Abstract: A system and method for creating an index value for evaluating market center execution quality. This can include a summation of at least two derived values selected from: an execution speed of a predetermined order of covered security orders that were executed at a market center; price improvement of a predetermined order of covered security orders that were executed at a market center; percentage of covered security orders that were executed at a market center at a quoted value or a better value; a percentage of covered security orders that were executed at outside the quoted value; and effective spread, which is as twice the difference between the securities execution price and the midpoint of a consolidated best bid or offer at the time of a securities order receipt. The index value can be utilized to compare market center executions provided in public data versus that provided by private data.