Today more than ever, higher education is profoundly important to the prosperity of U.S. society. It is increasingly required for jobs; produces higher earnings, which spurs economic growth; and encourages civic engagement, which strengthens the foundation of democracy. Although the benefits are clear, educational attainment in the United States has stalled. The United States trails its peers substantially, limiting its international competitiveness, and educational disparity exists across socioeconomic groups within the United States, furthering inequality of many kinds. The key to reversing this trend lies in policy innovations within higher education.This volume of The ANNALS offers theoretically grounded empirical analysis of the impact of public policy on higher education. The collection of articles examines the effects of state policy on student readiness for, participation in, and completion of college, in addition to college affordability. The authors also identify theoretical and methodological approaches for future research to help improve policies and higher education attainment in the states.

State Policies and Higher Education Attainment by Michael K. McLendon and Laura W. Perna - Introduction
The Persistence of Unaligned K-12 and Higher Education Systems: Why Have Statewide Alignment Efforts been Ineffective? by Laura W. Perna and Michael Armijo - The Persistence of Unaligned K-12 and Higher Education Systems: Why Have Statewide Alignment Efforts been Ineffective?, Laura W. Perna and Michael Armijo
Assessing the Promise of California's Early Assessment Program for Community Colleges by Michal Kurlaender
The Role of State Policy in Promoting College Affordability by Jennifer A. Delaney
State-Level Responses to the Access and Completion Challenge in the New Era of Austerity by William Doyle and William Zumeta
Pricing Out the Disadvantaged? The Effect of Tuition Deregulation in Texas Public Four-Year Institutions by Stella M. Flores and Justin C. Shepherd
The Role of Institutional and State Aid Policies on Average Student Debt by James Monks
Financing College Opportunity: An Analysis of Factors Influencing State Spending on Student Financial Aid and Campus Appropriations, 1990-2010 by Michael K. McLendon, David A. Tandberg, and Nicholas W. Hillman
Performance Funding for Higher Education: Forms, Origins, Impacts, and Futures by Kevin J. Dougherty, Sosanya M. Jones, Hana Lahr, Rebecca S. Natow, Lara Pheatt, Vikash Reddy
Evaluating Impacts of Performance Funding Policies on Student Outcomes in Higher Educations by Amanda Rutherford and Thomas Rabovsky
Insights and Implications for State Policy-Makers by Laura W. Perna, Michael W. Klein, and Michael K. McLendon