PREPARATION    PARTICIPATION    AFFORDABILITY    COMPLETION    BENEFITS




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STATE COMPARISONS: INDEX SCORES—PREPARATION
StateName Category Grade Category Index Score High School Credential (20%) Math Course Taking (15%) Science Course Taking (15%) Algebra in 8th Grade (10%) Math Proficiency (5%) Reading Proficiency (5%) Writing Proficiency (5%) Math Proficiency among Low-Income (5%) College Entrance Exams 10% Advanced Placement Exams 10%
Alabama F 56 91 46 51 43 37 55 55 11 66 30
Alaska A- 90 95 87 87 87 92 87 87 87 95 61
Arizona D+ 67 83 65 65 65 54 74 68 42 64 42
Arkansas D 64 91 78 73 29 40 61 42 62 62 21
California C- 70 87 61 54 75 52 58 65 26 64 91
Colorado B 86 92 84 84 84 78 79 87 58 106 62
Connecticut A 97 99 83 89 100 94 111 142 47 91 100
Delaware C+ 77 96 66 68 89 58 66 71 32 68 79
Florida C 74 90 72 72 72 52 61 61 32 74 76
Georgia D+ 68 91 66 66 66 49 66 74 16 54 55
Hawaii C 73 99 71 71 71 49 50 48 37 66 67
Idaho D+ 68 92 69 43 68 66 66 66 66 79 29
Illinois A 93 93 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 108 66
Indiana C- 70 96 76 84 29 74 68 68 42 64 29
Iowa B 84 95 76 95 81 97 81 81 81 92 24
Kansas B 83 98 80 80 80 80 92 80 80 98 21
Kentucky C 74 91 85 92 61 48 76 68 21 67 31
Louisiana F 56 88 73 57 36 23 47 39 16 61 17
Maine B+ 88 99 86 86 86 96 111 103 95 63 50
Maryland B+ 88 101 85 85 85 75 82 74 32 80 98
Massachusetts A 99 97 100 100 118 85 95 100 37 94 97
Michigan B 85 98 75 78 96 87 83 83 83 91 47
Minnesota C+ 78 97 64 62 43 106 97 81 105 98 40
Mississippi D 66 89 83 111 46 22 50 35 11 46 17
Missouri C+ 77 97 83 84 68 66 76 55 47 91 26
Montana B 86 98 83 83 83 100 100 81 83 90 30
Nebraska A- 90 98 103 89 88 95 88 88 100 98 20
Nevada D+ 67 83 54 68 61 65 63 65 65 68 42
New Hampshire B 86 96 84 84 84 84 84 84 84 82 61
New Jersey A 97 99 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 85 94
New Mexico D- 62 84 58 57 64 44 63 58 37 66 29
New York B 83 91 73 76 50 68 89 68 80 90 104
North Carolina B 84 92 100 84 96 62 82 87 32 56 72
North Dakota B 83 102 86 86 46 102 81 81 116 89 18
Ohio C+ 79 96 80 65 68 77 77 77 77 96 43
Oklahoma D+ 69 93 73 68 29 67 76 81 67 69 27
Oregon C- 71 81 68 54 79 81 87 87 63 73 32
Pennsylvania C+ 78 94 76 76 75 75 75 75 75 65 48
Rhode Island C 76 92 74 74 74 63 79 81 42 68 58
South Carolina C- 70 94 68 68 68 42 58 48 68 46 67
South Dakota C 76 98 76 92 43 73 73 73 73 72 24
Tennessee C- 71 93 69 69 69 46 68 77 26 77 42
Texas C 74 87 78 70 72 64 74 100 32 65 55
Utah A 100 98 85 81 193 75 82 68 89 77 100
Vermont B- 80 100 71 78 71 84 78 78 78 75 51
Virginia B 84 93 82 82 82 65 87 87 26 70 103
Washington C+ 79 94 77 77 77 81 84 81 63 82 35
West Virginia D+ 68 96 71 70 68 42 71 58 32 59 23
Wisconsin A- 90 97 93 100 61 98 87 90 88 100 51
Wyoming C- 72 95 70 70 70 66 76 74 58 78 12

Notes: Bold numbers refer to best-performing states. Italicized numbers mean that the state is missing data; the italicized value is based on an average of the state's other scores in the category. For more information about sources and grading, see "Articles and Findings" section.



