In just over a decade, the nation witnessed a 77 percent increase in associate degrees and a 51 percent increase in bachelor’s degrees – debunking the notion that high school completion is not leading to college completion, according to new research from Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education.

However, this research also reveals that the Class of 2020 and beyond are at a higher risk of not replicating this positive trend because of rapidly changing student demographics that will require both K-12 and higher ed to adapt and provide better supports to the next generation of young people.

The report, Closing the College Gap: A Roadmap to Postsecondary Readiness and Attainment analyzes (3) key components of the high school to college pipeline:

1. the link to progress made in raising high school graduation rates to what is known about college readiness, access and persistence;
2. the best indicators of a students’ postsecondary success; and
3. the necessary and complementary roles that both the K-12 and higher education systems must play to raise educational achievements and close opportunity gaps. Gaps that persist particularly for students who are low-income, male, Black and/or Latino.

Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center examined new (Education Longitudinal Survey data) and existing data on three successive cohorts of young adults whose educational attainment at 25 – 34 years of age can be measured today or projected in the future. Their stories are one of promise and alarm.

Download the full report (PDF).