Clear Outcomes
Institutions, employers, policymakers, and students all need access to clear education and employment outcomes data to make informed decisions.
By establishing comprehensive state systems that integrate and provide education, employment, and workforce data, states can create an invaluable resource that makes reliable and actionable data available to leaders, researchers, and the public.
By the numbers
U.S. states with postsecondary education systems participating in the U.S. Census Postsecondary Employment Outcomes project to report earnings and employment outcomes for graduates.
U.S. states have or are building enhanced wage record systems that include occupation.
Why clear outcomes matter
A lack of information on education and employment outcomes — including earnings and career trajectories of alumni — can hinder students' ability to make critical decisions about their education and career goals. Selecting a program or institution and choosing a major are decisions that come with real consequences, and prospective students require reliable data to make informed decisions.
The same is true for institutions, employers, and policymakers. Data gaps limit their ability to design, improve, or invest in the programs that best support education and career success.
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Clear Outcomes: 6 questions for Strada's Jon Furr
By establishing comprehensive state systems that integrate and provide education, employment, and workforce data, states can create an invaluable resource that makes timely, accurate information available to higher education leaders, policymakers, and prospective students.
State data system elements
States already collect an array of data on education after high school and employment, but in most states, the data are too infrequently provided to the people who need them. These 10 critical elements contribute to the capacity of state data systems to strengthen the connection between education and opportunity.
How we support clear outcomes
Strada partners with states, institutions, policymakers, foundations, and other nonprofit organizations to improve education-to-employment data so individuals can make more informed decisions about college and workforce training.
Learning Mobility Collaborative
In collaboration with Education Design Lab and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, this growing, dynamic movement is focused on developing shared statewide policies, standards, and implementation frameworks to design and build learning mobility systems so people can share their learning across fragmented education and employment systems.
PSEO Coalition
Based on the premise that postsecondary leaders and state officials can set effective, strategic policies only when they have access to reliable and actionable data, the coalition uses postsecondary education data linked to national employment data from the U.S. Census to report earnings and employment outcomes of college graduates.
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State Noncredit Data Project
The popularity of noncredit education and nondegree credentials is growing, but data collection and analysis have not kept pace. This project fosters development of a robust state noncredit data infrastructure by generating research to advance the field, creating a taxonomy to guide data collection, and facilitating learning opportunities to share successful practices.
How we measure progress
Students, institutions, employers, and policymakers need access to specific data — graduate earnings and career outcome information — to understand what their educational choices may mean for work, life, and income.
Strada developed the State Opportunity Index to help states enhance their ability to provide such data. Working closely with state leaders, we identified 10 critical elements that contribute to the capacity of state education-to-employment data systems. Taken together, these 10 elements provide a holistic framework for analysis and improvement. The 2025 State Opportunity Index showed that while all states are meeting the expectations of some of the 10 elements, there is still work to be done before all states fully develop and improve the accuracy and availability of education and employment data.
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FAQs
Clear Outcomes means everyone has access to accurate information on employment outcomes to make informed decisions about education after high school. When states build data systems that connect education, employment, and workforce records, students, institutions, employers, and policymakers can all see the jobs graduates secure and what those jobs pay.
Clear outcomes data matters because choosing a program, institution, or major carries real consequences, and people need reliable information to decide well. Without data on graduate earnings and career paths, students, institutions, employers, and policymakers all struggle to design, improve, or invest in the programs that best support education and career success.
Progress on Clear Outcomes is measured through the State Opportunity Index, built by Strada with state leaders. It identifies 10 critical elements of a strong education-to-employment data system. Each state is rated from Foundational to Leading on all 10 elements, and the average of those ratings becomes its overall Clear Outcomes score.
The 10 elements are a roadmap for building the capacity and partnerships that make state education-to-employment data more useful. States already collect this data, but too rarely get it to the people who need it. Together, the elements measure how well a state's data system connects education to opportunity.
Most states are now Leading (20) or Advanced (17) for Clear Outcomes in the 2025 State Opportunity Index, and states improved in eight of the 10 elements. Progress has been broad. Gaps remain in enhanced wage records, verified data on learning mobility, and dedicated capacity to turn data into insights.
The Postsecondary Employment Outcomes Coalition links college enrollment data with U.S. Census records to report detailed earnings and employment outcomes for graduates. It is built on a simple premise: postsecondary leaders and state officials can set effective, strategic policy only when they have detailed, reliable, and actionable data.
The Jobs and Employment Data Exchange, or JEDx, supports common data standards for jobs and employment records through new and modernized data tools. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the T3 Innovation Network launched it to make employment data more consistent and usable across systems.
Clear outcomes give students the information they need to judge whether education after high school is worth the investment. With reliable data on earnings and career paths, learners can choose programs and majors with a clearer view of where each path is likely to lead, instead of deciding in the dark.
Individuals need control over their postsecondary education and employment records to navigate lifelong pathways across multiple educational experiences and careers.
Founded in 2018 by universities in North America and Europe, DCC was created to build a shared infrastructure for issuing, storing, displaying, and verifying digital credentials.
The newly launched Model Workforce Pell Data Framework offers a practical roadmap for a robust data infrastructure aligned across education and workforce systems.
Large-scale systems-level change requires sustained attention and dedication, so when Strada looks back at progress made over the past year, we are inspired by moments that point toward a future in which every person — no matter where they start — can envision a way ahead that is filled with opportunity.
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