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STATE COMPARISONS: INDEX SCORES—PARTICIPATION
StateName Category Grade Category Index Score High School to
College Rate (40%) 		Young Adult Enrollment (20%) Working Age Adult Enrollment (40%)
Alabama C+ 77 64 79 84
Alaska D+ 69 48 74 83
Arizona C 75 52 65 99
Arkansas D- 60 71 62 45
California B+ 88 80 90 90
Colorado B- 80 70 70 91
Connecticut B+ 88 81 100 84
Delaware A 100 81 63 133
Florida D+ 67 54 71 73
Georgia F 52 57 63 38
Hawaii B- 81 86 88 69
Idaho D 64 68 64 56
Illinois A 95 90 84 100
Indiana C- 70 75 80 56
Iowa B 83 101 81 63
Kansas A 94 86 92 99
Kentucky D 63 67 74 51
Louisiana F 59 58 77 47
Maine C+ 77 72 84 75
Maryland A 93 79 100 97
Massachusetts A- 92 99 90 81
Michigan B+ 88 75 96 93
Minnesota B- 80 85 86 68
Mississippi D- 62 67 77 46
Missouri C- 72 66 71 74
Montana D+ 67 85 85 37
Nebraska A 94 95 95 88
Nevada D+ 67 47 48 93
New Hampshire C+ 79 79 89 70
New Jersey B+ 87 100 94 65
New Mexico B- 81 65 59 103
New York B- 80 81 85 72
North Carolina D 66 62 76 62
North Dakota B 85 117 104 39
Ohio C- 72 71 81 64
Oklahoma C 75 64 78 79
Oregon D 64 65 62 62
Pennsylvania C 74 80 88 58
Rhode Island A 93 86 88 98
South Carolina D- 61 59 72 53
South Dakota C 73 83 88 52
Tennessee D- 60 63 66 52
Texas D 66 58 72 67
Utah C 76 74 79 73
Vermont C- 72 78 72 62
Virginia B- 82 76 81 83
Washington C- 72 78 76 62
West Virginia D+ 67 70 85 51
Wisconsin B 86 86 95 78
Wyoming B- 80 76 73 83

Notes: Bold numbers refer to best-performing states. For more information about sources and grading, see "Articles and Findings" section.



