Washington State High School Graduates College Eligibility, College Attendance and Persistence Rates

Transcription

1 Washington State High School Graduates College Eligibility, College Attendance and Persistence Rates Graduating Classes of 2004 and 2005 Prepared for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation March 2007 Fouts & Associates, L.L.C.

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3 Washington State High School Graduates College Eligibility, College Attendance and Persistence Rates Graduating Classes of 2004 and 2005 Heather R. Stroh Jeffrey T. Fouts Candace A. Gratama Fouts & Associates, L.L.C.

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5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In this study, we addressed two specific research questions about college eligibility and college attendance of Washington State high school graduates. We used two methods to obtain our results. First, to determine student course-taking patterns we analyzed the transcripts the 2005 and 2006 graduates from a selection of 42 high schools in the state. In this process, we determined the percentage of students who graduated college eligible, that is, who had taken the courses required for admission to a Washington four- or university. We disaggregated these data by gender and ethnicity and then determined which types of courses the students were not taking, thus preventing them from being college eligible. Second, to determine the college attendance and persistence rates we used the database for the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to track Washington s high school graduates from the classes of 2004 and The NSC database CTDP is an economical, efficient, and accurate method for tracking high school graduates into colleges and universities to determine a given high school s, district s, or state s college attendance, college persistence, and college graduation rates. These two procedures have provided the following answers. What percentage of the state s high school graduates meet the required courses to enter a four- or university? Based on the available sample of schools, our transcript analyses showed that only about 41% of the graduates from the classes of 2005 and 2006 took the required courses for admission to a Washington State four- or university. The state s overall average is probably somewhat higher than the 41% found in these schools because they are over-representative of schools with high non-white and lower socio-economic students. Nonetheless, these results do show that a large number of the state s graduates are graduating without the requisite classes for college. There are substantial differences in college eligibility rates by gender and ethnic group status. For the graduates from both years, a higher percentage of females than males met the course requirements for admission to college. Asian-American students were the most likely to have completed the requisite course, while Native Americans, Hispanics, and African-American students were much less likely to have completed courses necessary for admission to college. Students who took the more rigorous college preparation courses prior to graduation had higher grade point averages than students who did not take the more rigorous courses. Students were most likely to lack the advanced math and/or foreign language requirements, and this is likely because graduation requirements at the time did not align with college entrance requirements in these academic areas.

6 What are the college attendance and persistence rates of the graduating classes of 2004 and 2005? Approximately 57% of the state s graduates from the class of 2004 and 2005 attended a two-year or four- the immediately following graduation. These college attendees are about equally divided between two-year and fouryear colleges College attendance rates, similar to high school course taking patterns, differ by student ethnicity. Asian-American high school graduates are the most likely to attend college (64% of 2005 graduates), while Hispanic high school graduates are the least likely (38% of 2005 graduates). Female graduates are more likely to attend college than male high school graduates by about 8% per year. The data indicate 57% of 2004 Washington State high school graduates attended college the first year after graduating from college, and approximately 48% attended college both the first year and the second year after high school graduation Additional Findings In this report, we have presented the aggregate results in answering these two research questions. However, the data we analyzed from each individual school was also very instructive. We found that there are individual schools working to strengthen rigor and to align course graduation requirements with college and university admission requirements, resulting in noticeable changes in the percent of students graduating college eligible. We found individual schools that are working to create a college-going environment, resulting in noticeable changes in the percent of graduates attending colleges. In both of these areas, there are substantial differences in outcomes among high schools with similar ethnic and socio-economic students. This suggests that the outcomes we studied in this research are not determined solely by student characteristics, but can be affected by the ethos and effectiveness of the schools. Policy Implications The non-alignment of the schools and state s course graduation requirements with colleges and universities admissions expectations means that many of the state s high school graduates cannot go to a four-, even if they decide after graduation that they do want to go to college. The continuation of non-alignment will continue to allow many students to graduate without a rigorous course of study and limit their educational opportunities in the future.

7 Data analyses such as we have done in this study show that it is possible to obtain data that focus on the most important student outcomes for informing high school reform in the state. These types of analyses are vital for measuring the effectiveness of high school reform efforts at the school, district, and state level.

