Tab I - Missouri High School Graduates Report

AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY

AGENDA ITEM

Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report
Coordinating Board for Higher Education
April 10, 2008

DESCRIPTION

On an annual basis, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education has statutory responsibility to provide a report to the State Board of Education about the performance of public high school graduates during their first year of attendance at Missouri’s public two- and four-year institutions. The intent of this board item is to provide a summary of the April 2008 Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report.

Background

As part of the Missouri Outstanding Schools Act, the Coordinating Board was given responsibility to prepare an annual report on recent high school graduates’ academic performance during their initial year of pursuing collegiate-level work. As described in statute, the data in this report are to be arranged by individual school and disaggregated by race and gender. Further, individual student names are not to be used, and no grade point averages are to be disclosed in any cells with three or fewer students.

By statute, the report must include:

• Grade point average after the initial year in college
• Percent of students returning to college after the first and second semester
• Percent of students taking remedial courses in the basic academic subjects of English, mathematics, or reading
• Other data as determined by rule and regulation of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education

The annual report, which was first issued in 1996, is intended to provide information to secondary and postsecondary stakeholders regarding student preparation, persistence, and completion by graduates of each of the state’s public high schools in public postsecondary institutions in the state.

Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) staff believe the report will continue to prove valuable in monitoring the impact of ongoing major statewide initiatives, including the Curriculum Alignment Initiative (CAI), and the transitions to statewide course assessments and revised graduation requirements at the secondary level.

April 2008 Report

The High School Graduates Performance Report tracks Missouri public high school graduates entering the state’s public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions as first-time freshmen in the fall semester following high school graduation.

Data for the following categories are included in the attached MissouriPublicHigh School Graduates Data: First-time Freshmen Enrolled in Public Institutions:

• Demographic characteristics of college entrants
• Academic preparation
• Performance and retention
• Degree completion

New Freshmen Demographics

Table One in the attachment provides data on enrollment demographics for Missouri public high school graduates who entered Missouri public two- and four-year colleges and universities. The table includes a baseline year (1996 high school graduates), the previous year (2006), and the current cohort year (2007). General highlights include:

• Overall enrollment of this cohort has increased 4.2% over the class of 2006, following a slight decline from 2005 to 2006. Of course, graduate follow-up in this report is currently limited to enrollment in public Missouri postsecondary institutions, and does not reflect student enrollment in non-public or out-of-state institutions.

• African-American and female enrollments increased measurably from 2006 to 2007 (6.9 percent and 4.4 percent respectively).

• The number of students identified as American Indian / Alaska native, non-resident alien, or of other or unknown race/ethnicity, increased 7.9 percent since 2006, and 286.3 percent since 1996. New federal rules on reporting student race / ethnicity are currently being implemented, however, and will provide more information in future years especially regarding bi-racial or multi-racial students.

Academic Preparation

Tables Two and Three provide data on academic preparation of Missouri public high school graduates who entered Missouri public two- and four-year institutions. Included are data on ACT test participation and scoring, completion of the CBHE-recommended high school core curriculum, and enrollment in remedial/developmental coursework.

Table Two includes a baseline year (1996 high school graduates), the previous year (2006), and the current cohort year (2007), while Table Three reports 2007 data by gender and race/ethnicity. General highlights include:

• ACT testing participation and average composite scores reported for this cohort are basically stable from 2006 to 2007.
  • Public Missouri high school graduates attending public in-state colleges and universities (included in this report): 22.1 composite ACT average
  • All Missouri high school graduates: 21.6
  • National average – high school graduates: 21.2
• The percentage of students in this cohort requiring remediation has increased slightly overall since 2006, following a slight decline the previous year. The overall increase is linked to increases of approximately one-half percent each in math and English / writing, respectively.
  • Overall: 36.6 percent (2007) compared to 36.4 percent (2006)
  • Math: 30.1 percent (2007) compared to 29.6 percent (2006)
  • English: 17.5 percent (2007) compared to 16.9 percent (2006)
  • Reading: 10.2 percent (2007) compared to 10.1 percent (2006)
• Female high school graduates in this cohort continue to record lower ACT scores, and require more frequent remediation in math and reading (Table Three), but retain and complete at higher rates than their male counterparts.
• 92 percent of enrolled students in this cohort had completed the CBHE-recommended high school core curriculum; this total should increase further as graduates enter postsecondary education who have completed new graduation requirements, effective for the public high school graduating class of 2010. The revised CBHE Recommended High School Core Curriculum is now structurally aligned with high school graduation requirements adopted by the State Board of Education for 2010 high school seniors.

