Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002 October 2003 Massachusetts Department of Education address 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148 telephone 781-338-3000 internet www.doe.mass.edu Massachusetts Department of Education This document was prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Education. Dr. David P. Driscoll, Commissioner of Education Board of Education Members James A. Peyser, Chairperson, Dorchester Henry M. Thomas, III, Vice-Chairperson, Springfield Charles D. Baker, Swampscott J. Richard Crowley, Andover Jeffrey DeFlavio, Belmont, Chairperson, Student Advisory Council Judith I. Gill, Chancellor, Higher Education, Boston William K. Irwin, Jr., Wilmington Roberta R. Schaefer, Worcester Abigail M. Thernstrom, Lexington David P. Driscoll, Commissioner and Secretary to the Board The Massachusetts Department of Education, an Affirmative Action employer, is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Department of Education Permission is hereby granted to copy any or all parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes. Please credit the "Massachusetts Department of Education." This document printed on recycled paper. 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023 781-338-3000 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023 Telephone: (781) 338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370 David P. Driscoll Commissioner of Education October, 2003 Dear Friends: I am pleased to issue the annual publication, Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002. This report provides information on the post-graduation plans of Massachusetts public high school students who graduated in 2002. The data in this document, along with several other educational indicators that we report, help to inform decision-making at both local and state levels. For the Class of 2002, over 74 percent of Massachusetts high school graduates plan to continue their education at a two- or four-year college. This figure has shown steady growth from 53 percent recorded over twenty years ago. Correspondingly, 13 percent of graduates plan to work, approximately half of the percentage planning to work in 1980. The Education Reform Act of 1993, with its high standards for students and teachers, will strengthen the efforts of Massachusetts schools and districts in preparing students to successfully pursue their post graduation plans. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this report, please contact: Massachusetts Department of Education Information Services and Technology 350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148 (781) 338-3282 Sincerely, David P. Driscoll Commissioner of Education Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002 Introduction The Massachusetts Department of Education collects data annually from public high schools regarding the plans of their graduates. This report summarizes the data at the state level for the Class of 2002 and includes analyses by racial/ethnic groups, gender, vocational-technical schools, and charter schools. Comparison data from past years are also provided, as well as district and individual school data. It is important to note that the data represent the intentions of high school graduates and may not reflect what students actually do after graduating from high school. Changes in Data Collection Prior to the 2001-02 school year, data about the plans of high school graduates were obtained from the Year-End School Indicator Report, a survey of Massachusetts public schools conducted by the Department of Education at the end of each school year. School officials reported the number of graduating students by gender and race across nine categories of post-graduation plans. In 2001-02, Massachusetts changed its collection system and began collecting student-level data through the Student Information Management System (SIMS). This report marks the first year that the plans of high school graduates are reported based on student-level data submitted by districts through SIMS. As a result of this new collection method, data may not fully represent actual changes in the plans of high school graduates from previous years, but rather may be representative of changes in data collection and in reporting requirements. Despite these limitations, student-level data collected through SIMS for this and the following years will ensure more accurate reporting by districts and will allow for more in-depth analysis of the plans of high school graduates in Massachusetts. Results • Class of 2002 In 2002, a total of 56,930 students graduated from Massachusetts public high schools. Of these graduates, over 74 percent planned on attending college or some other post-secondary institution (e.g. trade schools), 13 percent planned on working, and two percent intended to enter the military. One percent of the graduates reported having plans other than the ones listed above, and data was not available for the remaining nine percent of graduates (Figure 1 and Table 1). Of the graduates planning to attend college, more than twice as many planned to attend a four- year college than planned to attend a two-year college (52 versus 20 percent of all graduates). 