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9 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary INTRODUCTION... 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AND METHODOLOGY... 3 Student Transcript Analysis... 3 The National Student Clearinghouse Database... 3 RESULTS Student Transcript Analysis College Attendance and Persistence SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX A: COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DATA BY BUILDING APPENDIX B: COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DATA BY BUILDING AND ETHNICITY APPENDIX C: COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DATA BY BUILDING AND GENDER

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11 Washington State High School Graduates College Eligibility, Attendance and Persistence Rates Graduating Classes of 2004 and 2005 Introduction INTRODUCTION Each year thousands of students graduate from Washington s high schools. Many go on to attend colleges and universities both within and outside the state, while others choose to enter the military or the world of work. These are often individual choices, but they are also to some degree a reflection of the quality of the output from the state s schools. In this study, we address two broad questions: 1. What percentage of the state s high school graduates meet the required courses to enter a four- or university? 2. What are the college attendance and persistence rates of the graduating classes of 2004 and 2005? Obtaining reliable and valid data on high school course-taking and college attendance and persistence rates has been difficult and often cost prohibitive. State k-12 databases are insufficient at present to analyze the course-taking patterns of all the state s students, and this problem is compounded by the variety of courses offered by the state s high schools. Similarly, the state s public and private colleges and universities do not have a common database for students. Therefore, tracking students within the state has generally been complex and difficult. In addition, the many students who attend out-ofstate colleges and universities are even more difficult to track. The traditional methods of surveys and phone calls, while providing some useful information, fail to account for many students. In this study, we have used two methods to obtain our data. First, to determine student course-taking patterns we analyzed the transcripts the 2005 and 2006 graduates from a selection of 42 high schools in the state. In this process, we determined the percentage of students who graduated college eligible, that is, who had taken the courses required for admission to a Washington four- or university. We disaggregated these data by gender and ethnicity and then determined which types of courses the students were not taking, thus preventing them from being college eligible. Second, to determine the college attendance and persistence rates we used the database for the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to track Washington s high school graduates from the classes of 2004 and The NSC database CTDP is an March

12 Introduction economical, efficient, and accurate method for tracking high school graduates into colleges and universities to determine a given high school s, district s, or state s college attendance, college persistence, and college graduation rates. Educators and policymakers may then use the results for evaluating an institution s effectiveness in preparing students for college and beyond, as well as for stimulating discussions among school personnel and state policy makers about curriculum and student graduation requirements. The National Student Clearinghouse is a national repository of college student attendance created by the college and universities to track students for financial aid reporting purposes. NSC also provides data services to high schools through its Student Tracker Program. The NSC database covers over 2,800 colleges and universities and 91% of the students enrolled nationwide. In many states, the actual percentage of traditional age college students in the database is even higher. While there is presently no system that can insure 100% coverage and perfect validity and reliability of college attendance data, the NSC data are both much more reliable and valid than the results provided by the traditional follow-up methods of surveys and phone calls and at a fraction of the cost. Individual schools, districts or states may use the database to track students, or they may contract with an outside organization to clean, submit, analyze, and interpret the data on their behalf, which many schools and organizations have found to be more cost efficient and accurate, and to provide more meaningful and useful results. This current study was supported under a contract to Fouts & Associates by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was conducted with the cooperation of the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). 2 Fouts & Associates

13 Description of the Study and Methodology DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AND METHODOLOGY Student Transcript Analysis The sample of schools for the transcript analysis was a sample of convenience based on some degree of involvement with the evaluation activities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation education grants. Through our previous work with the foundation, we had access to the transcripts of the students from 42 high schools across the state. These schools ranged from a enrollment of 177 to 2,133 students, with a mean enrollment of 1,135 students. The schools free/reduced lunch status ranged from 14% to 84% with a mean of 45%. The percentage of non-white students in these schools ranged from 9% to 92% with a mean of 41%. We obtained transcripts for all graduating students at 35 of the 42 schools and representative samples of transcripts for the graduating students at 7 of the 42 schools for the classes of 2005 (n = 6,222) and 2006 (n = 5,498), along with course catalogues describing the schools classes. A trained team of researchers, college admissions specialists, and school counselors analyzed the transcripts to determine if the courses taken met the Washington State four- and university admission standards. Although there was some variation among colleges, the general requirements include: Four years of English that must include three years of literature. Three years of mathematics that must include an introduction to trigonometry. Usually advanced algebra or integrated mathematics III satisfied this requirement. Three years of social studies. Two years of science that must include at least one laboratory science class. Two years of foreign language with a grade of a C or better in the second year. One year of fine arts (some colleges). We calculated the percentage of students that met all of the course requirements for admission to a four- or university. We then disaggregated the results by student ethnicity and student gender and identified those course needed for college admissions that were not being taken by the graduates. These analyses are presented in the Results section below. The National Student Clearinghouse Database The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) was established in 1993 by colleges and universities to serve as a national repository for comprehensive enrollment, degree and certificate records. Since its beginnings, it has grown to contain more than 65 million March

