- Three-fourths of top decile graduates from poor schools enrolled in a 4-year institution compared with 89% of comparably ranked graduates from affluent schools. Furthermore, 11% of top decile graduates from affluent high schools enrolled in a 2-year institution compared to 25% of comparably ranked graduates from poor high schools.
- Graduates from affluent schools graduated from college on time 44% of the time versus 21% for graduates from poor high schools. High affluent school graduates abandonment rates were also much lower- 3% versus 13%.
- 1% of graduates from affluent high schools and 3% of their rank counterparts from average high schools withdrew from a 4-year college and did not re-enroll anywhere during the observation period. By comparison, roughly 12% of top-ranked students from poor high schools withdrew from college.
- Transfer rates from a 2-year college to a 4-year college vary directly with high school economic composition: nearly 40% of affluent school graduates transferred to degree-granting institutions compared with 37% of students from average high schools, only 21% of graduates from poor high schools.
- Graduates from poor high schools were only half as likely to graduate and .64 times as likely to persist in their pursuit of a baccalaureate degree versus withdrawing from college compared with students from average high schools.
- For students that enrolled in a 2-year institution within 6 months, compared with students who graduated from average Texas high schools, those who attended affluent high schools are 1.87 times more likely to transfer to a 4 year institution relative to withdrawing altogether, but graduates from poor high schools are only half as likely to do so.
- Students who graduated from affluent high schools have the highest persistence rates and those who attended poor high schools have the lowest rates.
- The advantages in persistence and on-time graduation from 4-year colleges enjoyed by graduates of affluent high schools cannot be fully explained by high school college orientation and academic rigor, family background, pre-college academic preparedness or the institutional characteristics.
- High school college orientation, family background and pre-college academic preparation largely explain why graduates from affluent high schools who first enroll in 2-year colleges have higher transfer rates to 4-year institutions; however, these factors and college characteristics do not explain the lower transfer rates for students from poor high schools.