Measuring Up 2004

1. Measuring Up 2004 Illinois

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 Trends:Over the Past Decade • Eight states improved substantially in Preparation as well as in Participation. • Thirty-six states, including Illinois, improved substantially in Preparation but failed to improve in Participation. • Almost all states, including Illinois, have lost ground in Affordability.

6. Over the Past Decade, Illinois Has Slipped in Providing College Opportunities to Youth and in Making College Affordable

7. ILLINOIS 2004 Report Card Preparation Participation Affordability Completion Benefits Learning B+ A D B B- +

8. ILLINOIS 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.

9. Preparation ILLINOIS 2004 Grade Improvement Over Decade B+

10. NATIONAL SNAPSHOT Preparation

11. MIDWESTERN REGION Preparation Illinois’ performance in Preparation is in the middle of the Midwestern states. 100 87 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 = 60-62 = Below 60 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 MI IN OH MO KS NE IL IA MN WI Midwestern States

12. Preparation ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • 8th graders perform well on national assessments in math and reading. • Over 70% of secondary school students taught by qualified teachers. Compares well with best-performing states. Percentage has increased—more than nationwide improvement on this measure.

13. Preparation ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • Students have consistently performed very well on college entrance exams, outperforming students in other states.

14. Preparation ILLINOIS WEAKNESSES • Low-income 8th graders perform very poorly on math exams. All 8th graders perform poorly on science exams.

15. Participation ILLINOIS 2004 Grade Improvement Over Decade A

16. NATIONAL SNAPSHOT Participation

17. MIDWESTERN REGION Participation Illinois’ performance in Participation is in the middle of the Midwestern states. 100 95 90 Grades 80 = 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 A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 IN OH MO WI IA MI IL MN NE KS Midwestern States

18. Participation ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • Top state in percentage of working-age adults enrolled part-time in college-level education or training. However, state declined on this measure over decade.

19. Participation ILLINOIS WEAKNESSES • Likelihood of 9th grader enrolling in college four years later declined by 13%, while nation declined 3%. Primarily due to drop in percentage of students graduating from high school. • Among young adult population, college participation rate for minority ethnic groups declined.

20. Participation ILLINOIS WEAKNESSES • About 14% of adults do not have high school diploma or equivalent (mirroring nation), making them ineligible for higher education.

21. Affordability ILLINOIS 2004 Grade Improvement Over Decade D

22. NATIONAL SNAPSHOT Affordability

23. MIDWESTERN REGION Affordability Illinois’ performance in Affordability is among the best in the Midwest; 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 = 60-62 = Below 60 66 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 OH MO IA MI KS NE IN WI IL MN Midwestern States

24. Affordability ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • Provides high level of need-based financial aid for students. However, recent policy decisions have begun to undermine this historic high level of performance.

25. Affordability ILLINOIS WEAKNESSES • Net college costs for low- and middle-income students to attend community colleges represent about 32% of annual family income. These institutions enroll over 50% of college students.

26. Completion ILLINOIS 2004 Grade Improvement Over Decade B

27. NATIONAL SNAPSHOT Completion

28. MIDWESTERN REGION Completion Illinois’ performance in Completion is in the middle of the Midwestern states. 100 90 86 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 = 60-62 = Below 60 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 MI KS OH NE IN IL MO MN WI IA Midwestern States

29. Completion ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • Very high percentage of freshmen at four-year colleges and universities returning for second year. • Increase in proportion of students completing certificates and degrees relative to number enrolled, with greatest growth in certificates awarded.

30. Completion ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • Gaps narrowed between whites and all minority ethnic groups in proportions of students completing certificates and degrees relative to numbers enrolled. However, substantial gaps remain.

31. Benefits ILLINOIS 2004 Grade Improvement Over Decade B-

32. NATIONAL SNAPSHOT Benefits

33. MIDWESTERN REGION Benefits Illinois’ performance in Benefits is in the middle of the Midwestern states. 100 90 82 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 = 60-62 = Below 60 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 IN IA WI OH IL MO NE KS MI MN Midwestern States

34. Benefits ILLINOIS STRENGTHS • Fairly high proportion of residents have bachelor’s degree.

35. Benefits ILLINOIS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION • If all ethnic groups had same educational attainment and earnings as whites, total personal income in state would be about $8.7 billion higher, and state would realize an estimated $3 billion in additional tax revenues.

36. 2004 Grade Learning ILLINOIS Five states, including Illinois, receive a “plus” grade for their efforts to assess and measure Learning at a statewide level through their participation in a national pilot project. +

37. Learning NATIONAL SNAPSHOT

38. Learning GRADING LEARNING • The pilot project measured the states in terms of: • Literacy levels of the state’s residentsWhat are the abilities of the college-educated? • Graduates’ readiness for advanced practiceHow well do colleges and universities enable students to contribute to the workforce? • Performance of college graduatesHow effectively can college graduates communicate and solve problems?

39. Learning ILLINOIS Results Illinois historically has a strong and well-funded higher education system, a diverse economy, and relatively high levels of educational attainment. The state’s performance on Learning is generally above the national average.

40. Learning ILLINOIS Results • High literacy levels suggest above-average abilities of the population to perform real-world tasks. • Lower-than-average proportions of college graduates appear ready to enter licensed technical careers or professions.

41. Learning ILLINOIS Results • Higher-than-average proportions of college graduates appear prepared for traditional graduate study. • College graduates’ performance on direct measures of student learning is above average.

42. ILLINOIS Policy Questions

43. Policy Questions ILLINOIS • Can Illinois increase the number of students who finish high school within four years and enroll in college thereafter? • Can the state’s community colleges be made more affordable, particularly for low- and middle-income residents?

44. Policy Questions ILLINOIS • Can Illinois improve its finance policies (for example, by linking appropriations, tuition, and financial aid) to provide more affordable higher education? • Can Illinois close the gaps in educational achievement between high- and low-income residents?

45. For More Information Full State Report: • Measuring Up 2004http://measuringup.highereducation.org About the Center: • The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education http://www.highereducation.org