Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson says the state needs to double the percentage of students who earn college degrees or training certificates in order to compete in the changing economy.

Commissioner Randy Watson says a national report found that 72 percent of the jobs in Kansas by 2020 will require some level of post-secondary education.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports (http://bit.ly/2njIMhk) data from the National Student Clearinghouse found only about 65 percent of Kansas high school graduates in 2010 enrolled in college the following year. Six years after graduation, fewer than 40 percent had earned any kind of degree or training certificate.

Watson spoke this past week to a joint meeting of Kansas Senate and House education committees, which will help write a new school funding formula this year.

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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com.