Measuring Up 2004

Texas

Measuring Up: The Basics

• Looks at higher education for the entire state, not individual colleges and universities.

• Focuses on undergraduate education and training beyond high school.

• Measures “performance,” not “effort.”• “Diagnostic” rather than “prescriptive.”• New this year: progress over the past decade.

Measuring Up: The Basics

• Six categories of performance (five graded).• Grades benchmarked to “best performing”

states.• Uses nationally comparable data, available

from public sources.• Uses the most recent data available.

– In general, data have a two-year time lag.– Affordability data are one year old.

Measuring Up: Graded Categories

• Preparation: How adequately are students being prepared for education and training beyond high school?

• Participation: Do state residents enroll in education and training beyond high school?

• Affordability: How affordable is higher education for students and their families?

• Completion: Do students make progress toward and complete certificates and degrees in a timely manner?

• Benefits: What benefits does the state receive as a result of having a more highly-educated population?

• Learning: What is known about student learning as a result of education and training beyond high school?

National Trends:Over the Past Decade• Eight states improved substantially in

Preparation as well as in Participation.• Thirty-six states, including Texas, improved

substantially in Preparation but failed to improve in Participation.

• Almost all states, including Texas, have lost ground in Affordability.

Over the Past Decade, Texas Has Mediocre Results in Providing College Opportunities

TEXAS

2004 Report Card

Preparation

Participation

Affordability

Completion

Benefits

Learning

C+

C

D

C

B-

I

TEXAS

Improvement Over Past Decade

Preparation Participation Affordability Completion Benefits Learning

What do the arrows mean?

Improved on more than half of the indicators in the category.

Improved on some, but no more than half, of the indicators in the category.

Declined on every indicator in the category.

?

Preparation

2004Grade

ImprovementOver Decade

C+

TEXAS

NATIONAL SNAPSHOTPreparation

SOUTHERN REGIONPreparation

Texas’ performance in Preparation is in the middle of the Southern states.

Southern States

AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-F

= 93 and up= 90-92= 87-89= 83-86= 80-82= 77-79= 73-76= 70-72= 67-69= 63-66= 60-62= Below 60

Grades

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

LA AL MS TN OK KY AR GA SC FL TX WV NC VA

77

STRENGTHS• Top-performing state in percentage of high

school students enrolling in upper-level math. Among top states in improvement on this measure.

• Over past decade, percentage of young adults from low-income families earning high school credential increased substantially.

PreparationTEXAS

WEAKNESSES• One of lowest performing states in percentage

of young adults with high school credential.• Small percentage of high school students enroll

in upper-level science. • Eighth graders perform poorly on national

assessments in science and math. Scores of low-income 8th graders especially low in math.

PreparationTEXAS

WEAKNESSES• Small proportions of 11th and 12th graders

take and perform well on Advanced Placement tests and college entrance exams.

• Only fair percentage of secondary students taught by a qualified teacher.

• Black and Hispanic high school students only two-thirds as likely as whites to enroll in upper-level science and math.

PreparationTEXAS

Participation

2004Grade

ImprovementOver Decade

C

TEXAS

NATIONAL SNAPSHOTParticipation

ParticipationSOUTHERN REGION

Texas’ performance in Participation is in the middle of the Southern states.

AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-F

= 93 and up= 90-92= 87-89= 83-86= 80-82= 77-79= 73-76= 70-72= 67-69= 63-66= 60-62= Below 60

Grades

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

GA MS LA WV TN AR SC AL OK TX FL NC KY VA

Southern States

74

WEAKNESSES• Likelihood of 9th graders enrolling in college

within four years is low. May put state at risk given large increase of high school graduates (26%) projected over next 15 years.

• Small percentage of working-age adults enroll in college-level education. Decline on this measure over last decade, mirroring national decrease.

ParticipationTEXAS

Participation

WEAKNESSES• About 23% of adults without high school

diploma or equivalent (national average: 14%), making them ineligible for participation in higher education.

• Young adults from high-income families almost three times as likely as those from low-income families to attend college.