14 Description of the Study and Methodology student records from over 2,800 colleges and universities in the United States. As of 2006, these institutions enrolled approximately 91% of the nation s college students. NSC s Core Service provides enrollment status and deferment information for financial aid students when requested by its member institutions for reporting to various organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education. Through its electronic search capabilities, NSC appropriate agencies can verify enrollment status and degree completion. A second NSC serve is the Student Tracker program. With this service, schools and other organizations can search the database for enrollment and degree records for tracking students into two- and four-year institutions nationwide. From these data individual high schools, entire districts, or states can obtain accurate information on college attendance, persistence, and graduation rates. Under Student Tracker, an organization submits student names, dates of birth, last dates of high school attendance, and the name of the high school to the Clearinghouse. NSC then matches those data with its national database of college enrollment and returns an individual student record and a summary report for the school or district. The individual student record includes the name of each college the student is or has attended, the dates of attendance, enrollment/graduation status and name and date of degree, if obtained. With this information, researchers can track students to multiple institutions and consider college transfer patterns. The summary report to the school includes, among other things, the number of records identified, the number of students with multiple records, the number of students with degrees, and number of students at specific institutions. From these data, school officials can track the progress of individual students as well as produce overall college attendance, persistence, and graduation rates. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education s Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) issued a legal opinion that these activities, as structured by NSC, comply with the requirements of FERPA regarding the release or disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records on a nonconsensual basis. 1 Strengths and Limitations of the NSC Data for Research The NSC data provide a relatively inexpensive way for schools or researchers to track very large numbers of students to college over a long period. In this study, we tracked approximately 80,000 high school graduates during the and academic years. The database covers approximately 91% of the students in American colleges and universities, and while not perfect in its coverage, the data are arguably more complete than produced by traditional methods of seeking this information. The data allow for multiple approaches to calculating attendance, persistence, and graduation rates, of course, with some limitations. It is also possible to match the NSC data back to existing school files to add variables such as student gender, ethnicity, or within school educational programs for comparisons or evaluation purposes. 1 Additional information on NSC s FERPA compliance, including where to obtain FPCO s legal opinion letters, are available on the NSC website: 4 Fouts & Associates

15 Description of the Study and Methodology At the same time, there are limitations to the database that affect the validity of the data and what researchers or evaluators can examine or report. These limitations may result in either under-reporting of college attendance, persistence, or graduation rates, or over representing the degree to which students actually are college students or persisting in college. Because institutions enrolling 9% of the students are not participants in NSC, there are potential problems with calculating individual school rates or rates for a group of schools within a small geographical region. For example, Typical High School located 2 miles from Local Community College may have an actual college attendance rate of 40%, 20% of whom go to Local Community College and 20% to other institutions. However, because Local Community College does not participate in NSC, only 20% of the students are in the NSC database, resulting in a calculated college attendance rate of 20% for that high school. Similarly, if a larger project includes a group of high schools within close proximity of that community college, the rates for the entire project may be under-reported. For state-level research, the non-participation of a major in-state college could cause similar under reporting. Researchers can check for this problem by comparing the list of participating institutions to the geographical locations of the high schools being studied, seek additional data, and consider this factor when drawing conclusions. For this reason, the database is more appropriate for larger scale studies across regions where the impact of any one college not reporting data is minimized or in local studies with very high NSC participation by colleges and universities. A second factor that may result in under reporting of these rates is that students in college have the opportunity to block release of their college status information when enrolling in college. However, the percent of students doing so is relatively small, usually not greater than 1-2%. Researchers can also consider this in their calculations because to block the information, the student is enrolled in college somewhere and, therefore, that person can be added to some of the calculations. On the other hand, the rates calculated from the NSC database for our definitions may present a more positive picture of college attendance than actually exist. This may be due to two reasons. First, although institutions are asked to report a student s enrollment status as full-time, half-time, or less than less half-time, not all institutions are currently reporting that information. This is currently true in Washington State. Thus, a student who takes only one course during the year following high school graduation counts as college attendance equally with a student who goes full-time the entire year. At present, the database does not allow us to make these distinctions. As more institutions report this information, we will be able to use more precise definitions of college attendance and persistence. A second factor that may affect college attendance and persistence rates over time in a positive direction is the addition of new institutions to the NSC database. Additional colleges and universities are joining, and the rate of participation has grown dramatically over the last four to five years. Researchers doing multi-year studies must be continually aware of these additions because increases in rates may be due to more institutions reporting student enrollments to NSC rather than programmatic causes and effects. These March

