10.29.18

Top House Democrats to DeVos: Reverse Changes to College Scorecard

“We strongly urge the Department to reverse its recent update and restore context that helps students evaluate the information and make well-informed decisions about college.”

WASHINGTON – Today, four House Democrats sent a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos calling on the Department of Education to reverse its changes to the College Scorecard, a widely used tool that helps prospective students make informed decisions regarding college enrollment. In September, the Department removed a metric from the College Scorecard that allowed consumers to compare schools’ academic and financial outcomes to the national median, which allowed students and parents to make sense of the data.

The letter was sent by Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), the top Democrat on the Committee on Financial Services, Congressman Tim Walz (MN-01), the top Democrat on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Vice Ranking Member Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41).

“Comparative, contextualized information is extremely important for students,” the Members wrote. “A significant body of research indicates that when consumers are presented with comparable information, they are better able to glean critical insights from the information and more likely to make decisions on the basis of those data. We strongly urge the Department to reverse its recent update and restore context that helps students evaluate the information and make well-informed decisions about college.”

The Members also requested information regarding the Department’s rationale for its changes to the College Scorecard, as well as its plan for mitigating the effect of these changes on other agencies. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rely on the comparative data to support and protect students.

To read the full text of the letter, click here.