About Measuring Up: What's New in Measuring Up 2006?

As with previous editions of Measuring Up, the 2006 state report cards provide the general public and policymakers with objective information about their state’s performance in higher education. This year, state performance is assessed in three separate ways:

1. Graded Information
   Each state’s current performance is compared with that of the best-performing states, and the results are indicated in letter grades. The Affordability category is the exception—in this category, the state’s current performance is compared with the performance of the best states in the early 1990s.
   
   
2. Change in Graded Measures
   Each state’s current performance is compared with its own performance in the early 1990s. Progress, lack of progress, or a decline experienced by the state since then is indicated by an arrow pointing up, sideways, or down.
   
   
3. International Comparisons
   Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education highlights how the United States compares with other countries in providing educational opportunity and on degrees awarded. Individual state report cards compare each state’s performance with international data on college participation, degree or certificate completion, and the level of adult educational attainment.
   
   

International Comparisons

Measuring Up 2006 is the first edition that provides international comparisons for the nation as a whole and for all 50 states.The Introduction: International Comparisons Highlight Educational Gaps Between Young and Older Americans, by Patrick M. Callan, highlights how the United States compares with other countries in providing educational opportunity and on degrees awarded. Individual state report cards compare each state’s performance with international data on college participation, degree or certificate completion, and the level of adult educational attainment.

As with all data in Measuring Up, international measures are based on the most current data available. For all international comparisons, data were drawn from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). For more information about data sources and international measures, see Measuring Up Internationally: Developing Skills and Knowledge for the Global Knowledge Economy, by Alan Wagner.

Improvement in Indicators

The data behind the persistence indicators in the Completion category have improved since the last edition of Measuring Up . These indicators measure the percentage of first-year students returning for a second year at two-year or four-year colleges and universities. Previously, these measures relied on the ACT, Inc. annual survey of colleges and universities to estimate the first-year to second-year persistence rates for first-time, full-time students in each state. A new data source, however, recently became available—the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS ) enrollment survey by the U.S. Department of Education. With this new data source, state-level persistence rates are more reliable because they are reported by nearly all institutions of higher education in the nation. Also, persistence rates now include both part-time and full-time students, making state assessments more comprehensive.

Learning Category

In the Learning category, Measuring Up 2006 is the first edition that provides data for all 50 states on the extent to which colleges and universities prepare students to contribute to the workforce (see the “Graduates Ready for Advanced Practice” indicator).

In Measuring Up 2006, as with the 2004 edition, most states receive an “Incomplete” in Learning due to the lack of reported information. This year, however, nine states receive a “Plus”: Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. These nine states reported adequate data in more than one of the indicator groups either through their participation in a pilot project, or by collecting additional state data for the state version of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) conducted in 2003. For more information, see Grading Learning: Progress and Prospects, by Peter Ewell.

Note: Additional information about each of these changes can be found in the Technical Guide for Measuring Up 2006.