months back on degrees, compensation, and research on teacher effectiveness.
To follow the Twitter conversations around these and other Census Bureau infographics, check out #HowDoWeKnow. The comments shared are very interesting.
What information in these two infographics stands out to you? Anything surprising or unexpected?