CPS data chicago public schools statistics on the high school graduation rate and college enrollment rate for black students for latino students for asian students and for white students both young men and women during the pandemic

Chicago’s Progress and Insights on the Milestones that Matter

The To&Through Project Data Insights visualize how Chicago is faring on its quest to propel more students to and through high school and college, and illustrate the forces and factors that drive college success. Scroll down to explore, or download:

Quick Links:

Factors Driving Student Success

Chicago's Trajectory of Progress

Elementary On-Track (Download)

Attainment by Community Area (Download)
Freshman Success (Download)

High School Graduation (Download)

Sophomore Success (Download)

Immediate College Enrollment (Download)

Postsecondary Success (Download)

College Completion (Download)

Chicago's Progress (Download)

Projecting Future Attainment (Download)

Elementary On-Track: Elementary School Students' Grades, Attendance, and Future Outcomes

 

More than one in three elementary students came to school regularly but had less than a 3.0 GPA

 

On-Track students had different long-term outcomes than students who also had above 90% attendance, but less than a 3.0 GPA

 

Elementary students who were in the On-Track category ultimately graduated high school at over twice the rate of students in the Intensive Support category

 

Students with strong grades and attendance in elementary school were more likely to enroll in college

 

Freshman Success: A Lever to Increase Future Attainment

 

Freshman OnTrack is more predictive of a student’s odds of graduating from high school than all other factors combined

 

Freshman year GPA predicts later educational attainment better than test scores

 

Many more students failed core courses in 9th grade than they failed in 8th grade

 

Even high achieving students saw their core GPAs decline between 8th and 9th grade

 

A non-core failure was just as detrimental as a core failure to freshmen students’ likelihood of graduating from high school

 

The core GPAs of high-achieving Black students fell twice as much as those of their White and Asian peers

 

Students who did not end freshman year with a 3.0+ GPA had a difficult time attaining one by the time they graduated

 

Applying Lessons from Freshman Success to Sophomore Year

 

Many students who were on-track as freshmen fell off-track their sophomore year.

 

On-track freshmen who fell off-track sophomore year were significantly less likely to graduate from high school.

 

Students with a 3.0+ GPA freshman and sophomore year were most likely to immediately enroll in a 4-year college.

 

The Importance of Graduating GPAs and Immediate, Continuous Enrollment

 

Nearly 3 in 10 students who immediately enrolled in a 4-year college transferred to a 2-year college at some point

 

Stopping out of college was more common than remaining continuously enrolled until completion.

 

GPAs -- not standardized test scores -- are the strongest predictor of 4-year college graduation

 

A higher high school GPA increases the likelihood of immediate 4-year enrollees making it through college

 

A higher high school GPA increases the likelihood of immediate 2 year enrollees making it through college

 

Chicago’s Quest to Propel More Students To and Through

 

On average, bachelor’s degree holders receive a higher wage than those without a college degree

 

Chicago has made improvements in student attainment, but 2-year enrollment rates dipped during the pandemic's onset

 

Chicago's high school graduation rate and immediate 4-year college enrollment and completion rates have all improved over the last decade

 

Chicago's educational attainment has been catching up to the nation's

 

Chicago Student Attainment by the Community Area in Which They Live

 

In Chicago, community areas in the West and Southwest had the most 2018–19 CPS ninth-graders

 

High school graduation rates by Chicago’s 77 community areas dramatically increased between 2002/2003 and 2019

 

There was less variation in high school graduation rates by students’ community area than by their high school

 

There was also less variation in immediate college enrollment rates by students’ community area than by their high school

 

College completion rates varied greatly by the community areas where students lived and the high schools they attended

 

Chicago’s Rising High School Graduation Rate

 

With the exception of 2021, Chicago's high school graduation rate has been increasing steadily each year

 

Chicago's high school graduation rate has risen among students of nearly all races and genders

 

Although racial/ethnic disparities in Chicago's high school graduation rate remain, they have decreased over time

 

Students who began as English Learners (Els) graduated at slightly higher rates than those who were never classified as Els

 

Chicago's Immediate College Enrollment Rates

 

Chicago's immediate college enrollment rate has improved since 2010 but declined in recent years

 

Between 2010 and 2021, immediate college enrollment rates increase across almost all races/ethnicities

 

Students who began as Els immediately enrolled in college at a slightly lower rate than those never classified as Els

 

Are Chicago’s Immediate College Enrollees Completing Degrees?

 

More students have immediately enrolled in college: hundreds more earned a degree, and hundreds more left without one

 

The CPS college completion rate remains steady at 46 percent

 

About 1 in 3 graduates who immediately enrolled in a 2-year college completed any degree or certificate

 

On average, about 1 out of every 3 immediate two-year enrollees completes any degree or certificate within 6 years.

 

Across race and gender groups, significant equity gaps remain in the rates of college completion

 

How the Milestones That Matter Most for College Success Predict Students’ Future Attainment

 

If current rates hold, 27 of every 100 current CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

The Postsecondary Attainment Index (PAI) projects the proportion of current CPS ninth-graders that will go on to complete any degree or certificate within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 12 of every 100 Black young men CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 23 of every 100 Black young women CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 21 of every 100 Latino young men CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 35 of every 100 Latina young women CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 44 of every 100 White young men CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 61 of every 100 White young women CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 54 of every 100 Asian/Pacific Islander young men CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, 67 of every 100 Asian/Pacific Islander young women CPS ninth-graders will complete a college credential within 10 years

 

If current rates hold, only 1 in 5 students who are ninth-graders in CPS will complete a bachelor's degree within 10 years

 

High school enrollment, high school graduation, college enrollment, college persistence, and college completion rates for Chicago Public Schools students by neighborhood. CPS data is organized by the community area students come from or live in

Read Data Stories

The To&Through Project team works to make data accessible with an aim to inspire action. As a result, we’ve had the honor of being privy to our colleagues’ personal reflections on the data we share. Read their reflections on our Data Insights.