December 2022

The Educational Attainment of Chicago Public Schools Students: 2021

  • Shelby Mahaffie
  • May Malone
  • Alexandra Usher
  • Drew Mukherjee
  • Jenny Nagaoka
Appendices To&Through Milestones Tool Data Definitions

Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages

If current rates hold, 27% of current CPS ninth-graders would complete a college credential within 10 years.

This annual analysis provides a district-level view of students’ patterns of educational attainment. It presents a starting place for thinking about why these patterns exist and what can be done to improve these patterns.

We focus on three key milestones—high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion—and use them to calculate a Post-secondary Attainment Index (PAI). Where possible, we disaggregate the data by race/ethnicity and gender, disability status, and English Learner (EL) status. Continue scrolling for more details on each of these components and key findings for each. To see what these attainment rates and educational milestones look like in your school or community, visit the online To&Through Milestones Tool.

Supporting CPS students throughout their high school and college journeys will likely require an unprecedented level of investment and new partnerships across the city. We also need an understanding of the lived experiences of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students and graduates impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to inform investments, partnerships, and changes to practice. See the stories the To&Through Project has collected so far: https://toandthrough.uchicago.edu/student-perspectives.

Post-secondary Attainment Index

Figure 1 2021 Post-secondary Attainment Index

If 100 ninth-graders began in CPS today, 27 would earn a college credential by the time they're about 25 years old, if current rates of attainment stayed the same.

Bar chart of attainment milestones Number of Students 100 ninth-graders Ninth-graders 82 graduates Graduate from high school 37 4-year college enrollees 13 2-year college enrollees Immediately enroll in college 27 would complete a college credential within 10 years Complete any credential
The high school graduation rates used in calculating the PAI are the four-year high school graduation rates, and the denominators of all college enrollment and completion rates are also limited to students who graduated from high school within four years. For this reason, the enrollment and completion rates used in calculating the PAI (available in Appendix A, Table A.2) do not match those included in Figures 6–11 in this report, which show college enrollment and completion rates for all CPS high school graduates, including those who graduated high school in five or six years.

Photos by Jasmin Awad / Nate Umstead / Alfredo Lietor / baona for Getty Images.

To understand the most recent available rates of high school and college attainment in tandem, we calculate the Post-secondary Attainment Index (PAI),1 which represents the proportion of current CPS ninth-graders who would complete any degree or certificate from a two-year or four-year college within 10 years, if current rates of attainment were to hold constant over the next decade.

Note that the PAI is not intended to be a prediction of what will happen. Continued efforts to improve rates of attainment will hopefully result in more CPS students completing high school and college. The PAI is intended to summarize current rates of high school and college attainment and put these rates in context with one another, as a starting place for thinking about why these patterns exist and what can be done to change these patterns. To find the high school and college attainment rates2 used to calculate the PAI, see the Appendices.

Key Points — 2021 PAI

  • If 2021 rates hold over the next decade, of 100 current CPS ninth-graders, 82 would graduate from high school within four years.
  • Of those 82 graduates, 37 would immediately enroll in a four-year college, 13 would immediately enroll in a two-year college, and 32 would not immediately enroll in college.
  • Six years after high-school graduation, a total of 27 of the original 82 high school graduates would have earned a college credential—21 of the 37 students who enrolled in a four-year college, four of the 13 students who enrolled in a two-year college, and two of the 32 students who did not immediately enroll in college.3
  • The 2021 PAI of 27.0% is almost the same as the 2020 PAI of 27.1%.4

2021 PAI by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

To learn more about how we disaggregate by race/ethnicity and gender, see the Appendices. Before examining the PAI for different student groups, it is critical to restate that the PAI should be understood as the product of the cumulative effects of historical and present systemic racism, including oppressive policies and structures in high schools and colleges. The PAI also reflects the broader context of systemic racism that differentially impacts rates of attainment by race/ethnicity and gender. We report these numbers to contribute to critical examinations about how those working within the education field can change practices and disrupt policies that have contributed to these inequitable outcomes.

Interpreting Disaggregated Data Within the Context of Structural Oppression

Where possible, we disaggregate data by race/ethnicity and gender, disability status, and English Learner (EL) status to understand which students face more barriers to educational attainment and where different strategies and supports are needed. We report these numbers to contribute to critical examinations about whether high schools and colleges are making progress towards fostering equitable outcomes, and how high schools and colleges can further change practices and disrupt policies contributing to inequitable outcomes.

