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States Graded on Higher Education
A new comprehensive study of the state of higher education in the United States says that as a whole, the nation has made large improvements in the percentage of high school students taking upper-level math and science courses.
However, taken individually, many states have a long way to go in order to adequately prepare students for college education, according to Measuring Up 2000, the first-of-its-kind report card by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, released November 30.
The report rated each state in five categories: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, and benefits. The authors used the familiar A-B-C grading scale and compared state-by-state.
According to a press release from the Center, as Measuring Up 2000 was being completed, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that for the first time three countries—Norway, Britain, and the Netherlands—have surpassed the United States in the proportion of young people who graduate from college.
“As the world leader in higher education in the 20th century, the United States will have to work hard to maintain leadership in the 21st century,” said North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt Jr., chair of the National Center’s Board of Directors. “Accessible, affordable and quality higher education is critical to preparing Americans for the high-skilled jobs of the new economy.”
Some important findings in the report include:
- Only eight states–Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Utah and Wisconsin get an “A” in preparation of high school students for college. The majority of states–31–get B’s or C’s.
- The top states in the nation with adults with bachelor's degrees or higher are Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, all with scores of 98 or better.
- States which rank the best in “science course taking” (i.e., students in the 9th through 12th grades who are taking at least one upper level science course) are Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Wisconsin.
The Center relied on data, mostly from 1998, available from state and federal agencies and by nationally-recognized private organizations. The Center plans to issue report cards every two years.
The full report can be viewed at http://www.highereducation.org