MISSOURI, USA — On Wednesday, Strada Education Foundation publicly announced the results from their State Opportunity Index which is an analysis based on research from all 50 states working to build a better future for students.
At the National Press Club in Washington D.C., Strada held an in-person discussion centered around the mission of the State Opportunity Index: to improve the connection between education and employment.
The index is intended to assess five core areas: quality coaching, work-based learning, employer alignment and clear outcomes.
"The goal of securing a good job or a good career should be able to earn enough after they finish to pay back the cost of that education." Strada's president Stephen Moret said. "So for every state in the country, we've assessed the approximate percentage of graduates who are able to get a positive return on their investment within a ten year period."
The index said that in the state of Missouri, 70% of graduates pay off their student loans within ten years while 30% of graduates still owe. Strada also concluded that in the state of Illinois, 76% of graduates pay off their student loans within ten years while 24% still owe.
Strada's return on investment method says that graduates should be able to pay their loans back within a reasonable amount of time, which they established to be ten years, according to their site. The return on investment is not based on the median or average student. Instead, Strada bases it on student's perceptions of positive value and negative value.
The states with the highest percentage of graduates that still owe include Idaho, North Dakota, Maine, and Rhode Island.
"Student debt is one of the big issues today in the country," Moret said.
The index labeled each with one of four categories:
Leading: State is at the forefront and has made the most progress toward creating equitable pathways to opportunity.
Advanced: State has made substantial progress toward creating more equitable pathways to opportunity.
Developing: State is in the early stages of creating more equitable pathways to opportunity.
Foundational: State is just beginning to create more equitable pathways to opportunity.
Missouri did not meet the standards for advanced in any of the five areas Strada assesses but Illinois met the criteria for advanced in the clear outcomes and affordability categories.
"While there is a lot of attention of the student debt issue today, we need to be putting at least as much effort and energy into making sure people can get good first jobs and launch successful career," said Moret.
The index addresses issues like paid internships versus non-paid internships and the affordability of four-year institutions versus two-year institutions. The organization also looked at how many hours a student has to work to cover the net price of their education.
Former vice president of Amazon Ardine Williams believes the index will lead to success.
Due to limited data access, the index specifically addresses bachelor's and associate degrees leaving out nondegree and other training programs.
State University of New York Chancellor John King said "The debt crisis begins with the affordability crisis. ... But long term we've got to make sure college is affordable. This requires a partnership between the federal government and state government to invest in making ideally community college tuition free and then saying for our four-year institutions how do we ensure that our students graduate debt-free."
Virginia's Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera thanked Strada for "putting us on this roadmap and helping state policymakers understand."
Read the report in its entirety by clicking here.