Performance and Retention in College

Tables Four and Five provide data on first-year college performance of Missouri public high school graduates who entered Missouri public two- and four-year institutions. These data include fall and spring semester retention rates and average GPA as well as freshman-to-sophomore retention rates.

Table Four includes a baseline year (1996 high school graduates), the previous reported year (fall 2005 into fall 2006), and the most recent available data (fall 2006 into fall 2007), while Table Five reports retention and average GPA data by gender and race / ethnicity for the class of 2006. General highlights include:

• Freshman-to-sophomore (“fall-to-fall”) retention improved by a percentage point overall, and at both two- and four-year institutions, in comparison to the class of 2005. Additional student identification data collected beginning in fall 2006 should allow the MDHE to more accurately track students across terms, years, and institutions in coming years, so additional cohorts will assist in determining whether student retention, data quality, or both are improving.

• Composite ACT scores among racial / ethnic groups (Table Three) roughly correlate with differences in retention and completion at the postsecondary level (Tables Five and Seven).

Degree Completion

Tables Six and Seven provide information on degree completion status among approximately 18,800 Missouri public high school graduates who entered the state’s public colleges and universities as degree-seeking freshmen in fall 2001. Table Six reports data for fall 2000 and fall 2001 entering freshmen, while Table Seven reports fall 2001 data by gender and race /ethnicity. General highlights include:

• 49.7 percent of this cohort received a degree from a Missouri public institution by spring 2007
• 34.8 percent of fall 2001 degree-seeking freshmen were awarded a baccalaureate degree, 11.1 percent earned an associate’s degree, and 3.8 percent earned both

• Overall graduation rate, baccalaureate, and associate’s completion rates each declined in comparison to the class of 2000, although the percentage of the entering cohort earning both degrees increased by one percent.

• As detailed previously, structural changes in data collected from public institutions should strengthen data quality in coming years, allowing a greater number of students to be “matched” between the entering cohort and completions data. In the interim, however, there is also a slight increase in the number of students still enrolled without having yet earned a degree (6.9 percent of the fall 2001 cohort), an indication that time-to-degree may be lengthening. There was also an increase in the number of students classified as out of the public system (43.4 percent of the fall 2001 cohort), although some students certainly transferred to independent or out-of-state institutions, from which the MHDE does not collect student-level data.

• Presuming these data are an accurate reflection of a decrease in completion rates at public institutions for this cohort in comparison to past entering classes, the data do raise questions regarding the potential causes of a decline. Related factors / issues may include increasing rates of remedial enrollment, increasing postsecondary costs of attendance during this period, as well as the relatively higher rate of growth of enrollment at in-state independent baccalaureate institutions, in comparison to public baccalaureate institutions.

Conclusion

The Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report provides useful information reflecting the comparative preparation, enrollment, persistence, and completion of Missouri’s public high school graduates in public Missouri colleges and universities:

• Enrollment of first-time freshmen in this cohort in public Missouri institutions increased by almost 1,000 students over the class of 2006

• Remediation is basically stable over the past two years among this cohort, as are ACT score, although test-taking participation has increased in recent years

• Student retention among recent graduating classes in public higher education may be improving slightly, although degree completion of the class of 2001 appears to have declined somewhat in comparison to the class of 2000.

Finally, the Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report will continue to be one of many measures of the impact of initiatives geared toward strengthening student success in Missouri:

• the work of the statewide and regional P-20 Councils

• the impact of increased graduation requirements and course-level state assessments in public Missouri high schools

• the development and implementation of the Curriculum Alignment Initiative, of renewed strategic planning under the direction of the Coordinating Board, and the impact of the CBHE Policy on Higher Education Student Funding Act Implementation.

• the further development and strengthening of available data systems to support relevant research

The Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report is presented on the MDHE website for each of Missouri’s public high schools at http://www.dhe.mo.gov/hsgradreport.shtml. Trend data is presented, where available, back to 1996 graduates. Formal notification of the availability of the report will also be provided to the State Board of Education as directed by statute. MDHE staff look forward to working with all interested stakeholders to study and improve student success from K-12 into higher education, and into the Missouri workforce.

STATUTORY REFERENCE

Section 173.750 RSMo, Annual reporting of performance of graduates, furnishing of report – procedure – data included

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Assigned to Consent Calendar

ATTACHMENT

Missouri Public High School Graduates Data (PDF)