College Board Research has released a new report that looks at the pandemic’s impact on enrollment and retention rates for recent high school graduates. College enrollment rates of students who graduated high school in 2020 and college retention patterns of students who graduated high school in 2019 are examined.
The data for the analysis was drawn from the College Board and the National Student Clearinghouse. The report is based on a sample of approximately 10 million students from more than 22,000 high schools and 2,800 colleges.
Three main sections are analyzed in the report:
- Unadjusted Changes in Enrollment, Retention, and Persistence Rates
- Regression-Adjusted Percentage Changes in Enrollment Rates
- Regression-Adjusted Percentage Changes in Retention Rates
The results resulted in the revelation of five major themes:
- As a result of covid-19, student enrollment rates declined more substantially at two-year
colleges than four-year colleges. - Students with higher high school grades may have made room at four-year colleges for
students with lower high school grades. - The retention impact of covid-19 is larger among students in the two-year sector than in the four-year sector, where student retention rates are mostly unchanged.
- There exists substantial state and regional variation in the impact of the pandemic on student enrollment and retention rates, although that variation does not appear to be closely linked to local health and economic conditions.
- The combined health and economic crises disrupted the long-standing countercyclical
relationship between college enrollment and economic growth.
You can read and download the full report here: https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/enrollment-retention-covid2020.pdf
For more College Board Research, visit https://research.collegeboard.org/
About the College Board
College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success—including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement® Program. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools. For further information, visit collegeboard.org.