16 Description of the Study and Methodology current limitations of the database are factors of which researchers must be aware and consider in their analyses and interpretations. Research Procedures and Definitions for this Study Under a special research arrangement with NSC, OSPI contracted with Fouts & Associates to serve as the state s agent for the submission, analysis, and reporting of the NSC data. We obtained a list of each high school s graduates in 2004 and 2005 from the P-210 form and submitted those data to NSC for matching in their national database. Because of the nature of the NSC database and procedures, this required multiple submissions and considerable manipulation of the data to calculate some variables, particularly the college persistence rates for the class of It also affected how we could define certain variables. Variable Definitions. The definitions we used in this study are identical to the definitions we have used previously while working with NSC data. Our earlier examination of the available literature did not reveal established definitions for college attendance rate and college persistence rate. Researchers defined these constructs differently, depending on several factors, including the nature of the data they had available. In this study, we defined these two terms based on two major considerations: 1) the definition had to be acceptable and reasonable from a practical point of view; and 2) however it was defined, we had to be able to calculate a number from the NSC database to represent that definition. As we worked through the process of examining various definitions, we concluded that each definition of these two variables has certain advantages and disadvantages. The nature of the NSC database and the excessive amount of data manipulation necessary to calculate scores for some definitions were decisive factors in their rejection. For the present study, we used these definitions. High School Graduate: Student obtained a high school diploma. Does not include students who received a GED or attended high school their senior year but did not graduate. College Direct: Student attended a two-year or four- within the first year after graduating high school. Persistence: College Direct students tracked year to year and are given four persistence variables. In this study for the class of 2004 we used Persistence 2- College Direct student has graduated from a four- or is still attending college the second year after graduating from high school A key construct and definition for this study is College Direct. College Direct students are those high school graduates who attend college any time and for any number of courses during the first calendar year after graduating from high school. We decided on this definition, in part, because of one of the current nature of the NSC database. These students serve as a cohort that we then track over five years to determine Persistence. 6 Fouts & Associates

17 Description of the Study and Methodology With the above definitions, we are able to make the following calculations at the state and school levels. % College Direct students by year % College Direct students by year and type of college (two-year versus fouryear) % College Direct students by year and ethnicity % College Direct students by year and gender % College Direct students persisting into the second year of college (2004 graduates) Validity of the College Direct and College Persistence Rates Because 9% of the nation s college students are not in the NSC database, the College Direct and College Persistence we calculated for this study might be under reporting the actual numbers and percent of students attending college. In addition, as we described above, new member institutions to NSC affect the total number of students reported in college from year to year. To determine the degree to which these factors might affect the rates, we examined the participating Washington State institutions and their beginning dates of participation in NSC. The data used for this report are from the participating post-secondary institutions in Washington, as well as the data from NSC institutions outside the state where the state s graduates attended. NSC colleges and universities in Washington represent approximately 94% of the students attending institutions of high education in Washington. On the surface, this might suggest that our calculated rates might under report attendance by as much as 6%. However, a number of the larger non-participating institutions, such as City University and Antioch University, are designed to serve adult learners in non-traditional college settings. In fact, City University accounts for more than half of the state s students not in the NSC database. These institutions seem less likely to be enrolling recent high school graduates, particularly in the first year after high school graduation. While we cannot be sure of this fact, it does seem unlikely that they would be enrolling in these institutions in equal ratios to the more traditional colleges. In addition, all of the state s community colleges are NSC members. These two factors suggest that the potential under reporting bias may be considerably less than 6%. In fact, we are confident that the non-participation of Washington colleges and universities has little or no impact on the findings of this study. Washington State Participating Colleges and Universities The Washington colleges and universities participation status, beginning NSC participation date and approximate enrollments are listed in Table 1. Table 2 lists Washington Colleges and Universities that do not currently report enrollment information to NSC. March

