Westlake Academy Graduates: Where Are They Going and How Are They Doing? Danish and Dialouge January 11, 2018

College Readiness IS Two-Fold… Admissions/Acceptance College Completion Too often, schools place a greater emphasis on helping students get into college. For them, the mark of success in college acceptance. This is only half of the equation. “College readiness can be defined operationally as the level of preparation a student needs in order to enroll and succeed— without remediation—in a credit-bearing general education course at a postsecondary institution that offers a baccalaureate degree or transfer to a baccalaureate program. “Succeed” is defined as completing entry- level courses at a level of understanding and proficiency that makes it possible for the student to consider taking the next course in the sequence or the next level of course in the subject area. This conception is calibrated against what our recent research has come to define as “best practices” entry-level courses as opposed to the stereotypical freshman course (Conley, Aspengren, Gallagher, & Nies, 2006a, 2006b; Conley, Aspengren, Stout, & Veach, 2006c). If students are prepared to succeed in best practices courses, they will be able to cope with the full range of college courses they are likely to encounter.”

National College Graduation Four Year Rates 5 percent of community college students graduate with two-year degrees in two years 36 percent of four-year private and flagship public university graduate students with bachelor’s degrees in four years 19 percent of non-flagship four-year public universities graduate students with bachelor’s degrees in four years The Hechinger Report, 2016

National College Graduation Rates in 6 Years “60 percent of students who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a 4-year institution in fall 2008 completed that degree within 6 years; the graduation rate was higher for females (62 percent vs. 57 percent).” Digest of Education Statistic, 2015

Westlake Academy College Graduation Data

Data Limitations The National Student Clearinghouse does not capture data from all colleges. It collects data from 98% of postsecondary public and private US institutions. The fall semester immediately following high school graduation is defined as any enrollment that occurs between August 15 and October 31. Anyone enrolling outside of this data is not captured. Associates degrees are counted in the graduation completion data. This slightly skews the college completion rate.

Graduating Cohort of 2010 (24 Students)

From the class of 2010 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 4.2% of the 2010 graduation cohort is unaccounted. 12.5% of the 2010 graduation cohort is no longer enrolled and did not graduate. 4.2% of the 2010 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year eight of post-secondary life. 75% of the 2010 graduation cohort has completed their degree in six years or less. 79.2% of the 2010 graduation cohort has graduated. 54.2% of the 2010 graduation cohort has completed or are pursuing a Master’s/Advanced degree. It is important to note the number of hours to obtain a degree has increased making most degree plans a five year plan

Graduating Cohort of 2011 (32 Students)

  From the class of 2011 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 100% of the 2011 graduation cohort is enrolled or graduated from College 12.5% of the 2011 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year seven of post-secondary life. 87.5% of the 2011 graduation cohort has completed their degree in six years or less. 31.2% of the 2011 graduation cohort has completed or are pursuing a Master’s/Advanced Degree.

Graduating Cohort of 2012 (28 Students) 28 Students in Cohort

  From the class of 2012 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 100% of the 2012 graduation cohort is enrolled or graduated from College. 25% of the 2012 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year six of post-secondary life. 75% of the 2012 graduation cohort has completed their degree in five years or less. 17.9% of the 2012 graduation cohort has completed or are pursuing a Master’s/Advanced degree.

Graduating Cohort of 2013 (40 Students) 40 Students in Cohort

  From the class of 2013 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 15.0% of the 2013 graduation cohort is no longer enrolled & did not graduate. 50% of the 2013 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year five of post-secondary life. 35% of the 2013 graduation cohort has completed their degree in four years or less.

Graduating Cohort of 2014 (54 Students)

  From the class of 2014 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 1.8% of the 2014 graduation cohort is unaccounted. 1.8% of the 2014 graduation cohort is no longer enrolled and did not graduate. 92.6% of the 2014 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year four of post-secondary life. 3.7% of the 2014 graduation cohort has graduated in three years or less.

Graduating Cohort of 2015 (55 Students)

  From the class of 2015 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 92.7% of the 2015 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year three of post-secondary life. 3.6% of the 2015 graduation cohort is no longer enrolled and did not graduate. 3.6% of the 2015 graduation cohort has completed their degree in two years or less.

Graduating Cohort of 2016 (61 Students)

  From the class of 2016 graduation completion graph, the following can be concluded: 3.3% of the 2016 graduation cohort is unaccounted. 96.7% of the 2016 graduation cohort is enrolled in College in year two of post-secondary life.

WA College Graduation Rate Comparison The Hechinger Report, 2016

Data does not necessarily provide us with the answers, but does lead us to ask the right questions.