RealClearPolicy

Commuting via public transportation in Washington, D.C. is not always fun. In fact, there’s an entire Twitter handle dedicated to helping the DC Metro “unsuck.” But as frustrating as it may be, there are numerous options for how to best get to work. I can take the Metro, the bus, a cab, Uber, Lyft, bike, or even a scooter. And the best part of it all is that I can easily look up real-time information to game out which of these options will get me to work for the least amount of money and shortest amount of time.

The truth is I have more information about commuting to work than what millions of American students and families have when it comes to making one of the biggest financial investments of their lives: where to go to college. A federal ban on student level data written into the 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) prevents policymakers, researchers, and consumers from getting a full picture of student outcomes at colleges across the country...