Report discusses college success of Kentucky's high school graduates

The High School Feedback Report for the Class of 2004 by the Council on Postsecondary Education offers a broad range of information about college preparation and participation of Kentucky's 2004 high school graduates. Produced collaboratively with data collected by the Council, the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, ACT, Inc. and The College Board, the report examines students' performance during their first two years of college in Kentucky.

...Each high school report features comparison info at the school, district and state levels and important school statistics such as ACT and Advanced Placement test-taking and success. With a more user-friendly format, the report is designed to be a tool for data-based decision-making at the local and state levels.

Statewide data included in the report shows 81 percent of students graduate high school and 51 percent enroll in a Kentucky college or university. Of those students that enroll in college, 95 percent attend full-time and 64 percent enter a bachelor's degree program.

The report also details how the class of 2004 performed in their first two years of college. Eighty-nine percent of students returned for a second semester and the mean grade point average at the end of their first year was 2.3. Statewide findings show 79 percent returned for their second year...

“It is critical to Kentucky's future economic success that we understand how students are moving through the education pipeline,” said Tom Layzell, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. “This effort underlines the need for a comprehensive, statewide P-20 data warehouse that would bring together information from all education agencies to create a seamless system of education in the Commonwealth.”

KHEAA's participation in the report also provides information about the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship Award program for the first time. The report shows Kentucky students earned an average KEES award of $1,054.

“Combining data from all three agencies helps us begin to make important connections between financial aid, academic preparation and college success,” said Edward Cunningham, executive director of KHEAA...

This from the News Democrat and Leader.