THE IDAHO HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATING CLASS OF 2005 TEN YEARS OUT
The staff at the Idaho Board of Education began tracking the college status of Idaho high school graduates with a pilot for the class of 2005. Data has been collected for 85 high schools across the state for the past 9 1/2 years, and is displayed on this website. The website also features data about "Go-on' rates at various stages of progress for the classes of 2011-15. However, in this post we'll focus on that longitudinal data set for the class of 2005.
State of Idaho Graduation Rate
Here's the overall status of the class (85 schools), as of March, 2015:
State of Idaho Graduation Rate
Here's the overall status of the class (85 schools), as of March, 2015:
As you can see, 36% of the class has graduated from a 2-year of 4-year institution, or acquired a certificate. This percentage is likely a bit low; some 2-year and 4-year colleges are not members of the National Student Clearinghouse, which supplies the data to the state.
What's interesting about the data is the increase in the percentage of graduates between year 6 and year 10. Only 26% had graduated by 2011; by 2015, 36% had completed. Eight (8) percent of the class is also currently enrolled at an institution.
Also, though only 36% of the class has completed a program, 71% of the class of 2005 has competed some college as of March 2015. Here is a PDF document with college degree progress portraits for twelve high schools and for the state of Idaho.
In Signature Report 7: Some College, No Degree, the National Clearinghouse says this on page 6 about the length of time taken for college:
"More than one in four potential completers (25.7 percent) enrolled continuously or intermittently for seven years or longer. While 38.1 percent enrolled continuously or on-and-off over three years or less, a similar percentage (36.3 percent) spread their enrollments over four to six years. These results suggest that standard cutoffs for
measuring student graduation rates (typically 150 percent of program length) are inadequate: significant numbers of students continue to make substantial progress toward a credential for many years longer."
In fact, the NCES College Navigator publishes information about 4, 6, and 8-year graduation rates for colleges on its website. For example, at BSU, the 6-year entering first-time, full-time class of 2006 graduation rate was 29%, while the 8-year grad rate was 36%.At Idaho State, the 6-year rate was 31%, and the 8-year 37%. Idaho's percentages were 56% and 59%, respectively.
Sample of High School Graduation Rates
For the past several years, seven of the top-performing large high schools on the SAT have been Boise, Timberline, Moscow, Lakeland, Madison, Sandpoint and McCall-Donnelly. Moscow and Sandpoint did not participate in the class of 2005 study; however, we have information about the status of the other 5 high schools.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of the Boise High class of 2005 has completed, as of March, 2015, and another 6% are enrolled in some form of program. Eighty-four percent of the class has attended college at one time or another in the past 9 1/2 years.
About 50% of Boise graduates attend school at out-of-state institutions. Among the most popular are the University of Utah (59% six-year grad rate, 73% eight-year). Western Washington University (67%, 69%), University of Colorado-Boulder (68%, 70%), Gonzaga University (81%, 82%), and the University of Oregon (67%, 70%). Many students attending these universities from Boise consistently enroll in a full-time capacity.
In a typical year, about 65% of Timberline students enroll at Idaho colleges. The University of Utah and Brigham Young University (77%, 86%) are also popular choices, but the vast majority of Timberline students enroll at BSU and Idaho. Forty-four percent (44%) of Timberline students had completed by March, 2015, and 80% had attended some college.
Lakeland's percentage of college completers stood at 21% 5 years after the class graduated from high school, comparable with Timberline (21%) . However, the percentage of graduates at Timberline more than doubled from 2011 to 2015, while Lakeland's grew by only 5%.
Gauging the Impact of Church Missions
The "Direct to college" Go-on rate, or even the percentage in college a year or two after high school graduation, is irrelevant for a school district like Madison, where many students serve a church mission at some point after high school. While Madison has a low direct Go-on rate, the district's percentage of students graduated after 9 1/2 years is among the state's highest.
Madison's college completion percentage in 2009, four years after high school graduation, was 16%; in 2013 it was 45%. The higher education schools of choice for Madison students are BYU-Idaho (located in Rexburg) and BYU-Provo.
A Small District with a Large Graduation Rate
Among smaller districts, McCall-Donnelly stands out, with a college completion rate the same as Boise High School. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of McCall's class of 2005 graduates have completed some college.
What's interesting about the data is the increase in the percentage of graduates between year 6 and year 10. Only 26% had graduated by 2011; by 2015, 36% had completed. Eight (8) percent of the class is also currently enrolled at an institution.
Also, though only 36% of the class has completed a program, 71% of the class of 2005 has competed some college as of March 2015. Here is a PDF document with college degree progress portraits for twelve high schools and for the state of Idaho.
In Signature Report 7: Some College, No Degree, the National Clearinghouse says this on page 6 about the length of time taken for college:
"More than one in four potential completers (25.7 percent) enrolled continuously or intermittently for seven years or longer. While 38.1 percent enrolled continuously or on-and-off over three years or less, a similar percentage (36.3 percent) spread their enrollments over four to six years. These results suggest that standard cutoffs for
measuring student graduation rates (typically 150 percent of program length) are inadequate: significant numbers of students continue to make substantial progress toward a credential for many years longer."
In fact, the NCES College Navigator publishes information about 4, 6, and 8-year graduation rates for colleges on its website. For example, at BSU, the 6-year entering first-time, full-time class of 2006 graduation rate was 29%, while the 8-year grad rate was 36%.At Idaho State, the 6-year rate was 31%, and the 8-year 37%. Idaho's percentages were 56% and 59%, respectively.
Sample of High School Graduation Rates
For the past several years, seven of the top-performing large high schools on the SAT have been Boise, Timberline, Moscow, Lakeland, Madison, Sandpoint and McCall-Donnelly. Moscow and Sandpoint did not participate in the class of 2005 study; however, we have information about the status of the other 5 high schools.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of the Boise High class of 2005 has completed, as of March, 2015, and another 6% are enrolled in some form of program. Eighty-four percent of the class has attended college at one time or another in the past 9 1/2 years.
About 50% of Boise graduates attend school at out-of-state institutions. Among the most popular are the University of Utah (59% six-year grad rate, 73% eight-year). Western Washington University (67%, 69%), University of Colorado-Boulder (68%, 70%), Gonzaga University (81%, 82%), and the University of Oregon (67%, 70%). Many students attending these universities from Boise consistently enroll in a full-time capacity.
In a typical year, about 65% of Timberline students enroll at Idaho colleges. The University of Utah and Brigham Young University (77%, 86%) are also popular choices, but the vast majority of Timberline students enroll at BSU and Idaho. Forty-four percent (44%) of Timberline students had completed by March, 2015, and 80% had attended some college.
Lakeland's percentage of college completers stood at 21% 5 years after the class graduated from high school, comparable with Timberline (21%) . However, the percentage of graduates at Timberline more than doubled from 2011 to 2015, while Lakeland's grew by only 5%.
Gauging the Impact of Church Missions
The "Direct to college" Go-on rate, or even the percentage in college a year or two after high school graduation, is irrelevant for a school district like Madison, where many students serve a church mission at some point after high school. While Madison has a low direct Go-on rate, the district's percentage of students graduated after 9 1/2 years is among the state's highest.
Madison's college completion percentage in 2009, four years after high school graduation, was 16%; in 2013 it was 45%. The higher education schools of choice for Madison students are BYU-Idaho (located in Rexburg) and BYU-Provo.
A Small District with a Large Graduation Rate
Among smaller districts, McCall-Donnelly stands out, with a college completion rate the same as Boise High School. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of McCall's class of 2005 graduates have completed some college.
