The inadequacies of existing data about higher education outcomes has been much discussed in recent months, with "flawed data" at the core of arguments against President Obama's proposed college rating system and talk oflegislation in Congress to collect more and better information about enrollments, completion rates, and other factors.
Reports released Thursday by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education make the case that producing better data may not be easy, but is possible.
The reports outline the results of WICHE's Multistate Longitudinal Data Exchange, in which four members of the Western collaborative -- Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington -- agreed to share educational and workforce data as a pilot project to see whether they could improve their understanding of the paths their citizens follow after leaving high school.
The answer, simplistically, was yes.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/08/15/4-states-project-share-data-sheds-light-college-outcomes