The Sources and Notes are organized into three sections: Chance for Success; Transitions and Alignment; and School Finance.
CHANCE FOR SUCCESS
EARLY FOUNDATIONS
Family Income: Percent of dependent children (under 18 years of age) who live in above-low-income families. Low income is defined as 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which depends on the size and composition of the family. EPE Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2011.
Parent Education: Percent of dependent children with at least one parent who holds a two- or four-year postsecondary degree. Ibid.
Parental Employment: Percent of dependent children with at least one parent who is steadily employed, defined as working full time (at least 35 hours per week) and year-round (at least 50 weeks during the previous year). Those not in the labor force are excluded from calculations. Active-duty military service is considered participation in the labor force. Ibid.
Linguistic Integration: Percent of dependent children whose parents are fluent speakers of English. Fluency is defined as being a native speaker or speaking the language “very well.” All resident parents must be fluent in English for a family to be considered linguistically integrated. Ibid.
SCHOOL YEARS
Preschool Enrollment:Percent of 3- and 4-year-olds who are attending preschool, based on a three-year average. Both public and private education programs are counted. EPE Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Kindergarten Enrollment: Percent of eligible children attending public or private kindergarten programs, based on a three-year average. The size of the entering kindergarten cohort is calculated based on the number of 5- and 6-year-olds in a state. Ibid.
Elementary Reading Achievement: Percent of 4th graders in public schools who scored at or above the “proficient” level in reading on the 2011 State NAEP assessment. National Assessment of Educational Progress, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, 2011.
Middle School Mathematics Achievement: Percent of 8th graders in public schools who scored at or above the “proficient” level in mathematics on the 2011 State NAEP assessment. Ibid.
High School Graduation Rate: Percent of public high school students who graduated on time with a standard diploma for the 2008-09 school year. The graduation rate is calculated using the EPE Research Center’s Cumulative Promotion Index (CPI) formula with data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data. EPE Research Center, 2012.
Young-Adult Education: Percent of young adults (ages 18 to 24) who either are currently enrolled in a postsecondary education program or have already earned a postsecondary credential. Those still enrolled in high school programs are excluded from the calculation. EPE Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2011.
ADULT OUTCOMES
Adult Educational Attainment: Percent of adults (ages 25 to 64) who have earned a postsecondary degree. Calculations include all individuals whose highest level of attained education is an associate, bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree. Ibid.
Annual Income: Percent of adults (ages 25 to 64) whose annual personal income reaches or exceeds the national median ($35,638 in July 2011 dollars). Only individuals in the labor force are included in calculations. Ibid.
Steady Employment: Percent of adults (ages 25 to 64) who are steadily employed, defined as working full time (at least 35 hours per week) and year-round (at least 50 weeks during the previous year). Those not in the labor force are excluded from calculations. Active-duty military service is considered participation in the labor force. Ibid.
TRANSITIONS AND ALIGNMENT
EARLY-CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Early-Learning Standards: State has early-learning standards that describe what preschool students should know and be able to do and has aligned those expectations with academic standards in the elementary grades. EPE Research Center annual state policy survey, 2012.
School-Readiness Definition: State has a formal definition of school readiness that specifies the characteristics of a child ready to enter school and become a successful student. Ibid.
School-Readiness Assessment: State administers a statewide school-readiness assessment or requires local school districts to assess the readiness of entering students. Ibid.
Readiness Interventions: State provides students not meeting school-readiness expectations with targeted services that go beyond what is required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Programs that identify children based solely on demographic characteristics do not receive credit. Ibid.
Kindergarten Standards: State has standards describing what kindergarten students should know and be able to do and has aligned those expectations with elementary and secondary academic standards. Ibid.
COLLEGE READINESS
College-Readiness Definition: State has formal expectations for what students will need to know and be able to do in order to be admitted to the state’s postsecondary institutions and enroll in credit-bearing courses. Ibid.
College-Prep Required: State requires all students to take courses designed for students bound for four-year colleges or universities in order to receive a standard high school diploma. States receiving credit have defined a college-preparatory curriculum or identified its components. Ibid.
Course Credits Aligned: State has aligned course-credit requirements for earning a standard high school diploma with requirements for admission into the state’s postsecondary institutions. Ibid.