18 Description of the Study and Methodology Table 1 NSC Member Institutions in Washington State School Name Member Since Estimated Enrollment Argosy University - Seattle 09/ Bastyr University 07/2002 1,000 Bates Technical College 09/1996 1,000 Bellevue Community College 01/ ,000 Bellingham Technical College 09/ Big Bend Community College 08/1995 2,000 Cascadia Community College 05/2003 2,000 Central Washington University 10/2000 9,000 Centralia College 11/1996 2,000 Clark College 07/ ,000 Clover Park Technical College 11/1996 2,000 Columbia Basin College 06/1996 7,000 Eastern Washington University 04/1997 8,000 Edmonds Community College 07/1998 9,000 Everett Community College 11/1996 7,000 Gonzaga University 02/1995 5,000 Grays Harbor College 05/1996 3,000 Green River Community College 10/1995 8,000 Heritage University 06/2005 1,139 Highline Community College 12/ ,000 High-Tech Institute - Seattle 12/ ITT Technical Institute 07/ ITT Technical Institute 07/ ITT Technical Institute 07/ Lake Washington Technical College 07/1997 4,000 Lower Columbia College 05/1996 4,000 North Seattle Community College 01/1998 8,000 Olympic College 02/1996 7,000 Pacific Lutheran University 03/1994 4,000 Peninsula College 03/1997 4,000 Pierce College 04/1998 8,000 Renton Technical College 10/1996 1,000 Saint Martin's College 12/ Seattle Central Community College 01/ ,000 Seattle Pacific University 09/1994 4,000 Seattle University 01/1994 5,000 Seattle University School of Law 01/ Shoreline Community College 12/1995 9,000 Skagit Valley College 08/1996 7,000 South Puget Sound Community College 10/1995 5,000 8 Fouts & Associates

19 Description of the Study and Methodology South Seattle Community College 07/1996 4,000 Spokane Community College 08/1996 7,000 Spokane Falls Community College 08/1996 6,000 Tacoma Community College 12/1996 5,000 The Evergreen State College 07/1999 4,000 University of Puget Sound 06/1996 3,000 University of Washington - Seattle 06/ ,000 Walla Walla College 11/1997 2,000 Walla Walla Community College 01/1997 5,000 Washington State University 02/ ,000 Wenatchee Valley College 11/1995 3,000 Western Washington University 04/ ,000 Whatcom Community College 12/1995 3,000 Whitman College 07/1995 1,000 Whitworth College 12/1996 2,000 Yakima Valley Community College 02/1996 4,000 TOTAL 297,574 Table 2 Washington State Institutions Not Participating in NSC Estimated School Name Enrollment Antioch University 3,626 City University 11,672 Cornish College of the Arts 643 Digipen Institute of Technology 503 Henry Cogswell College 260 Northwest College 1,250 Northwest College of Art 100 Northwest Indian College 900 Pacific Oaks College Northwest 130 Puget Sound Christian College 95 Trinity Lutheran College 150 TOTAL 19,329 March

20 Results Student Transcript Analysis RESULTS Of the 2005 and 2006 high school graduates, approximately 41% of the students each year took the requisite courses for admission to a Washington four- (Figure 1). This rate indicates that a majority of students graduating from these schools cannot be admitted to college because of course deficiencies. It also shows that the graduation requirements at these schools, while meeting the state s minimum requirements for a high school diploma, are not aligned with colleges admission expectations. For the graduates from both years, a higher percentage of females than males met the course requirements for admission to college (Figure 2). In addition, there are large differences in the course-taking patterns among the ethnic groups (Figure 3). Asian- American students were the most likely to have completed the requisite course, while Native Americans, Hispanics, and African-American students were much less likely to have completed courses necessary for admission to college. Students who took the more rigorous college preparation courses prior to graduation had higher grade point averages than students who did not take the more rigorous courses (Figure 4). Finally, students who failed to meet college admission requirements were most likely to lack the advanced math and/or foreign language requisites (Figure 5). 10 Fouts & Associates

21 Results 100% 90% % 70% 60% 59.5% 59.6% 50% 40% 40.5% 41.4% 30% 20% 10% 0% Students meeting all entrance requirements Students not meeting all entrance requirements Figure 1. Percent of Graduates Meeting High School Course Requirements for Admission to a Washington four-year College 100% 90% % 70% 60% 50% 44.3% 44.8% 40% 35.9% 37.5% 30% 20% 10% 0% Males Females Figure 2. Percent of Graduates by Gender Meeting High School Course Requirements for Admission to a Washington four-year College March

22 Results 100% 90% % 70% 60% 58% 50% 49% 44% 42% 40% 36% 30% 31% 28% 28% 28% 28% 20% 10% 0% African American Asian American Hispanic Native American White Figure 3. Percent of Graduates by Ethnicity Meeting High School Course Requirements for Admission to a Washington four-year College Met Course Requirements Did Not Meet Course Requirements Figure 4. Grade Point Averages of Students Who Met and Did Not Meet High School Course Requirements for Admission to a Washington four-year College 12 Fouts & Associates

