Out of the 11.6 million jobs created in the post-Great recession economy, 11.5 million went to workers with at least some college education, and 8.4 million of these went to workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Even before the pandemic, only 45% of Massachusetts ninth graders went on to earn a degree or credential and Black and Latinx students were approximately 20 percentage points less likely to complete college degrees than white students with the same MCAS scores. Many expect the pandemic will widen these gaps.

Yet, Massachusetts Early College programs are on track to double college completion rates among Black and Latinx students demonstrating that Early College expansion is a tangible strategy that we can act on immediately to build a more equitable Commonwealth post-COVID.

Check out new Massachusetts data on Early College outcomes.