Virginia is among the top states in higher education opportunity and participation, and stacks up better with other states than it did two years ago, according to the Measuring Up 2002 report, released yesterday by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The report took into account both public and private high schools and universities in each state.
The center, an independent think tank based in San Jose, Calif., rated states in five categories: preparation of high school students for higher education, affordability of colleges and universities, college enrollment rates, degree completion rates and benefits that accrue to the state from higher education.
States received a grade in each category based on how they compared on certain statistical measures to the category's top state.
The report did not provide an average score for the five categories. However, using a standard grade-point system, Virginia's grade point average ranks fifth among the 50 states.
Virginia ranks as the best state in the South, said Fran Bradford, acting communications director for the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia.
Only Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois and New Jersey ranked ahead of Virginia nationally.
Virginia received better grades overall than it did in the 2000 version of the Measuring UP report, the first one the center produced.
In 2002, Virginia received a 'B+' in preparation, a 'B' in participation, a 'B-' in affordability, a 'B' in completion and a 'B' in benefits.
Virginia's grades improved from 2000 in the preparation, participation and affordability categories.
Most states improved in the statistical measures used to determine those grades, according to the center's Web site. But Virginia's higher grades mean it outpaced most states.
Virginia's grade went down in the category of benefits, which takes into account the number of people in the state with bachelor's degrees and economic and civic benefits of higher education. Fifty-eight percent of Virginia students completed a bachelor's degree within six years, while the top states scored 61 percent.
Bradford praised "Virginia's continuing commitment to higher education, particularly in the area of affordability."
Virginia scored at or near the top in several categories. It was the top state in percentage of high school students scoring well on AP exams.
Virginia's poor families paid the lowest percentage of their income for state tuition, at eight percent.
Most of the report's data were from 2000, meaning that Virginia might earn lower marks in the center's next report in 2004. Tuition was increased for the 2002-03 school year at four-year colleges in Virginia, and is expected to increase again for next year.
Bradford said she was encouraged by the report, while acknowledging it found some weaknesses in Virginia higher education.
"I think the report does a good job of pointing out that in Virginia we could do a better job of awarding need-based financial aid," she added.
Bradford said she did not think Virginia's affordability grade will slip much in the 2004 report, because other states also are increasing tuition.
The report issued a grade of incomplete to every state in the category of learning. The center said this was due to a lack of good measures in colleges to evaluate students' learning.
Measuring Up is the only report that compares states on higher education performance, said Mikyung Ryu, a policy analyst for the center.
"The information helps state policy-makers understand how things are done elsewhere," Ryu said.
The 2000 report garnered immediate attention from state policymakers when it came out, she said. Many states soon established task forces on higher education and set about preparing report cards based on the Measuring Up model.
Education School Dean David Breneman was chairman of the advisory committee for the report, but was out of town and unavailable for comment.
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