Economic 'Yardstick' of States Includes School Investments

By Blake Rodman

A newly developed "yardstick'' for measuring states' economic health and vitality includes as a key indicator their investment in public education and demonstrated commitment to strengthening it.

"Long-term investment in education'' is a major component of a strong state economy, according to "Making the Grade: The Development Report Card for the States,'' which was released last month by the Corporation for Enterprise Development.

The corporation, a national economic-development research and consulting organization, developed the yardstick for assessing a state's economic health because traditional measures focus on an antiquated definition of what constitutes a good "business climate,''...