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Student, Worker, and Family

Schools and colleges offer education that is designed to prepare students for life. It helps them become better citizens, better decision-makers, better problem-solvers, better consumers, better spouses and parents, better employees, and better entrepreneurs. Students, workers, and families have a strong interest in identifying high-quality learning opportunities with great results.

Although the primary purpose of the MLDSC is to provide information to assist policymakers, it also works to share information with the general public. Some of the information that the MLDSC develops is expected to be especially useful to students, workers, and their families, whether they are seeking ways to improve their ability to succeed in school and college, considering opportunities for career training and career changing, discovering opportunities for work, or exploring the economic benefits of completing high school, college, or training programs.

Here are some of the questions that are addressed by items on the site right now that might be of particular interest to students, workers, and families. Click on the thumbnail to explore the questions in more detail.

  • How many students participate in dual enrolment programs (enrolling in college courses while still enrolled in high school), and what do we know about these students?
  • What are the occupational areas with the most job openings and anticipated job growth, and how many people are graduating with postsecondary awards in those fields?

In the next few months, we plan to add dashboards that address questions like these:

  • Where do Maryland high school graduates go to college in Maryland? How soon after graduation do they enroll?
  • How many individuals are both enrolled in school or college and employed, and what are their wages?
  • What are the wages of persons who graduate from community college, and how do they change in the first five years after graduation? What about persons who earn bachelor’s degrees and graduate degrees?
  • What are the workforce outcomes for people who enroll in college but do not earn a degree?
  • What are the unemployment patterns for recent graduates?
  • What is the relationship between wage and employment status and degree fields?

As we collect more data over the next few years, we plan to add dashboards and reports to answer questions like these:

  • What are the factors in high school that are associated with success in college?
  • Which financial aid programs are most effective in improving college access for different populations?
  • What factors are associated with placement into remedial or developmental courses in college? Do students who complete these courses go on to graduate?
  • How many high school graduates in each school district go on to earn college degrees in critical needs fields, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)?
  • What economic value do non-credit community college credentials have in the workplace?

Please Click here to see a complete list of available dashboards and our current research agenda.

There is a lot of additional information about education and workforce available from other State agencies.These links will take you away from the MLDS Center site.

  • Click here for information about job seekers in all parts of Maryland, updated weekly.
  • Click here for information about degree programs offered by colleges and universities in Maryland.
  • Click here for information about K-12 education, including demographics, school progress, assessments, graduation, and many others.

We welcome suggestions about other ways that we might use our data to help meet the needs of employers.Click here to make suggestions and give us feedback.Thanks for visiting.