1 2 Table 1. Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002 Percentage of Graduates by Plans Number of Public College Private College Other Data Not Graduates 2-Year 4-Year 2-Year 4-Year Post- Military Work Other Available Secondary Total 56,930 17.8 23.0 2.6 29.4 1.7 2.3 12.8 1.0 9.4 Gender Male 28,000 16.8 21.0 2.5 26.2 1.9 3.8 16.5 1.1 10.3 Female 28,930 18.9 25.0 2.7 32.5 1.6 0.7 9.2 1.0 8.4 Racial/Ethnic Group African-American 4,645 22.8 15.3 4.8 21.1 1.8 1.5 11.2 1.0 20.6 Asian 2,839 17.7 22.3 2.0 37.0 0.9 1.7 6.2 0.7 11.0 Hispanic 4,169 26.2 10.1 6.0 12.1 1.8 3.4 18.1 2.0 20.4 Native American 154 22.8 14.9 3.9 18.2 2.0 2.6 22.1 2.0 11.7 White 45,123 16.6 25.0 2.1 31.4 1.8 2.3 12.8 1.0 7.1 Note: Some percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002 Figure 1. Plans of 2002 High School Graduates∗ Of the total number of graduates: • 73% planned to attend college Private four-year college – 29% Public four-year college – 23% Public two-year college – 18% Private two-year college – 3% • 13% planned to work • 2% planned to enter the military • 2% planned to attend other post-secondary schools All Graduates Graduates Planning to Attend College 4-year college 52% 2-year public 2-year 4-year public 18% college 23% 20% 2-year private Other Post• 3% Secondary Data Not 2% Available Military Other Work 9% 1% 2% 4-year private 13% 29% • Trends over Time The percentage of graduates Figure 2. Graduates Pl anning to Attend Coll ege 60 planning to attend college has 1982 50 increased over the past twenty 1992 years, from 54 percent in 1982, 40 2002 to 68 percent in 1992, and to 30 over 72 percent of all graduates Graduates 20 in 2002 (Table 2). Between All of Percentage 10 1982 and 2002, the percentage 0 of graduates planning to attend a 2-Year 4-Year Pr ivate Publ ic two-year college increased from Type of Col lege 16 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage planning to attend a four-year college rose from 38 percent to 52 percent. Over that same time period, the percentage of high school graduates intending to enroll in a private college increased from 25 to 32 percent, and the percentage intending to enroll in a public college increased from 29 percent to 41 percent (Figure 2). Figur e 3. G ra d u a t e s P lann ing to A tte n d C ol l e ge While the percentage of graduates 35 planning to attend a private two- F our- Y ea r P riv at e 30 year college has slightly decreased 25 since 1977 (from four percent in 20 F our-Y ear P ub lic 1977 to less than three percent in 15 T w o-Y ea r P ubl i c 2002), the percentage planning to 10 attend public two-year colleges 5 has grown from 11 to 18 percent Percentage of All Graduates of All Percentage T w o-Y ear P riv a te 0 (Figure 3). The percentage of 1 977 19 82 198 7 1992 1997 2 002 ∗ Some totals and percentages may not sum equally due to rounding. 3 4 Table 2. Plans of High School Graduates: 1975-2002 Percentage of Graduates by Plans Number of Public College Private College Other Post- Data Not Class Military Work Other Graduates 2-Year 4-Year 2-Year 4-Year Secondary Available 2002 56,930 17.8 23.0 2.6 29.4 1.7 2.3 12.8 1.0 9.4 2001 54,391 18.5 23.1 3.1 30.5 2.2 2.4 14.1 2.9 3.3 2000 52,950 17.6 23.0 3.2 30.6 2.3 2.5 15.0 2.7 3.2 1999 51,465 17.4 22.3 3.2 30.5 2.4 2.4 16.0 3.2 2.6 1998 50,452 15.5 22.5 3.0 30.7 2.1 2.6 16.2 3.6 3.9 1997 49,008 15.2 22.8 3.3 30.6 2.5 2.8 16.8 3.4 2.6 1996 47,994 14.1 23.4 3.9 30.8 2.6 2.8 16.2 3.7 2.4 1995 47,679 13.8 23.0 4.5 29.9 2.5 2.8 17.4 3.8 2.3 1994 47,453 14.1 22.7 4.5 29.2 2.8 2.9 17.0 4.2 2.7 1993 48,394 14.2 21.7 5.0 28.5 2.8 3.2 17.4 4.4 2.9 1992 50,323 14.8 21.4 4.7 27.5 3.2 3.4 17.9 4.1 2.8 1991 50,216 14.9 22.7 4.6 24.6 3.9 3.4 19.2 3.6 3.2 1990 51,496 15.1 20.7 5.2 24.3 3.8 3.0 21.6 3.9 2.3 1989 57,328 14.5 21.0 5.3 23.2 3.7 2.9 23.6 3.7 2.2 1988 59,515 13.5 21.4 4.9 23.7 3.9 3.1 24.5 2.8 2.4 1987 59,552 12.4 20.7 5.0 22.4 4.1 3.4 24.9 3.7 3.5 1986 61,261 10.9 20.5 5.2 21.9 4.6 3.5 27.9 3.2 2.4 1985 63,411 10.5 19.8 5.0 21.7 4.7 4.0 28.0 4.5 1.9 1984 65,885 10.3 18.5 4.9 22.0 4.7 4.1 28.6 4.3 2.6 1983 71,225 10.7 18.3 4.9 20.4 5.4 4.6 28.9 4.5 2.6 1982 74,299 10.9 18.1 4.8 20.3 5.5 4.3 29.7 4.1 2.5 1981 74,876 10.9 18.7 4.4 19.5 5.3 4.0 30.4 4.7 2.1 1980 73,802 10.1 18.2 4.4 20.3 5.7 4.0 31.1 4.0 2.3 1979 76,391 10.2 17.2 4.3 19.5 5.4 3.5 32.8 4.7 2.4 1978 78,348 10.2 17.2 4.0 19.3 5.2 3.8 32.2 5.0 3.1 1977 72,393 11.0 16.5 4.2 19.3 5.5 4.2 31.8 4.8 2.7 1976 75,386 10.7 15.6 4.5 18.4 5.7 4.0 30.8 6.6 3.7 1975 78,408 11.1 16.4 4.2 17.5 5.6 4.0 30.9 6.1 4.3 Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002 graduates planning to attend public four-year colleges has shown a general increase over the past 25 years.