A National Overview: Improvements, Declines, and Disparities
PREPARATION
Since the early 1990s, every state has continued to improve on the extent to which young people are academically prepared for college, although the level of improvement across states is uneven. State improvements in this category are greater than in other categories measured, yet these improvements have not resulted in gains in some important areas, including the percentage of young adults graduating from high school in four years. Meanwhile, the nation continues to experience disparities in educational performance by race/ethnicity and family income.
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45 states have improved on more than half of the indicators |  |
5 states have improved on some but no more than half of the indicators |  |
No states have declined on most or all of the indicators |
8th graders scoring at or above “proficient” on national math assessments
| Massachusetts: | 23% to 43% |
| North Carolina: | 12% to 32% |
| Ohio: | 18% to 33% |
| Delaware: | 15% to 30% |
| South Carolina: | 15% to 30% |
Low-income 8th graders scoring at or above “proficient” on national math assessments
| Massachusetts: | 7% to 22% |
| Texas: | 6% to 17% |
Number of scores in top 20% on college entrance exams per 1,000 high school graduates
| Massachusetts: | 138 to 253 |
| North Carolina: | 75 to 161 |
Number of scores that are 3 or higher on Advanced Placement tests per 1,000 11th and 12th graders
| Maryland: | 110 to 275 |
| North Carolina: | 68 to 201 |
8th graders enrolled in algebra
| Utah: | 35% to 60% |
| Nevada: | 7% to 26% |
| Missouri: | 10% to 23% |
| Indiana: | 9% to 22% |
9th to 12th graders enrolled in at least one upper-level math course
| North Carolina: | 40% to 72% |
| Utah: | 45% to 74% |
| Texas: | 38% to 64% |
| Nebraska: | 39% to 61% |
| Ohio: | 39% to 60% |
9th to 12th graders enrolled in at least one upper-level science course
| West Virginia: | 24% to 44% |
| Iowa: | 28% to 43% |
| Nebraska: | 23% to 37% |
9th graders graduating from high school within four years
| New York: | 67% to 52% |
| Hawaii: | 78% to 65% |
| Alaska: | 74% to 61% |
| Tennessee: | 69% to 57% |
| Wyoming: | 84% to 73% |
| Georgia: | 64% to 54% |
| Florida: | 65% to 56% |
8th graders scoring at or above “proficient” on national reading assessments
| Connecticut: | 42% to 34% |
| Arizona: | 28% to 23% |
| West Virginia: | 27% to 22% |
| New Mexico: | 24% to 19% |
8th graders scoring at or above “proficient” on national science assessments
| Maine: | 41% to 34% |
| Connecticut: | 36% to 33% |
8th graders enrolled in algebra
| Wyoming: | 24% to 15% |
| North Dakota: | 20% to 16% |
9th to 12th graders enrolled in at least one upper-level science course
| Florida: | 32% to 27% |
18- to 24-year-olds with a high school credential
| Colorado: | 92% (white), 68% (non-white) |
| Arizona: | 92% (white), 69% (non-white) |
| Illinois: | 95% (white), 73% (non-white) |
| Maryland: | 97% (high income), 68% (low income) |
| New York: | 96% (high income), 72% (low income) |
| Connecticut: | 100% (high income), 78% (low income) |
9th to 12th graders enrolled in at least one upper-level math course
| Utah: | 99% (white), 57% (Hispanic) |
| Ohio: | 67% (white), 42% (black), 39% (Hispanic) |
9th to 12th graders enrolled in at least one upper-level science course
| Nevada: | 83% (white), 44% (Hispanic) |
| Texas: | 91% (white), 68% (Hispanic) |
PARTICIPATION
The nation as a whole has made no notable progress since the early 1990s in enrolling young adults or working-age adults in education and training beyond high school. Furthermore, participation in education beyond high school still varies by race/ethnicity and annual family income.
