Measuring Up 2004

1
Measuring Up 2004

• New Jersey

2
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.

3
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.

4
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?

5
National TrendsOver the Past Decade

• Eight states improved substantially in
  Preparation as well as in Participation.
  
• Thirty-six states, including New Jersey, improved
  substantially in Preparation but failed to
  improve in Participation.
  
• Almost all states, including New Jersey, have
  lost ground in Affordability.

6
New Jerseys Strong Performance Over the Past
Decade in Higher Education Masks Disparities by
Ethnicity and Income
7
NEW JERSEY
2004 Report Card
Preparation Participation Affordability Complet
ion
Benefits Learning
A
A-
D
B
A
I
8
NEW JERSEY
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.
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Preparation
NEW JERSEY
2004 Grade
Improvement Over Decade
A
10
NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Preparation
11
NORTHEASTERN REGION
Preparation
New Jerseys performance in Preparation
is among the best in the Northeast.
100
95
90
Grades
80
A A- B B B- C C C- D D D- F
93 and up 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82
77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-6
2
Below 60
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
DE
RI
VT
PA
ME
NH
MD
NY
CT
NJ
MA
Northeastern States
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Preparation
NEW JERSEY

• STRENGTHS
• 8th graders perform very well on national
  assessments in math, reading, and writing.
  Particular improvement on math assessment over
  past decade, keeping pace with national increase.
  
• High school students perform well on Advanced
  Placement tests and college entrance exams.
  Performance improved substantially over past
  decade.

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Preparation
NEW JERSEY

• STRENGTHS
• Top-performing stateand improved over past
  decadein percentage of secondary school students
  taught by qualified teachers.

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Participation
NEW JERSEY
2004 Grade
Improvement Over Decade
A-
15
NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Participation
16
NORTHEASTERN REGION
Participation
New Jerseys performance in Participation
is in the middle of the Northeastern states.
100
91
90
Grades
80
A A- B B B- C C C- D D D- F
93 and up 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82
77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-6
2
Below 60
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
VT
NH
NY
DE
ME
PA
NJ
MD
CT
RI
MA
Northeastern States
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Participation
NEW JERSEY

• STRENGTHS
• Consistently performed very well on likelihood of
  9th graders enrolling in college within four
  years.

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Participation
NEW JERSEY

• WEAKNESSES
• Enrolls very small percentage of working-age
  adults in higher education. This percentage
  dropped substantially over past decade.
  
• About 14 of adults do not have high school
  diploma or equivalent, making them ineligible for
  higher education.

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Participation
NEW JERSEY

• WEAKNESSES
• Gap in college participation between whites and
  minority ethnic groups increased substantially
  over past decade.
  
• Gap in college participation between young adults
  from low-income and high-income families one of
  largest in nation.

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Affordability
NEW JERSEY
2004 Grade
Improvement Over Decade
D
21
NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Affordability
22
NORTHEASTERN REGION
Affordability
New Jerseys performance in Affordability
is the best in the Northeast however,
overall performance in the region is poor.
100
90
Grades
80
A A- B B B- C C C- D D D- F
93 and up 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82
77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-6
2
Below 60
70
64
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
NH
RI
ME
MA
DE
VT
MD
CT
NY
PA
NJ
Northeastern States
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Affordability
NEW JERSEY

• STRENGTHS
• State makes large investment in need-based
  financial aid for low-income students. Even with
  financial aid, however, costs of attending public
  two- and four-year colleges remain high.

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Affordability
NEW JERSEY

• WEAKNESSES
• Net college costs for low- and middle-income
  students to attend community colleges represent
  nearly 40 of annual family income. For same
  students at public four-year colleges and
  universities, net costs represent over half of
  income.

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Completion
NEW JERSEY
2004 Grade
Improvement Over Decade
B
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NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Completion
27
NORTHEASTERN REGION
Completion
New Jerseys performance in Completion
is among the worst in the Northeast.
100
90
83
Grades
80
A A- B B B- C C C- D D D- F
93 and up 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82
77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-6
2
Below 60
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
MD
NJ
ME
CT
NY
DE
MA
PA
RI
NH
VT
Northeastern States
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Completion
NEW JERSEY

• STRENGTHS
• Very high percentage of freshmen return for
  second year at two- and four-year colleges and
  universities. This percentage increased over past
  decade.
• Very high proportion of students complete
  bachelors degree within six years.

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Completion
NEW JERSEY

• WEAKNESSES
• Black and Hispanic students only three-quarters
  as likely as whites to complete certificates and
  degrees.

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Benefits
NEW JERSEY
2004 Grade
Improvement Over Decade
A
31
NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Benefits
32
NORTHEASTERN REGION
Benefits
New Jerseys performance in Benefits
is in the middle of the Northeastern states.
100
93
90
Grades
80
A A- B B B- C C C- D D D- F
93 and up 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82
77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-6
2
Below 60
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
VT
PA
ME
NY
RI
DE
NH
NJ
CT
MA
MD
Northeastern States
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Benefits
NEW JERSEY

• STRENGTHS
• Very high proportion of residents have bachelors
  degree. This proportion increased over past
  decademore than nationwide increase on this
  measure.

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Benefits
NEW JERSEY

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
• If all ethnic groups had same educational
  attainment and earnings as whites, total personal
  income in state would be about 12.6 billion
  higher, and state would realize an estimated 4.4
  billion in additional tax revenues.

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Learning
NEW JERSEY
Forty-five states, including New Jersey, receive
an Incomplete in Learning because no comparable
data exist to allow for meaningful state-by-state
comparisons.
2004 Grade
I
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Learning
NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
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Learning
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.
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Learning
GRADING LEARNING

• The pilot project measured the states in terms
  of
  
• Literacy levels of the states 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?

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NEW JERSEY

• Policy Questions

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Policy Questions
NEW JERSEY

• The number of high school graduates is projected
  to increase by 14 in New Jersey. Can the state
  provide college opportunities for these
  increasing numbers of students preparing to
  enroll in college, while ensuring that access is
  maintained for all residents?
• Can New Jersey provide more opportunities for
  working-age adults to enroll in higher education?

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Policy Questions
NEW JERSEY

• Can New Jersey encourage residents without a high
  school diploma to complete the General Education
  Development (GED) certificate?
  
• New Jersey has one of the widest gaps in the
  nation between the college participation of high-
  and low-income students. Can the state close the
  gaps in educational achievement between these
  groups?

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Policy Questions
NEW JERSEY

• Can two-year colleges be made more affordable,
  particularly for low- and middle-income
  residents?
  
• Can the state use financial aid programs more
  effectively to encourage the college enrollment
  of students from low-income families?

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For More Information

• Full State Report
• Measuring Up 2004 http//measuringup.highereducati
  on.org
  
• About the Center
• The National Center for Public Policy and Higher
  Education http//www.highereducation.org