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

In response to concerns raised by Texas higher education stakeholders about the limited information available on students with a disability who are attending college in the state, this study examined college enrollment and completion among Texas public high school graduates by disability status, student demographic characteristics, and primary disability type. Across four statewide cohorts of high school graduates (2006/07 through 2009/10), 31 percent of graduates with a designated disability in grade 12 enrolled in a Texas college within two years of graduation. Of those, 90 percent initially enrolled in a public two-year college. Enrollment in four-year colleges was substantially lower (by at least 0.25 standard deviation units) for high school graduates with a disability than for graduates without a disability. Among high school graduates with a disability who initially enrolled in a two-year college, 17 percent attained a credential (certificate or associate degree) or transferred to a four-year college within four years of enrollment. Among high school graduates with a disability who initially enrolled a four-year college or a two-year college with the intention of attaining a four-year degree, 16 percent attained a baccalaureate degree within seven years of enrollment. Attainment of an associate degree or especially of a baccalaureate degree was substantially lower for high school graduates with a disability than for graduates without a disability. College enrollment and degree attainment among high school graduates with a disability were substantially lower for graduates who had been eligible for the national school lunch program in high school than for graduates who had not been eligible; lower for Hispanic graduates than for White graduates; and higher for graduates with auditory, speech, visual, orthopedic, and other health impairments than for graduates with other types of disability.