Measuring Up 2008: The State Report Card on Higher Education. California [Summary]

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Community; Policymakers

Higher Education; Academic Achievement; Academic Persistence; Access to Education; College Preparation; Comparative Analysis; Educational Improvement; Educational Indicators; Enrollment; Graduation Rate; Outcomes of Education; Paying for College; Student Costs; State Norms; Tables (Data); College Attendance

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education and training; (2) Participation; (3) Affordability; (4) Completion; (5) Benefits; and (6) Learning. Respective findings for California relative to best-performing states include: (1) Fairly low performance in educating its young population could limit state access to a competitive workforce and weaken the state economy; (2) College opportunities for California residents are only fair; (3) Higher education has become less affordable for students and their families; (4) California performs poorly in awarding certificates and degrees relative to the number of students enrolled, but those who do obtain a bachelor's degree do so in a timely manner; (5) A large proportion of residents have a bachelor's degree, but there are substantial gaps by ethnicity; and (6) Like all states, California receives an "Incomplete" in Learning because there is not sufficient data to allow meaningful state-by-state comparisons. Based on previous state performance, the percentage of young adults in California who earn a high school diploma has increased substantially since the early 1990s; college enrollment of young adults in California has improved substantially since the early 1990s; college enrollment of working-age adults, relative to the number of residents without a bachelor's degree, has decreased; the share of family income, even after financial aid, needed to pay for college has risen substantially; the number of undergraduate credentials and degrees awarded in California, relative to the number of students enrolled, has increased since the early 1990s; and the percentage of residents who have a bachelor's degree has increased. (Contains 7 figures.) [For National Report, see ED503494. For California full report, see ED503586.]

As Provided

2008

ED503510