We urge readers to examine disaggregated rates of educational attainment within the context of structural oppression—particularly the history and present reality of systemic racism—while moving through the stages of questioning needed to affect change. There is a considerable body of research that has informed our understanding of the role that systemic racism plays in Chicago’s schools and history, which we recommend as a starting place for readers seeking to learn more.A Specifically, we hope readers will…

  • Interrogate how disparities in attainment are due to issues of equity—particularly racial equity—within the district and higher education institutions in addition to the broader context of systemic racism in which schools are situated.
  • Beyond questioning why these disparities exist, question what can be done, both within and outside of education, to change them.
  • Understand that, while important, examining these data is only a part of the efforts necessary to determine what questions should be asked to understand and improve students’ experiences at CPS and after graduation.

Finally, limitations to note include:

  • We do not have information on students who pursue post-secondary pathways other than a college degree such as the workforce or the military. We are also limited by the data CPS collects on students’ race/ethnicity,B gender,C disability status, and other identifiers.
  • These data represent individual students who face and overcome barriers to educational attainment every day. Students can bring a wealth of lived experience to bear on the inequitable policies and practices that prevent CPS students from reaching their full potential.
Figure 2 2021 Post-secondary Attainment Index by race/ethnicity and gender
Bar chart comparing data 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Post-secondary Attainment Index All students 13.5% 13.5% 27.0% Asian/​Pacific Islander young women 33.7% 33.7% 67.3% Asian/​Pacific Islander young men 27.0% 27.0% 54.0% Black young women 11.5% 11.5% 23.0% Black young men 5.8% 5.8% 11.6% Latina young women 17.5% 17.5% 35.1% Latino young men 10.3% 10.3% 20.5% White young women 30.3% 30.3% 60.5% White young men 22.2% 22.2% 44.4% Bachelor’s degree completers Associate degree/certificate completers
The high school graduation rates used in calculating the PAI are the four-year high school graduation rates, and the denominators of all college enrollment and completion rates are also limited to students who graduated from high school within four years. For this reason, the enrollment and completion rates used in calculating the PAI (available in Appendix A, Table A.2) do not match those included in Figures 6–11 in this report, which show college enrollment and completion rates for all CPS high school graduates, including those who graduated high school in five or six years. Data for Multiracial, Native American/Alaskan Native, and students who didn't report their race/ethnicity in CPS records are not included because we suppressed rates for groups of fewer than 100 students to avoid reporting fluctuations in rates that do not reflect consistent trends in student outcomes.

Key Point — 2021 PAI by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

  • In 2019, nearly 75 percent of CPS ninth-graders indicated that they aspired to obtain at least an associate degree or certificate.5 However, no race/ethnicity and gender group would have 75 percent of students attain a college degree or certificate in 10 years, if the most recent available rates of attainment for CPS students were not to change over the next decade.

CPS Rates of Attainment Reported by the UChicago To&Through Project

The To&Through Project also reports rates of attainment—high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion—and more for each CPS high school and each community area in Chicago on the To&Through Milestones Tool.

Both this annual report and the Tool report annual data, and are updated at the end of each calendar year. This web page is updated annually, to report on how attainment rates are changing in the district year-over-year. The Tool is typically also updated annually, but may also have more frequent updates to provide users with timely data. In that case, data on the Tool may differ from the data on this annual report web page.

Photo by paseidon for Pixabay

High School Graduation Rate — CPS

Among 2017–18 first-time ninth-graders, 82% graduated from high school by spring 2021, a decline of about one percentage point compared to 2020. This is the first year of decline in CPS’s high school graduation rate in recent history.

For detailed information on how this metric is calculated, see the Appendices.

Figure 3 Four-year high school graduation rates of CPS ninth-grade cohorts over time
Time plot of data trends 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent of CPS ninth-graders 2008 (N=26,923) 2009 (N=26,854) 2010 (N=27,273) 2011 (N=26,090) 2012 (N=27,137) 2013 (N=26,712) 2014 (N=26,306) 2015 (N=26,064) 2016 (N=26,244) 2017 (N=26,286) 2018 (N=26,817) 2019 (N=26,272) 2020 (N=25,672) 2021 (N=26,116) High school graduation year (spring) 62.2% 65.6% 66.8% 69.7% 72.5% 75.4% 78.0% 78.7% 79.7% 80.3% 81.0% 82.2% 83.3% 81.8%
All CPS high school students, including charter and Options school students, were included in this analysis. Students were counted as high school graduates if they completed high school within four years of their first-time ninth-grade year of high school—the 2021 high school graduation year rate, for example, represents students who began high school in the fall of 2017. Ns represent the total number of ninth-graders in each cohort. Students who transferred to a non-CPS school during high school were excluded from this analysis.