23 Results 100% 90% 80% 78% 84% 89% 85% % 78% 70% 60% 61% 64% 50% 40% 40% 37% 30% 20% 20% 21% 10% 0% Met # of English Credits Met Both # of Math Credits and Passed Advanced Math Met Both # of Science Credits and Passed Lab Course Met # of Foreign Language Credits Met # of Social Studies Credits Met Fine Arts Credit Figure 5. Course Taking Patterns of Students NOT Meeting High School Course Requirements for Admission to a Washington four-year College Summary Overall, these data indicate that graduation requirements do not align with fouryear college or university requirements, and the majority of students graduating from these schools are not taking the necessary course requirements for admission to a fouryear college or university. There are substantial differences by gender and ethnic group. Students were most likely to lack the advanced math and/or foreign language requirements, and this is likely because graduation requirements for 2005 graduates did not align with college entrance requirements in these academic areas. Generalizing from these 42 schools to the state s population of high school graduates should be done with care because they are overly representative of schools with high non-white and lower-socio-economic students. The state s overall average is probably somewhat higher than the 41% found in these schools. Nonetheless, these results do show that a large number of the state s graduates are graduating without the requisite classes for college. College Attendance and Persistence We defined college direct students as high school graduates who attended either a two- or four- any time in the academic year immediately following their high school graduation. The college direct enrollment rates for the state s graduates of the classes of 2004 and 2005 are presented in Figure 6. Data indicate a slight decline from March

24 Results 57% of 2004 graduates attending college the first year after graduating from high school, to 56% of 2005 graduates. Figure 7 shows the percentages of graduates attending two- and four-s the first year after graduating college. These data indicate a relatively unchanged number of graduates from 2004 and 2005 attending four-year versus two-s. Approximately 30% of the 2004 graduates attended a two-year institution during their first year after high school graduation, while 28% attended a four-year institution. For 2005 graduates, these percentages remained stable from the previous year. (Note. The percentages may total more than the College Direct total due to dual enrollments of some students.) The percentages of students attending college within the first year after graduating from high school (College Direct) for the graduating classes of 2004 and 2005 by student ethnicity are presented in Figure 8. The results for the two years are relatively stable. The data reflect the highest College Direct rates by Asian American students (64% of 2005 graduates) and the lowest College Direct rates by Hispanic students (38% of 2005 graduates). The percentages of College Direct students for the graduating classes of 2004 and 2005 by student gender are presented in Figure 9. In both years, female graduates are more likely to attend college by about 8%. Approximately 61% of female 2005 high school graduates attended college during the first year after graduating from college compared to 53% of male high school graduates. Similarly, 60% of 2005 females attended college during the first year after graduating from college compared to 52% of male graduates. The college persistence rate of college direct students for the high school graduating class of 2004 is presented in Figure 10. We defined persisting in college for college direct students as being enrolled anytime in a given year following high school graduation or having received a four- degree. Figure 10 illustrates the percent of 2004 high school graduates that were College Direct and persisting into a second year of college. The data indicate 57% of 2004 Washington State high school graduates attended college the first year after graduating from college, and approximately 48% attended college both the first year and the second year after high school graduation 2. 2 Our definition of Persistence also includes students who had graduated from a four-year college; in this population there were eight such students. 14 Fouts & Associates

25 Results % College Direct High School Graduation Year Figure 6. Percent of College Direct students, 2004 and % students enrolled in two first year after graduating high school % students enrolled in four first year after graduating high school High School Graduation Year Figure 7. Percentage of College Direct Graduates Attending two-year versus four-year Colleges, 2004 and March

26 Results Caucasian African American Asian American Hispanic Native American Figure 8. Percentage of College Direct by Ethnicity, 2004 and Male Female Figure 9. Percentage of College Direct by Gender, 2004 and Fouts & Associates

27 Results All Washington State High School Graduates % College Direct % Persist 12 Figure 10. Percentage of College Direct Students Persisting in College Note. College Direct =% of students enrolled first year after graduating high school. Persist12 =% of students attending college first year and have graduated from a fouryear college or are still attending college second year after graduating high school. Individual High School Results The college attendance and persistence rates for each of the state s high schools with at least 10 graduates per category are provided in the appendices of this report. March

