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Nebraskans often speak of the "good life" they enjoy in their home state. This is made possible by quality public K-12 schools, safe and clean communities, an array of higher education opportunities, and a strong work ethic. In order to maintain this "good life," the state has charted a plan for creative and proactive leadership in education and technology that will well position the state for the future.
At the elementary and secondary level, many school districts have been consolidated, reflecting a decline in rural Nebraska’s population. For the 2003-04 school year, the state was home to 1,504 schools in 746 districts.
Nebraska’s high school graduates continually outscore their peers across the country on the ACT college entrance exam, continuing a 21-year trend of the state’s average ACT score outpacing the national average. The state's average test score for the high school class of 2004 remained at 21.7 (an average they’ve maintained for at least eight years), the same as last year and higher than the national average of 20.9 (out of a possible 36). When compared to 12 other states with a high percentage (70 percent or more) of their students taking the 2002 ACT test, Nebraska ranked first, meaning a large percentage of Nebraska students are well prepared for college and the work force.
Nebraska is the only state to have succeeded in saying no to mandatory statewide tests under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Nebraska's school districts design their own assessment systems comprised of student portfolios containing numerous evaluation tools and testing measurements.
Traditionally Nebraska has one of the highest participation rates in higher education in the country. It also ranks among the top ten states in the nation in per capita state appropriation for public higher education. Nebraska’s largest higher education institution is the University of Nebraska, with campuses in Lincoln, Omaha, and Kearney, the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, as well as the two-year College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. The state has three state colleges: Chadron State College, Peru State College, and Wayne State College. Nebraska is also home to six community colleges (with 13 campuses) and 18 independent private colleges and universities (comprised of 14 four-year colleges and universities, two two-year colleges, and two federally-funded tribal colleges), as well as over 50 private career trade schools.
The Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Recruitment Program (LSIGRP) works to attract the brightest students for inclusion in several life science fields. Supported by the Nebraska Research Initiative and the National Science Foundation, the UNL Center for Biotechnology promotes all aspects of molecular life sciences research. The University of Nebraska also has a strong informatics emphasis with the Nebraska Informatics Center for the Life Sciences (NICLS) as well as UNL’s new Interdisciplinary Bioinformatics Specialization program.
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