Across the United States, high school graduation rates are rising, more young people are going to college, and the national unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest point in four years. According to the 2014 Opportunity Index the potential for opportunity in America has grown 6.3 percent since 2011.

Opportunity Nation, a coalition of 300 community organizations, has released the latest version of its Opportunity Index, a web-based tool that allows users to see their communities performance on 16 different indicators.

A little less than half of the nation's 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschool, with percentages dropping from 48.2 percent in 2011 to 47.6 percent this year, according to Opportunity Nation's latest "Opportunity Index."

Almost all states are doing a better job of providing students with opportunities to better themselves compared with previous years.

Rhode Island ranked 29th on the annual Opportunity Index, released Monday from the national campaign, Opportunity Nation.

The 2014 Opportunity Index reveals poverty and inequality are on the rise, but some states are faring better than others.

"When young adults are neither connected to education or employment – they’re really disconnected from institutions – communities don’t do well," says Mark Edwards, founder and co-director of Opportunity Nation...

Russell Krumnow, managing director of the economic equity coalition Opportunity Nation, thinks young peoples’ online activity will open new doors for political engagement that don’t conform to the old norms. “It’s shifting. It’s hashtag-activism. That translates into action,” he says.

Today, the ranks of those facing financial strain is on the rise. Opportunity Nation’s 2013 Opportunity Index found that 49 states saw an increase in the percentage of their population living below the federal poverty line, while 45 reported a drop in median household income.