Baltimore City Youth Data Scorecard

College and Career Readiness Indicator Details (see below)

 

Indicator Details

  • What is college enrollment?

    The college enrollment rate refers to the percentage of graduating students who received a Maryland diploma and enrolled in a nationwide public or non-public college within 16 months of high school graduation. This does not include students who attend college outside of the country.

    How is the college enrollment rate calculated?

    The number of students that received a high school diploma and enrolled in a nationwide public or non-public college within 16 months of high school graduation divided by the number of graduates from the regular school year as well as any graduates that complete their program of study in the summer that follows.

    How are we doing on this measure?

    After increasing for four years in a row in Baltimore City, the college enrollment rate dropped significantly from 2019 (54.6%) to 2020 (49.6%), perhaps showing early effects of the pandemic (this decrease also occurred statewide). Just under half of Baltimore City high school graduates who identify as Black or African American enrolled in college in 2020 (49.6%), compared to 64.3% of White students, 34.1% of Hispanic/Latino students of any race, and 84.8% of Asian students.

    Data Source

    Maryland Report Card, Maryland State Department of Education

  • What is degree completion?

    The four-year degree completion rate is a six-year graduation rate for a defined cohort of first-time undergraduate students and includes students who earned a degree from either their original institution or any four-year institution, including state-aided independent institutions in Maryland. A cohort includes all students that were admitted during a specified academic year.

    How is the degree completion rate calculated?

    Completion rates count all students who enter post-secondary education for the first time each year, enrolling full-time or part-time at two-year or four-year institutions, and completing a four-year degree at any degree-granting institution in the United States.

    How are we doing on this measure?

    Four-year degree completion rates have increased in Baltimore City from 2018 (23.4%) to 2020 (28.0%). In Maryland, 70.6% of college enrollees graduated from a four-year degree in six years. Future data releases should allow the public the opportunity to better understand how the pandemic has affected college graduation rates.

    Given the fact that completion rate data from the state and Baltimore City are derived from different sources, we caution making direct comparisons between the two geographies.

    Data Sources

    Maryland Higher Education Commission Annual Data Book, Maryland Higher Education Commission

    Baltimore College Fact Book, Baltimore Education Research Consortium

  • Who is an Opportunity Youth?

    Opportunity youth are youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working.

    How are Opportunity Youth rates calculated?

    Using Census American Community Survey 1-year estimates from the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), we calculate the rate of Opportunity Youth by dividing the number of young people who are not working (using ESR variable) and not in school (using the SCH variable) and dividing by the total number of young people.

    How are we doing on this measure?

    The percentage of Opportunity Youth in both Baltimore (13.4%, same as in 2019) and Maryland (10.1%) are at the lowest rates seen for many years. The Baltimore City opportunity youth rates have decreased since 2015 (21.3%), with some bumps along the way (including an increase to 15.7% in 2021, the first calculation after the onset of the pandemic). Importantly, the percentage of Black or African American young people who are opportunity youth decreased significantly in 2022 (15.6%, down from 21.2% in 2021), but are still higher than the percentage of White young people who are opportunity youth (10.8% in 2022, up from 5.2% in 2021).

    As the data for this indicator comes from 1-year estimates from the US Census, numbers and percentages can be volatile. Time will tell if these decreases remain consistent in our city.

    Data Source

    American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates Public Use Microdata Sample

  • What is the unemployment rate?

    Youth unemployment refers to the number of young people living in Baltimore between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not working but are available to work and actively seeking employment.

    How is the unemployment rate calculated?

    The unemployment rate divides the number of unemployed youth ages 16-24 by the number of youth ages 16-24 in the labor force (the sum of employed and unemployed youth). Unemployed youth are those who report that they are without work but are available for work and have taken active steps to find work in the last four weeks.

    How are we doing on this measure?

    Using five-year census estimates, we find that the percentage of unemployed youth (ages 16-24) in Baltimore City has decreased from 22.4% in the 2012-2016 time span to 17.2% in the 2017-2021 time span. Disaggregating the data by smaller age reveals that the unemployment rate is highest for younger youth aged 16-19 (26.1%) than youth aged 20-24 (14.2%) in the 2017-2021 time span.

    Data Source

    American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B23001

  • What are median earnings?

    Median earnings for any group is the midway point of all earnings for that group. This means that half of the population in that group make less than the median salary, and the other half make more. Medians are a preferable statistic rather than averages as a few very high earning individuals can skew the average earnings figure and mislead the actual earnings of the population.

    How are median earnings calculated?

    Median earnings data is retrieved from the US Census Bureau Table S2001. All figures are adjusted to 2021 dollars using the CPI Inflation Calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    How are we doing on this measure?

    The median earnings for Baltimore City residents among people 25 years and older was $48,306 in 2021, the highest figures seen since we started collecting this data. Disaggregating the results by level of education unsurprisingly reveals the massive differences in median earnings by education level. For example, the median earnings in 2021 for those that do not have a high school diploma was $24,742, much lower than high school graduates ($33,252), those with some college experience or an associate’s degree ($41,008), those with a bachelor’s degree ($55,581), and those with a graduate or professional degree ($76,393).

    Data Source

    American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2001

 

A note on labels for youth subgroups related to race, ethnicity, and gender:

Because different data sources may use unique labels for different racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups, the Baltimore City Youth Data Scorecard does not have consistent labels for subgroups across the 20+ indicators. For example, the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Report, which informs our Kindergarten Readiness indicator, labels subgroups as “Black/African American,” “Hispanic/Latino,” and “White.” Data from the American Community Survey from the US Census, which informs several of our indicators, labels similar subgroups as “Black or African American,” “Hispanic,” and “White.” In order to not misrepresent or mistranslate data from indicator sources, we always keep the same labels used by each individual data source. For more details about our data sources, see the data source linked in each graph, the additional details provided in links above, or email James Sadler at james@baltimorespromise.org.