What we’ve learned from the State Opportunity Index — and what comes next
One year has passed since Strada introduced the State Opportunity Index, a set of indicators developed in collaboration with experts and partners that helps states assess how well they are connecting education to opportunity.
The inaugural State Opportunity Index, launched in April 2024, included baseline data in five focus areas: Clear Outcomes, Quality Coaching, Affordability, Work-Based Learning, and Employer Alignment. These five key areas provide states with a research-driven framework for ensuring that postsecondary education consistently provides pathways to opportunity for all learners.
With the next iteration of the State Opportunity Index expected to be released later this year, Strada President and CEO Stephen Moret reflected on what has been learned so far, and how the State Opportunity Index will continue to support state leaders in the years ahead.
The State Opportunity Index was well-received by state leaders. Why do you think it has garnered a high level of state engagement?
Leaders in dozens of states have shown high interest in the State Opportunity Index for a variety of reasons.
First, the public and policymakers increasingly are interested in success beyond completion. They want to ensure that those who complete some form of education after high school consistently secure a good job that serves as a launchpad to future opportunities. The five focus areas of the State Opportunity Index — Clear Outcomes, Quality Coaching, Affordability, Work-Based Learning, and Employer Alignment — represent five keys to success in connecting education with opportunity.
Second, I know from personal experience as a state cabinet secretary that states like to benchmark against each other in education, economic development, and other areas, and the State Opportunity Index provides a user-friendly way of doing so.
Third, in today’s highly polarized political environment, state leaders across the political spectrum embrace the notion of better connecting education with opportunity, which the State Opportunity Index’s nonpartisan approach directly supports.
Finally, some leaders are focused especially on a particular dimension of the State Opportunity Index — such as affordability or quality coaching. The annual State Opportunity Index provides an easy way to assess their state’s position in those areas.
The 2025 iteration of the State Opportunity Index will include a more robust set of findings. What additional data will be included in this year’s edition?
We’re expanding the State Opportunity Index in 2025 to provide a more comprehensive picture of each state’s progress in connecting education to opportunity.
Because states currently do not track what portion of their public college and university students receive quality education-to-career coaching or paid internships, we developed a large-scale student survey to estimate those values for each state.
Due to financial and technical constraints, the inaugural State Opportunity Index, released in April 2024, included quality coaching and paid internships participation numbers for only the four largest states by population (California, Florida, New York, and Texas) and the nation overall. For this year’s State Opportunity Index — to be released in fall 2025 — we expect to have state-specific results for quality coaching and paid internships for most states.
We also plan to add registered apprenticeships to the work-based learning measure as a complement to paid internships. A key additional enhancement will be profiles of states that are leading or seeking to lead in each of the five focus areas of the State Opportunity Index.
What has been informative about state responses to the State Opportunity Index?
We’ve been encouraged by how strongly many state leaders have embraced the State Opportunity Index and its focus areas. One of the most common responses we hear is: “I’m on board. How do we do this?”
That kind of enthusiasm has underscored the need for practical tools and support. In response, we’ve assembled an expert team for each of the five focus areas to develop playbooks and offer technical assistance to states and institutions ready to move from planning to action.
We’re also supporting partner organizations — such as the Postsecondary Employment Outcomes Coalition — that are helping states improve key infrastructure such as education-to-employment data systems.
Looking ahead, if the federal government continues to scale back its role in postsecondary education and/or data collection, the role of thoughtful and strategic state leadership, combined with tools like the State Opportunity Index, will only become more vital.
The return-on-investment measure in the State Opportunity Index generated a lot of interest among state leaders and other stakeholders. Why is it so important to have a metric that helps individuals understand the connection between their investment in postsecondary education and their career opportunities?
Given growing concerns about underemployment and student debt, return on investment (ROI) has become a critical metric for students, families, and policymakers alike.
The State Opportunity Index assesses ROI by looking at the portion of on-time graduates of public colleges and universities who earn a wage premium large enough — relative to individuals with only a high school diploma — to pay off the net cost of their college degree within 10 years.
In our inaugural report, we found that 74 percent of bachelor’s degree graduates of public institutions achieve a positive ROI within a decade, but that means 26 percent do not. About 62 percent of associate degree graduates who don’t pursue further education achieve a positive ROI within 10 years of graduation, but that means about 38 percent do not.
ROI is now central to the national conversation. Lumina Foundation, for example, recently embedded a wage premium standard into its new Goal 2040 framework — extending this emphasis from nondegree credentials to degrees as well. Other leading organizations such as Gates, ECMC, and Ascendium also are prioritizing value and outcomes.
At Strada, we believe every learner who pursues a college degree should be able to achieve a positive ROI. States that embrace the five keys to success described in the State Opportunity Index will increase substantially the share of their graduates who realize a positive return on their college investment.
Measuring employer involvement and alignment in education and workforce development can be complicated. What can we expect to learn about employer alignment in 2025?
Employer alignment remains one of the most complex and essential dimensions of the education-to-career journey.
We believe that all students should have access to programs that lead to quality jobs and mobility. Yet in many cases state funding models have limited access to high-demand, high-wage programs (for example, computer science, data science, engineering, nursing), even as many graduates are completing programs in other fields that consistently lead to underemployment and low earnings outcomes.
Like the inaugural State Opportunity Index, the second edition will include an Employer Alignment measure composed of two key metrics that indicate how well colleges are preparing learners for good jobs: first, the percentage of bachelor’s degree graduates who secure a college-level job (which ideally would be 100 percent); and second, the percentage of early-career job openings for high-wage, high-demand occupations that are being met by postsecondary education. The combination of these two metrics indicates how well graduates of postsecondary education programs are positioned to secure good jobs in the labor market.
By measuring these indicators, the State Opportunity Index will help states and institutions better align programs with the evolving demands of the labor market so more students can graduate into meaningful careers.
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