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Education

Colorado's population is knowledge-intensive and extremely well educated. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Colorado second in the nation in percentage of population with a college degree.

                                    Source: U.S. Census, 2005 Data

Colorado colleges and universities offer a broad range of business, management, engineering, and technical degrees.  All have programs that encourage students, including women and minorities, to pursue technical disciplines and all conduct joint research and training programs with corporations, particularly in technical and scientific areas.  Most graduates remain in Colorado to pursue their careers, creating a valuable source of human capital that is augmented with a host of graduates from other states and nations.

Colorado K-12 Education

Colorado's 178 school districts had a Fall 2005 enrollment of 780,708, an increase of 1.8% over 2004.  Large districts are concentrated in metropolitan areas while some rural areas have very small enrollments.  The 10 largest school districts enroll 56% of all students, while the remaining 168 districts serve the remaining 44% of state school enrollment.

Colorado public schools receive funding from a variety of sources. However, most revenues to Colorado's 178 school districts are provided through the Public School Finance Act of 1994 (as amended). In budget year 2006-07, this legislation provides for over $4.7 billion of funding to Colorado school districts via state taxes ($3.04 billion), local specific ownership (vehicle registration) taxes ($170.6 million), and local property taxes ($1.57 billion).

State of Colorado K-12 Education Revenues by Source

Source:  Colorado Department of Education, 2006

Landmark legislation passed in 2000 requires the participation of all K-12 public school students in the state's assessment system, CSAP.  Based on results and improvements, every school in Colorado is issued a Report Card for which annual progress and innovative programs are rewarded, providing Colorado's children the highest quality public education possible.

Also passed in 2000, Amendment 23 increased public school funding by requiring that spending on state special purpose educational programs be increased by at least the rate of inflation plus one percent.

Colorado Student Test Scores

Colorado is one of only two states (the other is Illinois) that mandate that all juniors, Grade 11, take the ACT test.  As a result, Colorado's average score fell below the national average for the first time.  Colorado officials chose to administer the ACT Assessment to all 11th graders because it is a curriculum-based achievement test that coincides closely with state learning standards, and to encourage students to attend college who had not previously considered it as an option.

Colorado's ACT scores for core course students (taking courses designed to college-bound students) are in line with their counterparts in other states, and above the overall composite score.

The SAT is taken by about 26% of Colorado high school students, and average scores remain well above national averages.

Colorado Student Performance on College Entrance Exams, 2006

Source: Colorado Department of Education

"Education Quotients" of Colorado School Districts

Expansion Management magazine compiles an "education quotient" for school districts across the United States.  It examines over 2,800 school districts nationwide to create an index based on graduate outcomes, community educational attainment, school spending, student:teacher ratios, and other criteria. Colorado's public schools have done well in this ranking. The following districts earned 'gold ribbon' or "blue ribbon" rating, described as the top 17 and 33 percent, respectively, of all districts ranked.

Colorado Educational Attainment

The following table compares Colorado with its neighboring states in terms of educational attainment of the population 25 years and over:

Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey ' 2005, released August 2006

Colorado Higher Education Fall 2005 Enrollments

Four-Year Colleges and Universities:

Two-year Colleges:

Source:  Colorado Commission on Higher Education,  August 2006

• Fall 2005 enrollments totaled 214,749 at Colorado's public post-secondary institutions.



• Private colleges and universities in Colorado had enrollments totaling over 30,000 in 2004.  These include the University of Denver, Regis University, Colorado Christian University, Colorado College, and many smaller institutions.



• Finally, vocational schools and proprietary institutions provide another post-secondary education option for Colorado residents.  Vocational schools have average enrollments of 8,000 per year, while the proprietary institutions offer instruction in a wide variety of subject areas, and provide instruction to an estimated 15,000 students.

Colorado Higher Education - Degrees Conferred

Colorado students received 39,157 degrees awarded by 28 public higher education institutions in fiscal year 2005, the most recent year for which there is data.  The following table summarizes the degrees granted by major subject area of study.

Over 5,700 Colorado students received degrees in Business and Management, and almost 4,000 received degrees in Math & Computer Sciences or Engineering & Technology in 2005.

Source: Colorado Commission on Higher Education, FY 2005 Degrees Granted, July 2006