National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education
October 2002
Here are 190 pages of useful data on higher education, prepared by Patrick Callan's National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Consisting primarily of two-page state-specific data spreads, it provides some hard information on the K-12 system's success in preparing kids for college, including course-taking patterns and NAEP results, as well as information on college participation, affordability, completion and a crude stab at calculating the benefits therefrom. Unusual for such reports, it also confers letter grades on states in six categories and compares how they fared in 2002 with their marks two years earlier. Then there are some "league tables" comparing states with each other. With interest mounting in reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and with more states fussing over "K-16" systems that would seamlessly integrate primary-secondary with higher education, you may find this volume worth having on your shelf. Find out more at http://measuringup.highereducation.org/.
