A report issued this month by the Columbia University Press and Social Science Research Council, entitled “The Measure of America: American Human Development Report,” gives a fresh perspective on the concept of progress. It is the first and only report to combine three things Americans care about most-- health, education and income-- in one measure. The report is based on the notion that these three factors adequately measure a person’s possession of or access to the basic human capabilities for sustaining a tolerable life. Although the UN has used the human development (HD) index to evaluate other countries, this is the first time the United States has been evaluated in this way.

The Human Development Index helps shed light on current urban dilemmas, including the problem of unequal progress among racial and ethnic groups. For example, Chicago’s 4th Congressional District, a primarily Latin American group of Chicago communities, ranks lower than the national average in all three areas, but particularly in education and income. Across the United States, about 40 percent of Latinos age 25 and up do not have a high school diploma, which corresponds to the rate of Americans as a whole in the mid-1970s. The report thus tells us that Latinos are about 30 years behind the nation’s progress in educational attainment.

Another example comes from the Chicago area’s 2nd Congressional District, which is heavily African American, with mixed economic neighborhoods and suburbs. Median income in the district is somewhat above the national median and somewhat below the Illinois median, but the report reveals a potential problem for the future. The district has 21.2% with a bachelors degree and 7% with a graduate degree, compared to national averages of 29.2 percent with a bachelor’s degree and 10.9% with a graduate degree. For these communities to compete in the new economy requiring higher skills, more progress is needed on higher education.

Future years’ reports can measure this progress. The three main areas of the report include such sub-categories as an individual’s ability to attend a college of choice, access a lawyer in time of need, build assets, find affordable housing, and receive quality health care. Some localities do well on many of these measures, but everywhere there are shortfalls and inequalities that call out for solutions. Fortunately, the Human Development Report is not just a catalog of problems; it offers examples of what is working in the U.S. and other countries, and also a prescription for changes that will generate progress.

The report’s collection of factors provides a pragmatic reality check on how we are doing in America. This is not another poverty index. It applies to everyone, including people like Mark who are unquestionably middle class. It is an excellent way not only to define our pressing problems, but to define what it means to make progress and identify the solutions that we should demand of our leaders.