Tab H - Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report: Outstanding Schools Act - Senate Bill 380
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
AGENDA ITEM
Missouri High School Graduates Performance Report:
Outstanding Schools Act ? Senate Bill 380
Coordinating Board for Higher Education
April 14, 2005
DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this information item is to inform the board about compliance with Section 173.750, RSMo., which requires that the Coordinating Board for Higher Education prepare for the State Board of Education an annual report on the performance of Missouri public high school graduates in the state's system of public higher education.
Background
The High School Graduates Report is prepared by the Department of Higher Education as a strategic resource for linking high school performance to college success. For colleges and universities, the report provides data helping to identify high school graduates who meet the institution's admission requirements. For high schools, the report can be used as a guidance and counseling tool to assess how well graduates are prepared for the college of their choice. Hopefully, the statistics provided in this report will help promote more informed collaborations between high schools and postsecondary institutions.
History
In 1993, Governor Carnahan signed the Missouri Outstanding Schools Act, which directs that the information in this annual report on Missouri public high school graduates' college performance be arranged by school, disaggregated by race and gender, and that no grade point average be disclosed in any case where three or fewer students from any particular high school attend a particular college. The content of the report is to include:
- grade point average after the initial college year;
- the percentage of students returning to college after the first and second semester of the initial college year;
- the percentage of students taking remedial courses in the basic academic subjects of English, mathematics, or reading; and
- other data as determined by rule and regulation of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education.
In 1995, for the purpose of implementing the Missouri Outstanding Schools Act, the Coordinating Board approved Administrative Rule 6-CSR 10-4.040, Graduates' Performance Report. Following this established policy, the MDHE staff has submitted six annual reports since 1996. These reports are based on Missouri public high school graduates entering the state's system of public higher education as first-time freshmen in the fall semester of each academic year.
Contents of the Current Report
The latest annual report, being distributed in April 2005, contains information based on three different cohorts of Missouri high school graduates. These include:
- the college entrance characteristics of the most recent graduates from Missouri public high schools in 2004;
- the first-year college performance of high school graduates who entered Missouri public colleges and universities in 2003; and
- the degree completion status of the 1998 high school graduates six years after their initial enrollment in Missouri 's public higher education system.
The following is a brief summary of this report.
Demographics of New Freshmen
In 2004, a total of 23,082 Missouri public high school graduating seniors entered the state's public colleges and universities in the fall semester, including 12,241 at two-year institutions and 10,841 on four-year campuses. Of these freshmen, 55 percent are women. Overall, Caucasian students account for 84 percent (19,276), African-Americans for 8.7 percent (2,019), Asian-Americans for 1.6 percent (366), and Hispanics for 1.5 percent (347). A comparison with the 1999 report shows that freshmen enrollment over the past five years has increased approximately 15 percent for Caucasians, 21 percent for African Americans, 30 percent for Asian-Americans, and 66 percent for Hispanics. Meanwhile, women consistently outnumber men.
Academic Preparation
In fall 2004, 68 percent of the first-time college freshmen from Missouri public high schools had taken the ACT test. Their mean ACT score of 22.1 is above the state and national averages of 21.5 and 20.9, respectively. Of all the 2004 Missouri high school graduates enrolled as full-time degree-seeking freshmen at the state's public four-year institutions, 92 percent had completed the CBHE recommended 16-unit high school core curriculum.
The percentage of first-time freshmen taking remedial courses has noticeably increased over the past two years. Among the Missouri public high school graduates entering the state's public colleges and universities, the proportion enrolled in remedial mathematics increased from 23 percent in fall 2002 to 31 percent in fall 2004. During the same period, the proportion enrolled in remedial English has also increased from 13 percent to 21 percent. All together, the proportion of first-time freshmen taking one or more remedial courses in Missouri public institutions increased from 28 percent to 38 percent between fall 2002 and fall 2004. Of all first-time freshmen taking remedial courses in fall 2004, 71 percent were enrolled at the state's public two-year institutions.
Performance and Retention in College
The DHE's current report on first-year college retention is based on the 23,242 Missouri high school graduates who entered the state's public higher education system in fall 2003. By the end of fall 2003, 96 percent of these students completed their first semester with a cumulative grade point of average of 2.61. By the end of spring 2004, 83 percent completed their second semester with a cumulative grade point average of 2.70. By the beginning of fall 2004, 72 percent were continuously enrolled for the second academic year. The freshman-to-sophomore retention rate for these students was 85 percent on four-year campuses and 61 percent at two-year colleges.
Degree Completion
In addition to high school graduates' college enrollment and performance, the current report also tracks progress toward degree completion. Among more than 17,500 Missouri public high school graduates who entered the state's public colleges and universities in fall 1998 as first-time degree-seeking freshmen, 37 percent received baccalaureate degrees, 11 percent received two-year or less than two-year degrees, and 3 percent received both two- and four-year degrees. All together, 51 percent of the Missouri high school graduates entering the state's public colleges and universities in fall 1998 graduated during the subsequent six-year period. Of those who have not graduated, approximately 14 percent are still pursuing their degrees in the state's public higher education system.
STATUTORY REFERENCE
Section 173.005 (7) RSMo., Information on the performance of the state's system of higher education.
Section 173.750 RSMo., Annual report on the performance of Missouri public high school graduates in the state's system of public higher education.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Assigned to Consent Calendar
ATTACHMENT
Chapter 173.750, RSMo., Graduates' Performance Report
Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 173
Department of Higher Education
Section 173.750
August 28, 2004
Annual reporting of performance of graduates, furnishing of report --procedure--data included.
173.750. 1. By July 1, 1995, the coordinating board for higher education, within existing resources provided to the department of higher education and by rule and regulation, shall have established and implemented a procedure for annually reporting the performance of graduates of public high schools in the state during the student's initial year in the public colleges and universities of the state. The purpose of such reports shall be to assist in determining how high schools are preparing students for successful college and university performance. The report produced pursuant to this subsection shall annually be furnished to the state board of education for reporting pursuant to subsection 4 of section 161.610, RSMo, and shall not be used for any other purpose.
2. The procedures shall be designed so that the reporting is made by the name of each high school in the state, with individual student data to be grouped according to the high school from which the students graduated. The data in the reports shall be disaggregated by race and sex. The procedures shall not be designed so that the reporting contains the name of any student. No grade point average shall be disclosed under subsection 3 of this section in any case where three or fewer students from a particular high school attend a particular college or university.
3. The data reported shall include grade point averages after the initial college year, calculated on, or adjusted to, a four point grade scale; the percentage of students returning to college after the first and second half of the initial college year, or after each trimester of the initial college year; the percentage of students taking noncollege level classes in basic academic courses during the first college year, or remedial courses in basic academic subjects of English, mathematics, or reading; and other such data as determined by rule and regulation of the coordinating board for higher education.
(L. 1993 S.B. 380 § 19 subsecs. 1, 2, 3)
*Contingent expiration date. See section 143.107.
CROSS REFERENCE: Report of vocational education program, high school students completing course to be combined with report required by this section, RSMo 161.610
(1996) Contingent referendum provision was found to be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority thereby making section 143.107 void. Akin v. Director of Revenue, 934 S.W.2d 295 (Mo.banc).
