CDR: What is it Good For? Absolutely Something.

The cohort default rate (CDR) is critical for understanding the scope and scale of the most devastating repayment outcome a federal student loan borrower can face: default. This two-page primer lays out value of this metric, suggests ways to strengthen both the metric and the accountability system in which it is used, and urges caution for trading out the CDR for a different metric when serious questions about unintended consequences remain.