Indiana Social Studies IS.4.6

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Economics

The Standard

Assess the economic impact of Indiana universities on the development of the state’s economy.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students examine how Indiana universities affect jobs, business growth, and the supply of skilled workers. They weigh those benefits against public costs and check whether the evidence shows an effect across the state.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can use job and graduate retention data to explain a university’s economic impact. They can separate local spending from long-term gains and name a limit in the data.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume every graduate stays in Indiana or that every campus job is a new job for the state. They may count all university spending as a gain without considering public funding.
How to Assess It: Give students this prompt: “A university adds 100 campus jobs, receives $4 million in state funds, and 60 of 100 graduates stay in Indiana. Name one near-term benefit, one public cost, and one missing fact you need to judge its long-term impact.”

Lesson moves

Give pairs an Indiana map, a campus list, and county employment figures; have them mark campuses and compare nearby job totals.
Ask: “Would state funding for Purdue pay off if most graduates left Indiana?” Have students write a claim and identify needed evidence.
Sort cards labeled campus jobs, student spending, startup revenue, and state funding into local benefits, longer-term benefits, and public costs.
Have students read an IU or Purdue economic impact report and record one job estimate, its time period, and who produced it.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to IS.4.6, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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