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STATE COMPARISONS: INDEX SCORES—AFFORDABILITY
StateName Category Grade Category Index Score Family Ability to Pay at Community Colleges* Family Ability to Pay at Public 4-Year Colleges* Family Ability to Pay at Private 4-Year Colleges* Need-Based Financial Aid (20%) Low-Priced Colleges (20%) Low Student Debt (10%)
Alabama D 65 77 77 65 1 47 88
Alaska C 75 82 88 100 0 61 90
Arizona C- 71 72 72 62 2 93 77
Arkansas C+ 77 85 80 67 20 73 92
California A 100 66 62 42 35 215 71
Colorado B- 81 81 87 53 45 65 81
Connecticut C 73 78 70 44 76 56 72
Delaware C- 70 84 69 74 14 71 76
Florida D 64 72 73 46 9 63 81
Georgia D+ 68 75 81 54 0 73 80
Hawaii C- 71 77 70 60 2 87 86
Idaho B- 80 89 89 57 2 78 100
Illinois A 95 83 80 58 116 72 74
Indiana C+ 79 73 75 57 73 47 92
Iowa B 85 87 100 62 57 54 91
Kansas B 86 102 99 71 16 71 91
Kentucky B 83 100 91 70 31 63 93
Louisiana C- 70 95 82 39 1 68 85
Maine F 54 51 65 35 27 33 86
Maryland D 66 65 69 50 37 50 75
Massachusetts D 63 80 71 38 68 44 66
Michigan C 75 73 68 73 47 59 93
Minnesota A 94 91 97 59 103 44 98
Mississippi C+ 79 112 78 64 1 69 96
Missouri D+ 69 75 81 60 14 68 79
Montana D- 61 73 70 62 1 42 97
Nebraska C+ 77 86 91 65 10 69 88
Nevada B 83 73 84 71 31 89 89
New Hampshire F 50 64 64 50 8 29 76
New Jersey B 83 75 67 54 100 50 86
New Mexico B 84 91 72 46 26 100 91
New York D- 60 48 54 36 87 26 71
North Carolina A 96 80 94 54 25 149 85
North Dakota C 74 79 85 102 8 49 106
Ohio D- 62 65 65 52 36 37 86
Oklahoma B- 81 95 94 65 17 65 92
Oregon D- 61 64 64 43 22 53 81
Pennsylvania C 74 72 65 47 93 46 79
Rhode Island F 49 64 52 35 18 44 76
South Carolina C 73 77 72 63 22 73 87
South Dakota D+ 67 0 88 60 0 34 99
Tennessee C 73 88 84 53 15 66 86
Texas C 76 83 77 54 12 86 85
Utah A 98 85 114 151 3 82 91
Vermont D- 61 66 49 41 78 35 74
Virginia C 76 85 73 62 39 68 80
Washington B- 81 83 85 50 56 59 84
West Virginia D 63 72 67 48 21 44 94
Wisconsin B+ 87 75 107 61 54 52 95
Wyoming C+ 79 89 86 0 1 72 104

* Weights within the Family Ability to Pay indicators are based on enrollment by type of institution. The zero scores for South Dakota on Family Ability to Pay at Community Colleges and for Wyoming on Family Ability to Pay at Private 4-Year Colleges are weighted at zero, and as a result do not affect the state's overall grade for affordability.
Notes: Bold numbers refer to best-performing states. For more information about sources and grading, see "Articles and Findings" section.



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STATE COMPARISONS: INDEX SCORES—COMPLETION
StateName Category Grade Category Index Score Students Returning at 2-Year Colleges (10%) Students Returning at 4-Year Colleges (10%) Bachelor's Degree Completion (30%) All Degree Completion (50%)
Alabama B- 81 69 86 69 89
Alaska F 55 55 55 55 55
Arizona C- 70 70 88 66 70
Arkansas D+ 67 84 80 49 73
California C 73 75 99 80 63
Colorado C 75 66 89 73 75
Connecticut B+ 89 96 100 100 79
Delaware B 85 63 98 101 77
Florida B+ 88 95 96 79 91
Georgia B- 80 83 89 69 85
Hawaii C 73 62 91 63 77
Idaho C 73 73 74 44 91
Illinois C+ 79 82 93 84 73
Indiana B- 82 84 92 74 85
Iowa A- 92 76 98 87 96
Kansas B 83 84 84 70 91
Kentucky C- 70 88 83 56 72
Louisiana C 74 74 83 43 91
Maine B+ 88 101 91 91 84
Maryland B- 80 86 99 88 71
Massachusetts A- 92 88 99 99 88
Michigan C+ 77 77 92 78 74
Minnesota B+ 89 89 96 76 95
Mississippi C+ 77 91 89 67 77
Missouri B- 80 85 89 70 83
Montana C 73 73 83 57 80
Nebraska C 75 75 89 65 77
Nevada F 56 77 88 58 45
New Hampshire A 101 100 95 98 104
New Jersey B- 80 90 100 87 70
New Mexico D- 61 80 82 45 62
New York A- 90 97 93 80 94
North Carolina B+ 89 81 95 84 92
North Dakota B 86 86 88 61 100
Ohio B 83 92 91 81 81
Oklahoma C- 70 70 83 60 73
Oregon C 74 67 93 78 69
Pennsylvania A 99 106 98 94 101
Rhode Island A 98 98 95 100 97
South Carolina B 84 82 91 79 86
South Dakota B- 81 81 82 62 91
Tennessee C 73 84 89 69 71
Texas D+ 68 64 87 65 67
Utah D+ 68 61 79 44 82
Vermont A 96 96 94 103 91
Virginia B 84 85 97 90 77
Washington B- 82 60 100 76 87
West Virginia C 76 65 87 67 83
Wisconsin B 84 70 96 82 86
Wyoming B 83 86 83 83 83

Notes: Bold numbers refer to best-performing states. Italicized numbers mean that the state is missing data; the italicized value is based on an average of the state's other scores in the category. For more information about sources and grading, see "Articles and Findings" section.



