College Enrollment and Completion among Texas High School Graduates with a Disability

This REL Southwest report examines postsecondary enrollment and outcomes in Texas 2-year and 4-year postsecondary institutions among Texas public high school graduates with disabilities. In addition, the report explores how college enrollment and degree attainment varied by demographics, including disability status, race/ethnicity, and eligibility for the national school lunch program.

The report covers four statewide cohorts of Texas high school graduates (2006/07 through 2009/10) and offers new evidence to inform policies and research about how to serve students with a disability in postsecondary education. The findings can help secondary and postsecondary educators and administrators identify where students with different types of disability and different demographic characteristics might need additional support in the pipeline between high school graduation and college completion.

Key findings include:

• College enrollment was substantially lower for high school graduates with a disability than for graduates without a disability.
• Among high school graduates with a disability, fewer than one in three enrolled in a Texas college within two years of graduation, and of those who did, 90 percent enrolled in a two-year college.
• Most high school graduates with a disability who enrolled in a Texas two-year college did not attain a credential or degree within four years.
• Attainment of a baccalaureate degree within seven years was substantially lower for high school graduates with a disability than for graduates without a disability.
• College enrollment and degree attainment were generally higher for high school graduates with auditory, speech, visual, orthopedic, and other health impairments than for high school graduates with other types of disabilities.

Read and download the report: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=4620

Related resources:

• Webinar: Supporting College Enrollment and Completion for Students With Disabilities (December 3, 2020)