Key Points — 2021 CPS High School Graduation Rate

  • The high school graduation rate of CPS students fell slightly in 2021 for the first time in more than a decade, from 83.3% in 2020 to 81.8% in 2021. The 2020 school year was the second year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the only school year when the majority of instructional days were remote in CPS.
  • Despite the slight decline in 2021, the high school graduation rate increased significantly over the past decade, from 69.7% in 2011 to 81.8% in 2021.

Disaggregated Data — High School Graduation

Race/Ethnicity and Gender–disaggregated High School Graduation data

Figure 4 Four-year high school graduation rates by race/ethnicity and gender (2017–18 CPS ninth-grade cohort)
Bar chart comparing data 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent graduated by spring 2021 All students (N=26,116) 81.8% Asian/​Pacific Islander young women (N=544) 94.7% Asian/​Pacific Islander young men (N=565) 89.4% Black young women (N=4,989) 82.5% Black young men (N=4,466) 72.9% Latina young women (N=6,188) 86.8% Latino young men (N=6,387) 78.1% White young women (N=1,080) 91.4% White young men (N=1,174) 85.2%
All CPS high school students, including charter and Options school students, were included in this analysis. Students were counted as high school graduates if they completed high school within four years of their first-time ninth-grade year of high school. Students who transferred to a non-CPS school during high school were excluded from this analysis. The number of students in each of the race/ethnicity and gender categories does not add to equal the number of students in the “All students” category because there were some students whose specific race/ethnicity groups are not shown in the figure, but who are included in the overall numbers. Specifically, Native American/Alaskan Native students, Multiracial students, and students whose did not report their race/ethnicity are not shown because fewer than 100 students identified in each of those categories, making it difficult to reliably interpret rates.
Key Points — High School Graduation Rate by Race/Ethnicity and Gender
  • Within each race/ethnicity group, young men graduated from high school at a rate lower than young women of the same race/ethnicity.
  • The graduation rates for Black young men (72.9%) and Latino young men (78.1%) were below the district average (81.8%).

To learn more about how we disaggregate by race/ethnicity and gender, see the Appendices. To track high school graduation rates disaggregated by race/ethnicity and gender over time, see the To&Through Milestones Tool.6

English Learner Status–disaggregated High School Graduation data

Figure 5 Four-year high school graduation rates by English Learner (EL) status (2017–18 CPS ninth-grade cohort)
Bar chart comparing data 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent graduated by spring 2021 All students (N=26,116) 81.8% Began as English Learners (N=8,403) 83.1% Never classified as English Learners (N=17,713) 81.2%
All CPS high school students, including charter and Options school students, were included in this analysis. Students were counted as high school graduates if they completed high school within four years of their first-time ninth-grade year of high school. Students who transferred to a non-CPS school during high school were excluded from this analysis. The “began as English Learners” category includes students who took the ACCESS test at any point after their entry into CPS—which includes both 1) students who later demonstrated English proficiency (scoring above the cut score) on the ACCESS test, and thus were no longer classified as English Learners, and 2) students who remained as active English Learners throughout high school. We define students who were never classified as English Learners as students who were never eligible to receive EL services, either because their native language was English or because they took the English proficiency screening test when they began school in CPS and scored high enough to be considered proficient in English.
Key Points — High School Graduation Rate by English Learner Status 7
  • Among 2017–18 first-time ninth-graders, students who began as English Learners in CPS graduated from high school at a rate 2 percentage points higher than students who were never classified as English Learners.
  • Students who began as English Learners graduated at a slightly higher rate (83.1%) than students who were never classified as English Learners (81.2%).
  • Around 32% of 2017–18 CPS ninth-graders were at one point classified as English Learners.

We define students who began as English Learners as students who took the ACCESS test of English proficiency at any point during their time in CPS. This category includes students who later became former English Learners8 by demonstrating English proficiency (scoring above the cut score) on the ACCESS test as well as students who remained as active English Learners throughout high school. We define students who were never classified as English Learners as students who were never eligible to receive EL services. To learn more about how and why we disaggregate data by English Learner status, see the Appendices.

Disability Status–disaggregated High School Graduation data

Table 1 Four-year CPS high school graduation rates by disability category
2017–18 CPS ninth-grade cohort (percent graduated by spring 2021)
Students Four-year graduation rate
All students 26,116 81.8%
Students with an IEP related to a learning disability 2,644 77.5%
Students with an IEP related to another disability 1,420 46.4%
Students without an IEP 22,052 84.6%
All CPS high school students, including charter and Options school students, were included in this analysis. Students were counted as high school graduates if they completed high school within four years of their first-time ninth-grade year of high school. Students who transferred to a non-CPS school during high school were excluded from this analysis. Please see the Appendices for details about the disability categories used in this table.
Key Points — High School Graduation Rate by Disability Status
  • Overall, the four-year graduation rate for all students with and without disabilities was 81.8%.

