<p>``Measuring Up 2006’’ grades each state and the nation in six areas to measure the effectiveness of higher education. The national report card on higher education is released every other year.
The report card's findings challenge the notion that the American higher education system is still thebest in the world,' '' said James B. Hunt Jr., chairman of the National Center's board of directors and former North Carolina governor.
``In such key areas as college access and completion, the U.S. has made little or no progress, while other countries have made substantial gains,'' Hunt said.
Stanford University education Professor Michael Kirst, who studies K-12 and higher education, said the report illustrates what has been a ``gradual erosion'' of completion rates in the nation's colleges...</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/peninsula/15459117.htm[/url]”>http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/peninsula/15459117.htm</a></p>
<p>For a round up of regional reaction to the report:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.google.com/news?ncl=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/orl-college0706sep07,0,7133236.story%3Fcoll%3Dorl-news-education-highered&hl=en[/url]”>http://www.google.com/news?ncl=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/orl-college0706sep07,0,7133236.story%3Fcoll%3Dorl-news-education-highered&hl=en</a></p>