Educational Adequacy in the Twenty-First Century

Educational adequacy has evolved over the decades of American history to become an established responsibility of state governments, following a series of court cases in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Educational adequacy is a broad concept that includes economic, academic, social, civic, and humanistic aspects, among others. In this report, the authors propose a new concrete standard for educational adequacy focused on the demonstrated capacity of postsecondary programs to provide economic self-sufficiency to graduates, based on the earnings of students who complete educational programs. We acknowledge that reality is complex, and so it will be necessary to adjust this standard in applying it to the real world.