A high school’s rate of student poverty is the most consequential factor in determining whether graduates enroll in, persist in and complete college, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, an education research nonprofit.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Class of 2024 students from low-poverty schools enrolled in a postsecondary degree program the same year they graduated from K12. Comparatively, a little more than half (51%) of students from high-poverty schools enrolled in college, a 23-percentage point difference.
Furthermore, about 59% of students from the Class of 2018 who attended a low-poverty school earned an associate degree or higher. That’s more than double the rate of students who graduated from a high-poverty school (25%).
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A high school’s poverty rate was a more influential indicator of student success in college than income, minority and urban city rates. For example:
- Only low-poverty high schools produced a graduating class in which more than half earned a postsecondary degree within six years. Only a quarter of students attending a high-poverty school did so.
- The difference in first-to-second-year college persistence rates between students from low-income and high-income K12 schools was only nine percentage points. However, a school’s poverty level resulted in a 16-percentage point gap.
- Graduates from low-poverty high schools were more likely to complete STEM degrees within six years than graduates from high-income or low-minority schools.
“Large differences in college access and degree attainment mean many students don’t see the benefits of higher education opportunities, particularly those from low-income backgrounds,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Even with stable enrollment outcomes, the socioeconomic gaps continue to persist.”
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s analyzed the college enrollment rates of high school students from the 2016-17 academic year to 2023-24. About two-thirds of all 12th grade students were accounted for each year, or an average of more than 2.1 million students.
The Research Center determined student income and poverty rates by analyzing student eligibility for free or reduced-price school lunch, which is recorded by the National School Lunch Program.
