TALENT STRONG TEXAS - July 2026 - Halfway Through Texas’ Decade-Long Education Plan, Most Students Are Not Earning a College Degree or Credential of Value

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

State leaders launched Talent Strong Texas (formerly TX 60 x 30) with a goal that 60% of Texans earn a degree or valuable credential by 2030 and updated the Texas Talent Trajectory (T3) to inform policy. The 2025 data release shows that over 70% of students who began 8th grade in fall 2014 did not complete a certificate or college degree, with economically disadvantaged groups—especially Black students—faring worst. Findings highlight opportunity leakage and guide upcoming legislative priorities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

60 x 30 goal and Texas Talent Trajectory (T3)

2025 data release and main findings

What This Means for Texas

TALENT STRONG TEXAS July 2026 Halfway Through Texas’ Decade-Long Education Plan, Most Students Are Not Earning a College Degree or Credential of Value Jaime Puente, Director of Economic Opportunity, Every Texan The Talent Strong Texas statewide strategic plan (formerly known as TX 60 x 30) launched at the beginning of this decade with the goal of 60% of Texans earning a degree or credential by 2030. To support policy decisions to reach this goal, the state has updated its 8th Grade Cohort Longitudinal study, w1hich was renamed the Texas Talent Trajectory (T3) in 2021 1 This dashboard provides policymakers, advocates, and parents, with three years of cohort data to paint a picture of the state’s success in preparing young Texans for the workforce. 2025 Data release The most recent update provides a look at how well the state is educating and preparing young people for our current and future workforce. More than 70% of students who started 8th grade in the Fall of 2014 did not complete a certificate or college degree. Of those students, more than 80% of white, Black, and Hispanic economically disadvantaged students failed to earn a college degree or credential. Black students fared the worst of all groups, with 55% of the 2014 8th grade cohort without a college degree or credential at the end of the 11-year study period. 5900 Balcones Dr. Suite 21646 | Austin, TX 78731 | Phone [512.320.0222 | EveryTexan.org](512.320.0222 | EveryTexan.org) Male students across all groups were 10 percentage points less likely to have a credential or degree than their female peers. African American and Hispanic males are at the bottom of all groups. Not one of the 20 education service center regions had more than 30% of students in the 2014 cohort earn a credential or degree. Corpus Christi ( Region II) and Midland ( Region XVIIII) have the worst credential or degree completion rates at 21.3% and 20. 6%, respectively. 5900 Balcones Dr. Suite 21646 | Austin, TX 78731 | Phone [512.320.0222 | EveryTexan.org](512.320.0222 | EveryTexan.org) What This Means for Texas Texas recognized that effectively targeting academic resources and achieving desired statewide outcomes requires an understanding of how many students are moving through critical middle and upper grades toward college and career achievement. Unfortunately, demographic trends and policy choices that eliminate immigration as a source of labor will increasingly reduce the pool of available workers in Texas in the near and long-term future. 2 There is already a need for highly skilled workers in the Texas economy, and the state’s failure to support credential or degree achievement of more than two-thirds of all students will continue to keep Texas from meeting its workforce goals. This is opportunity leakage, and it needs to be addressed. Policymakers looking ahead to the 90th Texas Legislative Session should consider how their choices will serve students who, for example, are economically disadvantaged or located in areas with significant burdens to overcome. Every Texan consistently advocates for increasing base-level school funding, employing enrollment-based funding, and, at the college and university level, meeting the full need of those qualifying for financial aid. While much has been done to maximize the effectiveness of schools, colleges, and universities, pathways to economic opportunity are still obscured by lingering structural issues like poverty and proximity to resources. Further investments should start by meeting basic fiscal requirements, such as addressing current inflation, the lived needs of students, and the ancillary costs of operating institutions in uncertain economic times. 1. The Texas Talent Trajectory; [https://databridge.highered.texas.gov/the-texas-talent-trajectory/](https://databridge.highered.texas.gov/the-texas-talent-trajectory/) [2. Cheremukhin](2. Cheremukhin), A., Wilson, D., & Zhou, X. (2026, March 31) . Break-even Emplo

FAQs

What is the main goal of Talent Strong Texas?

Talent Strong Texas aims for 60% of Texans to earn a degree or credential by 2030.

What does the 2025 data release indicate about students who started 8th grade in 2014?

More than 70% did not complete a certificate or college degree over the study period.

Which student groups experienced the biggest challenges in earning credentials or degrees?

Black students fared worst overall, and economically disadvantaged white, Black, and Hispanic students also had high non-completion rates; African American and Hispanic males were at the bottom across groups.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle