Measuring Up 2002: The State-by-State Report Card for Higher Education
PARTICIPATION


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Compare State Performance
Compare States by Contextual Information
Performance Gaps or Change Over Time

PARTICIPATION
YOUNG ADULTS
High School to College Rate
Young Adult Enrollment
WORKING-AGE ADULTS
Working-Age Adult Enrollment

Do state residents have sufficient opportunities to enroll in education and training beyond high school?

The opportunity to enroll in higher education varies widely across states. Within states, large gaps exist in the rates of enrollment of young people by ethnicity, family income, and level of parents' education.

Young Adults

In most states, less than half of high school students go on to college right after high school.

° In only five states do more than half of high school freshmen complete their diplomas and continue directly on to higher education. In most states, between 40 and 50% of high school freshmen complete high school and go on to higher education immediately.
° In 10 states, less than 30% of all young adults (ages 18 to 24) are enrolled in college.
° The proportion of high school students who finish high school and go on to college in Massachusetts (54%) is almost double the proportion who do so in Arizona (28%).
° 43% of young adults (ages 18 to 24) in Connecticut are enrolled in higher education, while only a quarter of those in Arkansas are.

Enrollment among different groups within states is highly uneven.

° In Colorado, 30% of white 18- to 24-year-olds are enrolled in higher education, compared with 15% for all other races.
° In South Carolina, 55% of 18- to 24-year-olds from high-income families are enrolled in higher education, compared with 16% of 18- to 24-year-olds from low-income families.
° In Alabama, 52% of 18- to 24-year-olds whose parents went to college are enrolled in college-level education, compared with 17% of 18- to 24-year-olds whose parents did not go to college.

Working-Age Adults

The proportion of working-age adults (ages 25 to 49) enrolled part-time in education or training beyond high school is very low throughout the United States, and there are wide disparities among states.

° In New Mexico, 6% of working-age adults are enrolled part-time in college-level education or training programs. In Montana, only 1.5% are.
 
Grades measure a state's performance in relation to other states.
A
Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island
B
Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
C
Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia
D
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
F
Georgia
Massachusetts is the top-performing state in participation.