28 Summary and Conclusions SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In this study, we addressed two specific research questions about college eligibility and college attendance of Washington State high school graduates. We used two methods to obtain our results. First, to determine student course-taking patterns we analyzed the transcripts the 2005 and 2006 graduates from a selection of 42 high schools in the state. In this process, we determined the percentage of students who graduated college eligible, that is, who had taken the courses required for admission to a Washington four- or university. We disaggregated these data by gender and ethnicity and then determined which types of courses the students were not taking, thus preventing them from being college eligible. Second, to determine the college attendance and persistence rates we used the database for the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to track Washington s high school graduates from the classes of 2004 and The NSC database CTDP is an economical, efficient, and accurate method for tracking high school graduates into colleges and universities to determine a given high school s, district s, or state s college attendance, college persistence, and college graduation rates. These two procedures have provided the following answers. What percentage of the state s high school graduates meet the required courses to enter a four- or university? Based on the available sample of schools, our transcript analyses showed that only about 41% of the graduates from the classes of 2005 and 2006 took the required courses for admission to a Washington State four- or university. The state s overall average is probably somewhat higher than the 41% found in these schools because they are over-representative of schools with high non-white and lower-socio-economic students. Nonetheless, these results do show that a large number of the state s graduates are graduating without the requisite classes for college. There are substantial differences in college eligibility rates by gender and ethnic group status. For the graduates from both years, a higher percentage of females than males met the course requirements for admission to college. Asian-American students were the most likely to have completed the requisite course, while Native Americans, Hispanics, and African-American students were much less likely to have completed courses necessary for admission to college. Students who took the more rigorous college preparation courses prior to graduation had higher grade point averages than students who did not take the more rigorous courses. Students were most likely to lack the advanced math and/or foreign language requirements, and this is likely because graduation requirements for 2005 graduates did not align with college entrance requirements in these academic areas. 18 Fouts & Associates

29 Summary and Conclusions What are the college attendance and persistence rates of the graduating classes of 2004 and 2005? Approximately 57% of the state s graduates from the class of 2004 and 2005 attended a two-year or four- the immediately following graduation. These college attendees are about equally divided between two-year and fouryear colleges College attendance rates, similar to high school course taking patterns, differ by student ethnicity. Asian American high school graduates are the most likely to attend college (64% of 2005 graduates), while Hispanic high school graduates are the least likely (38% of 2005 graduates). Female graduates are more likely to attend college than male high school graduates by about 8% per year. The data indicate 57% of 2004 Washington State high school graduates attended college the first year after graduating from college, and approximately 48% attended college both the first year and the second year after high school graduation Additional Findings In this report, we have presented the aggregate results in answering these two research questions. However, the data we analyzed from each individual school was also very instructive. We found that there are individual schools working to strengthen rigor and to align course graduation requirements with college and university admission requirements, resulting in noticeable changes in the percent of students graduating college eligible. We found individual schools that are working to create a college-going environment, resulting in noticeable changes in the percent of graduates attending colleges. In both of these areas, there are substantial differences in outcomes among high schools with similar ethnic and socio-economic students. This suggests that the outcomes we studied in this research are not determined solely by student characteristics, but can be affected by the ethos and effectiveness of the schools. Policy Implications The non-alignment of the schools and state s course graduation requirements with colleges and universities admissions expectations means that many of the state s high school graduates cannot go to a four-, even if they decide after graduation that they do want to go to college. The continuation of non-alignment will continue to allow many students to graduate without a rigorous course of study and limit their educational opportunities in the future. March

30 Summary and Conclusions Data analyses such as we have done in this study show that it is possible to obtain data that focus on the most important student outcomes for informing high school reform in the state. These types of analyses are vital for measuring the effectiveness of high school reform efforts at the school, district, and state level. 20 Fouts & Associates

31 Appendix A Appendix A Washington State High School Graduates College Attendance Classes of 2004 and 2005 By Building March

