Reports track students from high school to college

New reports from the state Department of Higher Education provide a more richly detailed look than was previously available of what happens to Colorado students after they graduate high school.

Photo from “Colorado Completes,” the higher education master plan.

The new information, which the department is calling “District at a Glance,” combines previously reported information about high school graduation, college enrollment and remediation rates to provide a more comprehensive look at how students do when they move from high school to college.

The department previously produced reports on college attendance and remediation, but they were issued at different times of the year. The new reports for the first time break out college attendance by racial and ethnic groups.

In a letter to school superintendents this week, Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia wrote, “P-20 efforts such as this are important as the global economy shifts to occupations requiring more highly-skilled workers. By 2020, 74 percent of Colorado’s jobs will require education beyond high school.” (Garcia also is director of DHE.)

Here’s a snapshot of data for the students who graduated from Colorado high schools in 2011:

College enrollment

  • Overall enrollment rate of 2011 Colorado high school graduates – 57.4 percent
  • Female – 61 percent
  • Male – 53.7 percent
  • American Indian – 41.8 percent
  • Asian – 63 percent
  • African-American – 54.3 percent
  • Hispanic – 41.5 percent
  • White – 63.4 percent
  • At-risk – 41.5 percent

Other data

  • In-state enrollment of all 2011 high school graduates – 45.2 percent
  • Out-of-state enrollment of all 2011 high school graduates – 12.2 percent
  • Concurrent enrollment in college classes while in high school – 18.2 percent

Performance in college

  • Students needing remedial classes – 39.2 percent
  • Average first-year GPA – 2.67
  • Average first-year credit hours earned – 28.28

First-year retention rates (class of 2010)

  • Overall – 80.7 percent
  • Four-year – 88.2 percent
  • Two-year – 62 percent
  • Colorado public colleges – 76.9 percent