Pennsylvania does better than most states in the number of students completing college but fares dismally in keeping its campuses affordable, says an independent study released today.

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State officials can at least take comfort in knowing they aren't alone in the "F" grade they received in affordability from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Thirty-five other states failed, too. And only three -- California, Minnesota and Utah -- scored better than a "D" in the survey by the independent think tank based in San Jose, Calif.

In "Measuring Up 2004," the center graded states on affordability and four other factors: preparation, participation, completion and benefits.

The report, which one state legislator described yesterday as a wake-up call, also found significant disparities in student achievement across Pennsylvania based on ethnicity and income.

It says young white adults are twice as likely to go to college as ethnic minorities, a gap that has widened in the last decade. And low-income eighth-graders do substantially worse on math assessment exams than low-income students in other states.

The nation generally does a better job preparing high school students for college, the study found. But achievement gains are spread unevenly across the population and are not translating into higher college participation rates.

"The good news is that more high school graduates have taken the courses that prepare them to get to college," said James B. Hunt Jr., former North Carolina governor and chairman of the center's board of directors. "We see big gains in high school preparation.

"The bad news is these improvements have not reflected in significantly higher college enrollment or completion rates."

For Pennsylvania, the bright spot was in college completion rates, where it received an A, the same as it did when the last report card was issued in 2002.

The high grade is partly because the number of degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by colleges and universities per 100 undergraduates was 21, a rate equal to best performing states. Among first-time full-time students, 62 percent finished bachelor's degrees within six years of enrolling, just shy of the 64 percent found in top performing states.

Even so, Pennsylvania has slipped in the share of college freshmen making it past the first year. The share of community college students returning for a second year was 58 percent, down from 63 percent a decade ago. Among four-year college students, 82 percent made it to the second year, compared with 84 percent a decade ago, the study found.

The news was far worse concerning families' ability to keep pace with rapidly rising costs.

Pennsylvania families with children attending public, four-year colleges need 35 percent of their income to pay bills, even after financial aid is factored in, the study found. That compares with 30 percent a decade ago.

Private colleges consume even more -- 70 percent of family income, compared with 61 percent a decade ago.

The share of family income needed for community college is 23 percent, a rate unchanged from 1994.

"The state is a top performer in the very high investment it makes in need-based financial aid," the study concludes. "Nonetheless, the share of income ... needed to pay for college is very large compared with other states."

"Pennsylvania does not offer low priced college opportunities," the report adds.

It's even worse for the 40 percent of Pennsylvania families earning the least, a group with an average household income of $22,108. Those families needed 35 percent of their income for community college, 52 percent for a public, four-year school and 107 percent for private colleges.

State Rep. Jess Stairs, R-Mount Pleasant, chairman of the House Education Committee, said the state's failing grade on affordability is yet another signal that the status quo is not working.

"I think it tells us we have some things we have to do differently," said Stairs, in Pittsburgh yesterday for a hearing on college aid. "Business cannot continue as it has."

In the category of college preparation, Pennsylvania got a B- grade, the same as in 2002.

For every 1,000 high school students, the number of Pennsylvanians in the top 20 percent on the SATs or ACT entrance exams totaled 147, up from 100 a decade ago. Those scoring a 3 or higher on the Advanced Placement subject test stood at 110, up from 56 a decade ago.

In the category of participation, Pennsylvania's grade improved to a B, from a B- in 2002.

Thirty-eight percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are in college, just shy of the 40 percent rate found in top states.

Still, working age adults enrolled part time in college-level training decreased by 23 percent the last decade, one of the biggest such declines in the nation. Delaney had no explanation for the drop.

Pennsylvania got a B in the category of benefits derived from having an educated populace, up from B- in 2002. Of state residents 25 to 65 years old, 28 percent have at least a bachelor's degree, up from 21 percent a decade ago. Though they represent a minority of the population, they have bolstered the state's economy, the center said.

The report, the third such biennial report card issued by the center, does not rate individual colleges. Rather, its "A-to-F" grades in five categories are intended to show how policy decisions within states influence delivery of higher education on both public and private campuses.

Jennifer Delaney, a policy analyst with the center, said the goal of the report is to give residents a sense of "how the states are educating their populations and how much opportunity they're providing."