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8 states have improved on more than half of the indicators | |
28 states have improved on some but no more than half of the indicators | |
14 states have declined on most or all of the indicators |
The chance of 9th graders enrolling in college anywhere within four years
| Arkansas: | 36% to 42% |
| Minnesota: | 48% to 53% |
18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college
| Rhode Island: | 31% to 41% |
| Connecticut: | 34% to 42% |
| California: | 32% to 40% |
| Kentucky: | 24% to 32% |
The chance of 9th graders enrolling in college anywhere within four years
| Hawaii: | 44% to 32% |
| Vermont: | 46% to 35% |
| New York: | 45% to 37% |
| Nebraska: | 55% to 48% |
| Illinois: | 49% to 42% |
| Oregon: | 40% to 33% |
18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college
| Colorado: | 40% (white), 17% (non-white) |
| New Jersey: | 47% (white), 27% (non-white) |
| Pennsylvania: | 39% (white), 21% (non-white) |
| Nevada: | 35% (white), 18% (non-white) |
| Maryland: | 43% (white), 28% (non-white) |
| Virginia: | 58% (high income), 14% (low income) |
| Connecticut: | 58% (high income), 16% (low income) |
| Ohio: | 61% (high income), 20% (low income) |
| New Jersey: | 51% (high income), 20% (low income) |
| Illinois: | 52% (high income), 23% (low income) |
AFFORDABILITY
The nation’s colleges and universities have become less affordable for students and their families since the early 1990s. This year, no states received an “A” or a “B” in this category, and 43 states flunked, reflecting the deterioration of college affordability.
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1 state has improved on more than half of the indicators | |
32 states have improved on some but no more than half of the indicators | |
17 states have declined on most or all of the indicators |
Percentage of annual family income needed to pay net college costs at community colleges*
| Louisiana: | 22% to 20% |
State support of need-based financial aid compared with the federal support
| Washington: | 24% to 86% |
| California: | 27% to 53% |
| Maryland: | 27% to 53% |
Percentage of annual family income needed to pay net college costs at public four-year institutions*
| Ohio: | 28% to 42% |
| New Jersey: | 24% to 37% |
| Iowa: | 18% to 30% |
| Oregon: | 25% to 36% |
| Washington: | 20% to 31% |
| Illinois: | 25% to 35% |
State support of need-based financial aid compared with the federal support
| Illinois: | 89% to 73% |
| New Jersey: | 104% to 95% |
| Vermont: | 90% to 84% |
* Net college costs equal tuition, room, and board minus financial aid. The lower the figures, the better the performance on this indicator.
COMPLETION
The states have made modest gains over the last several years in the proportion of students completing degrees and certificates, with the fastest growth in non-degree certificates awarded. However, even the best performance among states is not impressive. For instance, in the best-performing states, only 65% of first-year community college students return for their second year, and only 67% of students at four-year institutions complete a bachelor’s degree within six years of enrolling. In fact, the United States compares very poorly with other countries in this category, according to the international comparisons included in Measuring Up 2006.
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35 states have improved on more than half of the indicators | |
13 states have improved on some but no more than half of the indicators | |
2 states have declined on most or all of the indicators |
Certificates, degrees, and diplomas awarded per 100 undergraduate students enrolled
| Arizona: | 10 to 17 |
| Georgia: | 16 to 22 |
| Washington: | 15 to 20 |
| Utah: | 14 to 19 |
Bachelor’s degree completion within six years of enrolling
| Rhode Island: | 72% to 64% |
Certificates, degrees, and diplomas awarded per 100 undergraduate students enrolled
| South Dakota: | 20 (white), 10 (Native American) |
| Illinois: | 18 (white), 11 (Hispanic) |
| Connecticut: | 18 (white), 13 (black), 13 (Hispanic) |
| Maryland: | 17 (white), 12 (black) |
| New Jersey: | 16 (white), 12 (black), 11 (Hispanic) |
BENEFITS
Since the early 1990s, most states have increased their “educational capital” as measured by the percentage of adult residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. As a result, many states have seen an increase in the economic benefits that accrue from having a highly educated population.
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40 states have improved on more than half of the indicators | |
8 states have improved on some but no more than half of the indicators | |
2 states have declined on most or all of the indicators |
Adults (ages 25 to 65) with a bachelor’s degree or higher
| Maryland: | 27% to 37% |
| Pennsylvania: | 21% to 30% |
| Alabama: | 15% to 24% |
| Missouri: | 23% to 31% |
| Connecticut: | 30% to 37% |
| Michigan: | 20% to 27% |
| Washington: | 27% to 32% |
Increase in total personal income as a result of the percentage of the population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher
| Maryland: | 8% to 12% |
| Pennsylvania: | 8% to 12% |
| Connecticut: | 7% to 11% |
| Washington: | 7% to 11% |
Adults (ages 25 to 65) with a bachelor’s degree or higher
| Colorado: | 45% (white), 17% (non-white) |
| New Mexico: | 35% (white), 13% (non-white) |
| Massachusetts: | 44% (white), 25% (non-white) |
| Texas: | 35% (white), 16% (non-white) |
LEARNING
This year, 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 conducted in 2003. For more information, see “Grading Learning: Progress and Prospects”, by Peter T. Ewell.
The results from Measuring Up 2006 can be viewed as a snapshot map by category. A national summary of improvement over the decade is also available.
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