TEXAS

2004Grade

ImprovementOver Decade

D

AffordabilityTEXAS

NATIONAL SNAPSHOTAffordability

SOUTHERN REGIONAffordability

Texas’ performance in Affordability is the best in the Southern states; however, overall performance in the region is poor.

AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-F

= 93 and up= 90-92= 87-89= 83-86= 80-82= 77-79= 73-76= 70-72= 67-69= 63-66= 60-62= Below 60

Grades

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

AL SC TN WV MS FL GA LA AR OK KY VA NC TX

Southern States

63

Affordability

WEAKNESSES• Net college costs for low- and middle-income

students to attend community colleges represent more than 30% of annual family income. For same students at public four-year colleges and universities, net costs represent nearly 40% of income. Low- and middle-income families earn on average $18,000 per year.

TEXAS

Completion

2004Grade

ImprovementOver Decade

C

TEXAS

NATIONAL SNAPSHOTCompletion

SOUTHERN REGIONCompletion

Texas’ performance in Completion is among the worst in the Southern states.

AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-F

= 93 and up= 90-92= 87-89= 83-86= 80-82= 77-79= 73-76= 70-72= 67-69= 63-66= 60-62= Below 60

Grades

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

OK AR TX WV LA KY TN AL MS SC GA VA NC FL

Southern States

73

STRENGTHS• Large percentage of freshmen at four-year

colleges and universities return for second year.

• Over past decade, gaps narrowed between whites and other ethnic groups in proportions of students earning certificates and degrees relative to numbers enrolled. Nonetheless, substantial gaps remain.

CompletionTEXAS

WEAKNESSES• Small percentage of freshmen at community

colleges return for second year.• Only fair proportion of students earn

bachelor’s degree within six years. • Small percentage of students complete

certificates and degrees relative to number enrolled.

CompletionTEXAS

Benefits

2004Grade

ImprovementOver Decade

B-

TEXAS

NATIONAL SNAPSHOTBenefits

SOUTHERN REGIONBenefits

Texas’ performance in Benefits is in the middle of the Southern states.

AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-F

= 93 and up= 90-92= 87-89= 83-86= 80-82= 77-79= 73-76= 70-72= 67-69= 63-66= 60-62= Below 60

Grades

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

WV AR SC MS LA NC TN AL OK FL TX GA KY VA

Southern States

81

WEAKNESSES• Only fair proportion of residents have

bachelor’s degree, compared with top-performing states.

BenefitsTEXAS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION• If all ethnic groups had same educational

attainment and earnings as whites, total personal income in state would be about $31.4 billion higher, and state would realize an estimated $11 billion in additional tax revenues.

BenefitsTEXAS

Forty-five states, including Texas, receive an Incomplete in Learning because no comparable data exist to allow for meaningful state-by-state comparisons.

2004Grade

I

LearningTEXAS

LearningNATIONAL SNAPSHOT

GRADING LEARNING

States with a “plus” grade (IL, KY, NV, OK, SC) participated in a national pilot project on measuring Learning led by the National Forum on College-Level Learning.

Learning

GRADING LEARNING

The pilot project measured the states in terms of:

• Literacy levels of the state’s residents What are the abilities of the college-educated?

• Graduates’ readiness for advanced practice How well do colleges and universities enable students to contribute to the workforce?

• Performance of college graduates How effectively can college graduates communicate and solve problems?

Learning

Policy Questions

TEXAS

• Can Texas increase the number of students who finish high school within four years?

• Can Texas accommodate the increasing size and diversity of the young population preparing to enroll in higher education?

Policy QuestionsTEXAS

• Can the state encourage more residents to get a General Education Development (GED) credential in order to increase educational attainment for working-age adults?

• Can Texas close the gaps in educational achievement between its white and its minority ethnic populations?

Policy QuestionsTEXAS

• Can the state’s two-year colleges be made more affordable for students and their families?

• Can the state develop financial aid programs that more effectively meet the needs of students from low-income families?

Policy QuestionsTEXAS

Full State Report:• Measuring Up 2004

http://measuringup.highereducation.org

About the Center:• The National Center for Public Policy and

Higher Education http://www.highereducation.org

For More Information