EDUCATION
Education received relatively little attention in focus groups and survey responses, perhaps because satisfaction with both K-12 and postsecondary education is high.  We received a long list of pet peeves, but none were repeated more than twice.  Most comments were in general praise, summed up as follows:
 

"We have dedicated, caring teachers, good to excellent leadership; IUK is a tremendous and under appreciated facility; IVY Tech is continually growing in stature."

 

EDUCATION ATTAINMENT
Howard County adults are more likely to have finished high school, but less likely to have earned bachelor's degrees, than all Hoosiers or all Americans.  As seen in the chart, the County's high school attainment has improved markedly since 1970 and kept pace with state and national trends.  This is not the case with four-year college degree attainment, which has slipped behind the state and national rates and stood at about 17% in 2005.  Howard County's apparent decline from 2000 to 2005 could be a statistical anomaly; the 2005 figure is based on a sample, not a census, with an error rate that could put the true number anywhere between 14.3% and 19.5%

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
Howard County is well situated to improve its college attainment level.  The proportion of graduating seniors who state intentions of pursuing four-year college degrees has climbed steadily from a rolling average of 46% in 1990 to 68% in 2006, higher than Indiana's current rate of 60%. IU-Kokomo and Ivy Tech Community College have made recent upgrades.  Ball State, Purdue, and various colleges and universities in Indianapolis are all within commuting distance.

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
There are 42 elementary and secondary schools in the County, including 31 public schools in five school corporations.  Public school enrollment is 14,000, with the Kokomo-Center Township Consolidated School Corporation accounting for half the total.  Community leaders express special pride in the Kokomo Area Career Center, which serves all of Howard County and is under expansion.

Howard County schools as a whole perform above state averages on graduation rates and I-STEP scores.   The proportion of students passing the I-STEP has improved since 2001 in both math and English in all five districts. Northwestern, Western, and Eastern School Corporations are the highest performing districts. Sadly but typically, school district performance correlates with student body demographics, measured here as the proportion of students using the free and reduced lunch program.