| Title: | College Enrollment and Completion among Texas High School Graduates with a Disability |
| Description: | Higher education stakeholders often have limited information about the extent to which their institutions serve students with different types of disabilities and the pipeline of students with disabilities from high school to college entry and completion. This study used longitudinal administrative data from Texas to examine college enrollment and completion among four statewide cohorts of Texas public high school graduates (2006/07 through 2009/10) by disability status in high school, type of disability, and other student characteristics. The population included 106,736 high school graduates with disabilities and 902,672 graduates without disabilities. The findings demonstrate that 30.6 percent of graduates with designated disabilities in grade 12 enrolled in a Texas institution of higher education within two years. A large majority of the high school graduates with disabilities who enrolled in higher education (90.2 percent) initially enrolled in a public two-year institution. Enrollment in four-year institutions was substantially lower for graduates with disabilities than for graduates without disabilities. Within four years of initial enrollment in a two-year institution, 16.5 percent of the graduates with disabilities who enrolled had attained a certificate or associate degree, or transferred to a four-year university. Within seven years of initial enrollment in a two-year or four-year institution, 15.6 percent of the high school graduates with disabilities who enrolled had attained a baccalaureate degree. Attainment of college credentials and degrees was substantially lower for graduates with disabilities than for graduates without disabilities, particularly for baccalaureate degrees. College enrollment and attainment among high school graduates with disabilities was substantially lower for students eligible for the federal school lunch program and substantially lower for Hispanic and Black students compared to White students. College enrollment and attainment also varied by type of primary disability, higher for students with auditory, speech, visual, orthopedic and other health impairments than for students with intellectual and learning disabilities. These findings can inform efforts to identify students with disabilities in college and explore providing different services to support transition from high school and college success, particularly at two-year institutions, where most of the Texas students with disabilities enrolled. |
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| Cover Date: | November 2020 |
| Web Release: | November 23, 2020 |
| Publication #: | REL 2021043 |
| Center/Program: | REL |
| Associated Centers: | NCEE |
| Authors: | Trey Miller, Marshall Garland, and Dean Gerdeman |
| Type of Product: | Descriptive Study |
| Keywords: | |
| Questions: |
For questions about the content of this Descriptive Study, please contact: Amy Johnson. |