A higher (ed) priority.

• Position: STATESTATS - Brief article

Compared to the rest of the world, the United States has a high proportion of college-educated citizens. Stacked up against other developed countries, however, the nation is losing ground. Young adults in nations such as Korea and Japan are pursuing higher academic degrees more aggressively than their U.S. counterparts.

The United States ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25- to-34-year-olds with college-level degrees (42 percent). U.S. leaders from all walks are sounding the alarm: Unless more young Americans embrace the college track, political and economic decline is likely. They drive home the point with numbers: 88 percent of 23- and 24-year-olds with college degrees in America were employed during the peak of the Great Recession. while...