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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Mar 1.

Published in final edited form as: J Econ Perspect. 2009 FALL;23(4):119–146. doi: 10.1257/jep.23.4.119

Source: Integrated Public-Use Microdata for the 1980 Census and the 2005–02007 American Community Surveys.

Notes: We created a composite index of competitive pressure for each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The index of competitive pressure is defined as the sum of the fraction of students who engaged in each of the following in 1992: took the PSAT, took an AP exam, spent 10+ hours on homework per week, used private test preparation services, and applied to five or more colleges. The top six “states” from this index are New Jersey, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia., Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. The states ranked seventh through eleventh are Delaware, Virginia, California, Colorado, and Georgia.

Source: Integrated Public-Use Microdata for the 1980 Census and the 2005–02007 American Community Surveys.

Notes: We created a composite index of competitive pressure for each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The index of competitive pressure is defined as the sum of the fraction of students who engaged in each of the following in 1992: took the PSAT, took an AP exam, spent 10+ hours on homework per week, used private test preparation services, and applied to five or more colleges. The top six “states” from this index are New Jersey, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia., Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. The states ranked seventh through eleventh are Delaware, Virginia, California, Colorado, and Georgia.