Study shows CPS graduates not reaching personal academic goalsBy William HarmsNews Office
Grades are a more important predictor of college enrollment and graduation than entrance exam scores for graduates of Chicago Public Schools, according to a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. The consortium study also found substantial differences across colleges in graduation rates among highly qualified CPS graduates, suggesting that college selection matters a great deal. The study paints a discouraging picture of college performance for CPS graduates. Despite the fact that nearly 80 percent of seniors state they expect to graduate from a four-year college, only about one-third enroll in a four-year college within a year of high school graduation, and only 35 percent of those who enroll receive a bachelor’s degree within six years, the authors said. In addition, the report found that boys are less likely to enter and graduate from college than girls with similar abilities, largely because boys have lower high school grades. The study also found that CPS Latino graduates attend college below both national and Illinois averages for Latino high school graduates. “What we are seeing is a significant gap between students’ aspirations and their college access and performance,” said Melissa Roderick, Professor in the School of Social Service Administration and Principal Investigator of the Chicago Postsecondary Transition Project. “We find that CPS graduates’ low grades and low test scores are creating significant barriers to four-year and particularly selective four-year colleges like the University of Illinois at Chicago, and that low high school grades are undermining the chances for graduation among those who enroll. Improving students’ qualifications is the single most important strategy that CPS can use to give students access to colleges that match their aspirations. This will require as much of a focus on grades as high schools are currently placing on test scores,” Roderick said. The report builds on an effort underway at CPS to track high school graduates as they enter college. The consortium report is the first in the country to comprehensively follow individual graduates of a major urban school system and examine what kinds of colleges they attend and how many students graduate. The consortium’s findings are reported in “From High School to the Future: A First Look at Chicago Public Schools Graduates’ College Enrollment, College Preparation and Graduation from Four-year Colleges.” Roderick is author of the report along with Elaine Allensworth, Associate Director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research, and Jenny Nagaoka, Project Director of the Chicago Postsecondary Transition Project. The report follows recent graduates of CPS, including the classes of 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2003. It uses data from Chicago high school records and from the not-for-profit National Student Clearinghouse to match individual CPS graduates with their college experiences. The National Student Clearinghouse has records on more than 90 percent of college students nationwide, and consortium researchers estimate that the data capture 95 percent of CPS graduates who enroll in college. Among the study’s findings are these: As CPS works to increase graduates’ qualifications, there must be an equivalent attempt to ensure that students are searching and aspiring to colleges that demand those qualifications, and that students are getting the support they will need to translate those qualifications into access,” Nagaoka said.
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