Relevant Links & Data Sources
Measuring Up
The purpose of the state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information they can use to assess and improve postsecondary education in each state. Measuring Up 2008 is the fifth in a series of biennial reports.
The report card grades in six overall performance categories:
- Preparation: How adequately does the state prepare students for education and training beyond high school?
- Participation: Do state residents have sufficient opportunities to 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 their certificates or degrees in a timely manner?
- Benefits: What benefits does the state receive from having a highly educated population?
- Learning: What is known about student learning as a result of education and training beyond high school?
- Grades compare the current performance of each state with the best performing states, but do not compare with past performance. Key indicators allow states to compare current performance with past performance.
http://measuringup2008.highereducation.org/states/report_cards/index.php?state=ID
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
This website provides higher education policymakers and analysts with the data and information needed to make sound policy decisions. By navigating the links, you’ll find comparative data for states and counties, and useful contextual information in many areas, such as the following:
- Student Success
- Competitiveness
- International Comparisons
- College Participation
- College Completion
Achieve
Created in 1996 by the nation’s governors and corporate leaders, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C. that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments and strengthen accountability. Some of the data on this web site includes the following:
- State Profiles
- Cases for Action
- America Diploma Project
- K-12 Benchmarks
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
The NGA Center evaluates public policy innovations and ensures that all governors are aware of these advances by:
- Publishing research reports, policy analyses, issue briefs, and a variety of other materials on timely issues;
- Hosting policy workshops, seminars, academies, and cross-state learning labs across the country;
- Issuing challenge grants to states to build pioneering policy agendas or improve existing policies by implementing identified best practices.
In the modern economy, a college degree has become the gateway to the middle class. Nearly 75 percent of future jobs will require a postsecondary degree or certificate, and many of these job openings will be in middle-skill professions that require more than a high school degree but less than a four-year college degree. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices released an Issue Brief on “Increasing College Success: A Road Map for Governors.” Click here to view or download the report, which includes data, graphs and charts supporting the nation’s need for more college-educated workers.
U.S. Department of Education “What’s New” from Office of Technology
National Education Technology Plan — The draft National Education Technology Plan (NETP) was released March 5, 2010. It provides the context and vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. The plan provides a set of concrete goals to inform state and local educational technology plans, as well as recommendations to inspire research, development, and innovation.
Gadget for Comparing States on International Math Scores
http://assessment.air.org/Psychometrics_Chart.aspx
Where does Idaho stack up Internationally in mathematics? Click on the above link and select a state. The gadget shows the state’s average mathematics score compared to other countries that participated in the 2007 Third International mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