Aligning High School Assessments: State has aligned the content of high school assessments with academic expectations for two-year and/or four-year colleges and universities. Ibid.
Postsecondary Decisions: State uses results from its standardized high school assessments to determine whether students will be admitted to state universities, be permitted to enroll in credit-bearing college courses in particular academic subjects, or be selected to receive academic scholarships. Ibid.
ECONOMY AND WORKFORCE
Work-Readiness Definition: State has formal expectations for what high school students will need to know and be able to do in order to be prepared for the workplace. Ibid.
Career-Tech Diploma: State gives students the option of earning a standard high school diploma with a concentration or endorsement in a career or technical field based upon the completion of a sequence of career-technical coursework. Ibid.
Industry Certification: State offers high school students the option of participating in a career or technical program or pathway that leads to an industry-recognized certificate or license. Ibid.
Portable Credits: State offers high school students the option of participating in a career or technical program or pathway allowing them to earn course credits that will be accepted by programs in the state’s postsecondary education system. Ibid.
SCHOOL FINANCE
EQUITY
The EPE Research Center conducted an original analysis to calculate four distinct indicators that capture the degree to which education funding is equitably distributed across the districts within a state. Calculations for each equity indicator take into account regional differences in educational costs and the concentrations of low-income students and those with disabilities, whose services are more expensive than average. Students in poverty receive a weight of 1.2; students with disabilities receive a weight of 1.9.
Wealth-Neutrality Score: This indicator captures the degree to which a school district’s revenue (state and local sources) is correlated with its property-based wealth. Positive values indicate that wealthier districts have higher revenue levels. EPE Research Center analysis using: U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (CCD) 2008-09 and 2009-10 (district-level data); NCES Comparable Wage Index 2005; U.S. Census Bureau’s Public Elementary- Secondary Education Finance Data for 2010; U.S. Census Bureau’s Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates 2010; U.S. Department of Education’s School District Demographics data from the 2000 Census.
McLoone Index: Indicator value is the ratio of the total amount spent on pupils below the median to the amount that would be needed to raise all students to the median per-pupil expenditure in the state. The index defines perfect equity as a situation in which every district spends at least as much as the district serving the median student in the state (ranked according to per-pupil expenditures). EPE Research Center analysis using: U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (CCD) 2008-09 and 2009-10 (district-level data); NCES Comparable Wage Index 2005; U.S. Census Bureau’s Public Elementary Secondary Education Finance Data for 2010; U.S. Census Bureau’s Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates 2010.
Coefficient of Variation: This indicator measures the level of variability in funding across school districts in a state. The value is calculated by dividing the standard deviation of per-pupil expenditures (adjusted for regional cost differences and student needs) by the state’s average spending per pupil. Ibid.
Restricted Range: The restricted range is the difference between spending levels for the districts serving students at the 5th and 95th percentiles of the per-pupil-expenditure distribution. Ibid.
SPENDING
Adjusted Per-Pupil Expenditures: Average statewide per-student spending, adjusted for variations in regional costs using the NCES Comparable Wage Index 2005. EPE Research Center analysis using: National Center for Education Statistics, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2009-2010 (Fiscal Year 2010), Nov. 2012.
Percent of Students in Districts With PPE at or Above U.S. Average: Expenditures are adjusted for regional differences in educational costs and the concentrations of low-income students and students with disabilities. EPE Research Center analysis using: U.S. Census Bureau’s Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data for 2010; CCD district-level data 2008-09 and 2009-10; NCES Comparable Wage Index 2005; and U.S. Census Bureau’s Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates 2010.
Spending Index: Index gauges state spending according to the percent of students served by districts spending at or above the national average as well as the degree to which lower-spending districts fall short of that national benchmark. Expenditures are adjusted for regional differences in educational costs and the concentrations of low-income students and students with disabilities. Ibid.
Percent of Total Taxable Resources Spent on Education: Share of state resources spent on K-12 education. EPE Research Center analysis using: state and local revenues from the National Center for Education Statistics, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2009-10 (Fiscal Year 2010), Nov. 2012; 2010 gross-state-product data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
