13

Educational attainment is strongly linked to high income levels. Unfortunately, Oklahoma does not fare well in college attainment levels, a key component of generating better incomes.

Oklahoma has fewer college graduates per capita than the national average and most surrounding states. More importantly, we are falling further behind, especially in key fields of science and technology. This trend must be reversed to put Oklahoma into a competitive position in today's knowledge-based economy.

Oklahoma must generate more college graduates to enrich its labor force and make itself attractive to high-wage information companies. We can do this by:

1. Providing grade 13 and 14 scholarships for all students completing rigorous high school course work;
   
   
2. Retraining existing work force in science, technology, and information systems fields, allowing them to move into higher paying jobs;
   
   
3. Increasing investment in computer technology and Internet access in public schools to foster a corps of computer literate students.