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STATE COMPARISONS: INDEX SCORES—BENEFITS
StateName Category Grade Category Index Score Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher (30%) Increased Income from Education (25%) Population Voting (12.5%) Charitable Contributions (12.5%) Quantitative Literacy (6.7%) Prose Literacy (6.7%) Document Literacy (6.6%)
Alabama C 75 62 71 89 99 75 75 75
Alaska B 86 81 86 94 90 86 86 86
Arizona B- 80 74 85 67 96 81 84 80
Arkansas D- 62 54 59 78 93 57 46 45
California B+ 88 86 98 74 96 86 87 82
Colorado A 105 103 80 92 94 171 164 138
Connecticut A 94 99 90 86 100 94 94 94
Delaware A 93 78 93 76 99 129 125 119
Florida C- 70 72 56 74 94 75 65 62
Georgia C 73 77 77 72 97 48 47 41
Hawaii C+ 77 77 66 76 97 77 77 77
Idaho C 74 63 60 87 90 87 100 87
Illinois B- 82 83 75 83 97 84 80 76
Indiana C 73 64 67 79 92 81 79 76
Iowa C+ 77 74 54 93 95 98 84 80
Kansas B 84 90 86 85 95 76 64 60
Kentucky D 66 58 54 81 94 66 66 66
Louisiana D+ 67 58 64 83 96 64 56 49
Maine C 73 69 56 96 94 73 73 73
Maryland A 110 109 130 84 99 110 110 110
Massachusetts A- 90 100 87 85 100 70 79 77
Michigan B 85 72 100 89 98 87 73 60
Minnesota A 93 92 81 109 99 93 93 93
Mississippi C 75 69 68 79 96 75 75 75
Missouri C 76 83 70 89 93 64 56 44
Montana B 85 81 78 100 91 85 85 85
Nebraska B- 80 83 62 88 98 80 80 80
Nevada C- 70 61 71 67 93 78 70 61
New Hampshire B- 81 88 63 84 94 81 81 81
New Jersey A 93 98 102 75 101 81 77 77
New Mexico C 76 67 76 83 90 76 76 76
New York B 83 91 83 77 102 67 64 58
North Carolina D+ 67 68 72 77 96 38 40 34
North Dakota C+ 77 78 56 102 94 77 77 77
Ohio C 76 67 74 86 91 81 77 76
Oklahoma C- 72 65 68 82 98 71 68 53
Oregon C+ 78 71 77 90 90 78 78 78
Pennsylvania B- 81 77 87 78 98 83 68 70
Rhode Island A 93 89 96 90 100 93 93 93
South Carolina B- 81 72 82 84 97 81 81 81
South Dakota C- 72 71 50 95 93 72 72 72
Tennessee D+ 68 63 68 74 95 60 50 52
Texas C 75 74 81 66 92 66 65 60
Utah B- 82 82 76 77 98 82 82 82
Vermont B- 82 89 64 92 89 82 82 82
Virginia B+ 88 93 88 72 97 88 88 88
Washington B+ 89 88 84 88 93 100 95 100
West Virginia F 59 52 65 71 88 45 35 31
Wisconsin B- 80 73 70 93 95 93 90 72
Wyoming C 73 71 56 100 88 73 73 73

Notes: Bold numbers refer to best-performing states. Italicized numbers mean that the state is missing data; the italicized value is based on an average of the state's other scores in the category. For more information about sources and grading, see "Articles and Findings" section.

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