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Less Than 12 Years Education
Births to women with Less than 12 Years Education is the percent of all births
to women who have received less than 12 years of formal education. More than
any other single factor, education defines the woman's life-long economic
opportunities (and those of her children), her access to medical services for
herself and her children, and her ability to make effective use of health
information.
Births to women with Less than 12 Years Education is calculated as a percent
of all births. For example, of the 36,356 births in Arkansas in 1996, 8,257
were to women who had received less than 12 years of formal education. The
percent of births to women with Less than 12 Years Education = 8,257 / 36,356
X 100 = 22.7 percent. In 1995, in the United States, 22.6 percent of all
births were to women with less than 12 years of education.
The highest percentages of births to women with less than 12 years of
education are found primarily in the eastern part of the state, with some
variation in education throughout the state. For the 1992-1996 period, the
average percentage of births to women with less than 12 years of education
ranged from a high of 38.3 percent in Sevier County to a low of 14.2 percent
in Faulkner County. The five-year average among ADH Health Management Areas
ranged from a high of 33.0 in Area 9 to a low of 17.0 in Area 8.
The percent of births to women with less than 12 years of education also
differs by race. For the five-year period from 1992-1996, the average percent
was 21.7 for Whites and 29.4 for Blacks.
In Arkansas and nationally, there has been a decline in births to women with
less than 12 years of education since 1991. In Arkansas over the time
period, the percentage has dropped steadily from 25.7 in 1991 to the 1996
level of 22.7. From 1984-1988, the comparable figure for the United States
held steady at about 20.5 percent. With the implementation of the new
standard birth certificate in 1989, the U.S. percent has been about 23.3
percent. Since 1991, however, the national percent has also shown a steady
decline from 23.9 to 1995's level of 22.6.
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