32 Appendix A Table 1. Washington State High School Graduates College Attendance, Classes of 2004 and 2005, by Building District Name Bldg # Building Name *The combined percentages may total more than the College Direct percentage because of dual enrollments of some students. Note: Data is not included for categories of less than 10 students. % 2004 College Direct % College Direct in 2-year college* % College Direct in 4-year college* Persistence (Year 1 to Year 2) Aberdeen School District 3857 Harbor High School Aberdeen School District 1775 Homelink 0 2 Aberdeen School District 3476 J M Weatherwax High School Adna School District 2441 Adna Middle/High School Anacortes School District 2467 Anacortes High School Anacortes School District 1525 Learning Opportunity Center Anacortes School District 1849 Parent Partner Program 5 0 Anacortes School District 1786 Running Start Anacortes School District 3923 Secret Harbor 1 1 Arlington School District 2523 Arlington High School Arlington School District 1714 Stillaguamish School Arlington School District 4287 Weston High School Asotin-Anatone School District 2434 Asotin Jr Sr High Auburn School District 4474 Auburn Riverside High School Auburn School District 2795 Auburn Senior High School Auburn School District 2702 West Auburn Senior High School Bainbridge Island School District 2395 Bainbridge High School Bainbridge Island School District 1935 Eagle Harbor High School Battle Ground School District 2415 Battle Ground High School Battle Ground School District 1836 Cam Jr Sr High School Battle Ground School District 1875 Homelink River Battle Ground School District 1597 Homelink Schools Battle Ground School District 4104 Prairie High School Battle Ground School District 4450 Summit View High School Bellevue School District 2701 Bellevue High School % 2005 College Direct % College Direct in 2- % College Direct in 4-22 Fouts & Associates

33 Appendix A District Name Bldg # Building Name Bellevue School District 3588 Interlake Senior High School Bellevue School District 3522 International School Bellevue School District 3486 Newport Senior High School Bellevue School District 3744 Robinswood High School Bellevue School District 3282 Sammamish Senior High Bellingham School District 2553 Bellingham High School Bellingham School District 1752 Community Transitions Bellingham School District 1647 Options High School Bellingham School District 3576 Sehome High School Bellingham School District 4515 Squalicum High School Bellingham School District 1799 Visions 2 0 Bethel School District 2807 Bethel High School Bethel School District 1510 Challenger Secondary School Bethel School District 4158 Spanaway Lake High School Bickleton School District 3392 Bickleton Elementary & High Schl 9 4 Blaine School District 3136 Blaine High School Bremerton School District 3109 Bremerton High School Bremerton School District 1737 Renaissance Alternative High School Brewster School District 2800 Brewster High School Bridgeport School District 1900 Bridgeport Aurora High School Bridgeport School District 2788 Bridgeport High School Burlington-Edison School District 2362 Burlington Edison High School Burlington-Edison School District 1928 Burlington-Edison Alternative School 3 6 Camas School District 4567 Camas High School Cape Flattery School District 3422 Clallam Bay High & Elementary Cape Flattery School District 3145 Neah Bay High And Elementary Cascade School District 3564 Cascade High School Cashmere School District 3268 Cashmere High School Castle Rock School District 2281 Castle Rock High School Central Kitsap School District 3936 Alternative High School % 2004 College Direct % College Direct in 2-year college* % College Direct in 4-year college* Persistence (Year 1 to Year 2) % 2005 College Direct % College Direct in 2- % College Direct in 4- March

34 Appendix A District Name Bldg # Building Name Central Kitsap School District 2615 Central Kitsap High School Central Kitsap School District 1903 East Side Alt Central Kitsap School District 4509 Klahowya Secondary Central Kitsap School District 1740 Off Campus Central Kitsap School District 4100 Olympic High School Central Valley School District 3918 Barker Center Central Valley School District 3065 Central Valley High School Central Valley School District 3415 University High School Centralia School District 2166 Centralia High School Centralia School District 3240 Centralia Middle School 0 4 Chehalis School District 2027 Green Hill Academic School Chehalis School District 2799 W F West High School Cheney School District 1769 Cheney Alternative High School Cheney School District 3610 Cheney High School Chewelah School District 1709 Chewelah Alternative Chewelah School District 1763 Home Link Alternative Chewelah School District 2404 Jenkins Senior High Chimacum School District 3275 Chimacum High School Chimacum School District 1724 P1 Program 2 0 Clarkston School District 2299 Charles Francis Adams High School Clarkston School District 1617 Educational Opportunity Center Clarkston School District 3616 Special Services 0 1 Cle Elum-Roslyn School District 2329 Cle Elum Roslyn High School Cle Elum-Roslyn School District 1987 Cle Elum-Roslyn Alternative School 0 5 Clover Park School District 4862 A-I High School Clover Park School District 1825 Alfaretta House 1 1 Clover Park School District 2425 Clover Park High School Clover Park School District 2041 Firwood 0 1 Clover Park School District 3456 Lakes High School Colfax School District 3366 Colfax High School % 2004 College Direct % College Direct in 2-year college* % College Direct in 4-year college* Persistence (Year 1 to Year 2) % 2005 College Direct % College Direct in 2- % College Direct in 4-24 Fouts & Associates