Regional Trends
Regional Trends
Urban Core Trends
Urban Core Trends
Supply the Region with an Educated, Skilled, and |
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Percent of Students Scoring Proficient or Above on MCAS Third Grade English Language (Reading) Test
Description:
The Percent of students scoring proficient or above on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English Language test includes all students scoring “Proficient” or “Above Proficient,” and was calculated by dividing the percent of students who received these scores on the test by the total number of students in the region who took the test. Overall, between 2006 and 2007, the Pioneer Valley saw a 1.7% increase (from 50.5% to 52.2%) in the number of students who scored proficient or above on the MCAS English language test. Proficient scores were not as prevalent in the urban core, but trends were positive-increasing from 34.6% to 37 percent (a 2.4% change). Trends in the three urban core areas varied, with Springfield and Holyoke each experiencing increases of about 2.5%-while Chicopee’s urban core experienced an increase in proficient scores of 11.5 percent.
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Percent of Students Passing the MCAS Tenth Grade Math Test
Description:
The Percent of students passing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) math test was calculated by dividing the percent of students who took the test. Overall, between 2006 and 2007, the Pioneer Valley saw a 3.5% decrease (from 89.4% to 85.9%) in students who passed the MCAS math test. The proportion of students who passed the math test in the urban core was more than 16% lower (69.6% in 2007). Trends were positive though, with an increase of almost 6 percent between 2006 and 2007. The two urban core areas both increased significantly, with Springfield’s passing scores increasing by 5.5% while Holyoke’s increased 8.5 percent.
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Indicator Trend
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Percent of Students Passing the MCAS Tenth Grade English Test
Description:
The Percent of students passing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English test was calculated by dividing the percent of students who passed the test by the total number of students who took the test. Overall, between 2006 and 2007, the Pioneer Valley saw a 1.4% decrease (from 92.9% to 91.5%) in the number of students who passed the MCAS English test. In 2007, students in the urban core passed in a proportion that was more than 10% lower than the Pioneer Valley as a whole. Trends were positive though, with an increase of 1.6% from 2006 to 2007. The two urban core areas displayed contrasting trend patterns, with Springfield’s passing scores remaining relatively stable, increasing by 0.8% while Holyoke experienced a significant increase of 6.3 percent.
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Indicator Trend
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Dropout Rate of High school Students
Description:
Drop out rates are the percentage of all 9th through 12th grade students who drop out of high school in a single year (the annual drop out rate). The Pioneer Valley’s drop out rate decreased 1.1% from 5.7% in 2005 to 4.6% in 2006. In the urban core, dropout rates were higher than the region in significantly larger proportions. In 2006, schools in the urban core had a dropout rate of 9.1 percent, almost twice the rate of the Pioneer Valley. Trends were positive though, with a decrease of 2.7 percent between 2005 and 2006. The two urban core areas had trend patterns that were very different. Holyoke’s dropout rate increased 1.9% while Springfield’s decreased by 4.1 percent.
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Indicator Trend
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Educational Attainment of the Workforce 25 or older as Measured by the Percentage of High School Graduates
Description:
Educational attainment is calculated by determining the percentage of the population above the age of 25 who have a high school diploma, including those who have attained more advanced degrees (Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Graduate, or Professional). Between 1990 and 2000, the percentage of the Pioneer Valley workforce who were high school graduates increased from 76.5% to 82.7% respectively, for a 6.2% change. In 1990 urban areas had a proportion of high school graduates that was more than 7% lower than the Pioneer Valley as a whole. Although the proportion of high school graduates increased by almost 4.0 percent between 1990 and 2000, the gap in attainment between the urban core and the region had increased to more than 10 percent. All three urban areas showed an increasing trend towards more educational attainment, with Chicopee experiencing the largest increase (7.7%), while Holyoke had the least (2.0 percent).
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Indicator Trend
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Educational Attainment of the Workforce 25 or older as Measured by the Percentage of College Graduates
Description:
Educational attainment is calculated by determining the percentage of the population above the age of 25 who have at least an Associate’s degree, including those who have attained more advanced degrees (Bachelor’s, Graduate or Professional). Between 1990 and 2000, the percentage of the Pioneer Valley workforce who were college graduates increased from 18.5% to 25.5% respectively for a 7% change. In the urban core, the percentage of college graduates increased by a less than 1% between 1990 and 2000. There was less of a gap between the urban core areas and the region when it came to advanced degrees (the urban core had a 2.9% higher rate in 1990 and the region had a 3.2% higher rate in 2000). Trends varied within the three urban core areas. Springfield increased its proportion of college graduates by only 0.4%, while Holyoke’s proportion increased by more than 2 percent. Chicopee followed slightly different trend patterns, as its proportion of population with an advanced degree decreased by 0.9 percent.
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Indicator Trend
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The Percent of Older Workers (55 to 75 years old) Who Remain Engaged in the Workforce
Description:
The percent of older workers who remain engaged in the workforce is calculated by dividing the number of people between the ages 55 to 75 years old who are in the labor force by the total number of people between the ages of 55 to 75 years old. Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the percent of older workers who remain engaged in the workforce in the Pioneer Valley increased from 30.6% to 32.0 percent. Trends differed slightly in the urban core, with a 1.3% decrease in the number of older workers in the labor force. Trends varied in the two urban core areas. Holyoke remained relatively stable, with a slight increase (0.9%) while Springfield experienced a decrease of 2.0% in older workers in the labor force.
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The Median Age of the Region's Workforce Encompassing Ages 16 to 64
Description:
The median age of the region’s workforce is the middle age of all people engaged in the labor force between the ages of 16-64 years old. In the Pioneer Valley, the Median Age of the workforce increased by 9.3% between 1990 and 2000. The median age in the urban core areas increased even more than that of the region. From 1990 to 2000, there was an increase of 15.6 percent. All three urban core areas had the same median worker age (32 in 1990, and 37 in 2000), thus they all had an increase of 15.6 percent.
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Indicator Trend
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Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC)
60 Congress Street • Springfield, MA 0101104-3419 www.pvpc.org
For more information on the State of the Region and Plan for Progress Performance Indicators,
contact the PVPC's
Regional Information & Policy Center at (413) 781-6045