  • Among 2017 first-time ninth-graders, students with a learning disability graduated from high school within four years at a rate that approaches the four-year district average.

    • The four-year graduation rate for the 2,644 2017–18 CPS ninth-graders receiving services related to a learning disability was 77.5%.
  • The four-year graduation rate for the 1,420 2017–18 CPS ninth-graders receiving services related to another disability was 46.4%.

To learn how we disaggregate by disability status, see the Appendices.

Photo by Alfredo Lietor for Getty Images

Immediate College Enrollment Rate — CPS

Among the CPS graduating class of 2021, 59% enrolled in a two-year or four-year college in the first summer or fall following high school graduation.9

For detailed information on how this metric is calculated, see the Appendices.

Figure 6 Immediate college enrollment of CPS graduates over time
Time plot of data trends 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent of CPS graduates 2008 (N=18,531) 2009 (N=19,706) 2010 (N=20,218) 2011 (N=20,414) 2012 (N=22,011) 2013 (N=22,612) 2014 (N=22,803) 2015 (N=22,893) 2016 (N=23,039) 2017 (N=23,028) 2018 (N=23,474) 2019 (N=23,236) 2020 (N=22,591) 2021 (N=22,530) High school graduation year (spring) 34.4% 32.9% 35.0% 38.0% 36.6% 38.0% 39.0% 40.1% 41.9% 43.4% 41.9% 42.6% 41.7% 42.9% 17.8% 19.1% 19.5% 20.3% 20.4% 20.7% 19.8% 17.7% 17.9% 20.9% 21.1% 19.8% 16.5% 15.6% 52.2% 51.9% 54.5% 58.3% 56.9% 58.7% 58.8% 57.8% 59.7% 64.3% 63.0% 62.4% 58.2% 58.6% Immediate 4-year enrollment Immediate 2-year enrollment
Due to rounding, individual rates may not sum exactly to the total rate displayed. These are immediate college enrollment rates for all CPS high school graduates, including those who graduated high school in five or six years. Enrollments from North Park University are missing from 2020 and 2021 rates. In 2019, North Park University enrollees comprised around 1% of all immediate enrollees from CPS.

Key Points — 2021 CPS Immediate College Enrollment Rate

  • Four-year college enrollment rates increased from 2008, but the two-year college enrollment rate has seen more fluctuations.

    • Since 2008, the proportion of CPS graduates enrolling immediately in a four-year college increased about 8.5 total percentage points, and the proportion enrolling immediately in a two-year college fell about 2.2 total percentage points (mostly due to the decline from 2019–20).
  • The rate of immediate two-year college enrollment declined significantly in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the immediate four-year enrollment rate declined slightly. In 2021, the four-year enrollment rate recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but the two-year enrollment rate remained low, actually decreasing slightly to 15.6% in 2021.

Disaggregated Data — Immediate College Enrollment

Race/Ethnicity and Gender–disaggregated Immediate College Enrollment data

Figure 7 Immediate college enrollment by race/ethnicity and gender (spring 2021 high school graduates)
Bar chart comparing data 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percentage of graduates All students (N=22,530) 42.9% 15.6% 58.6% Asian/​Pacific Islander young women (N=540) 67.0% 12.4% 79.4% Asian/​Pacific Islander young men (N=533) 59.8% 18.9% 78.8% Black young women (N=4,307) 46.9% 9.7% 56.7% Black young men (N=3,510) 34.4% 9.0% 43.3% Latina young women (N=5,715) 43.7% 20.8% 64.5% Latino young men (N=5,343) 31.5% 20.6% 52.0% White young women (N=1,087) 67.6% 11.2% 78.8% White young men (N=1,134) 57.6% 13.7% 71.3% Immediate enrollment in a 4-year college Immediate enrollment in a 2-year college
These are immediate college enrollment rates for all CPS high school graduates, including those who graduated high school in five or six years. Enrollments from North Park University are missing from 2020 and 2021 rates. In 2019, North Park University enrollees comprised around 1% of all immediate enrollees from CPS. Due to rounding, individual rates may not sum exactly to the total rate displayed. The number of students in each of the race/ethnicity and gender categories does not add to equal the number of students in the “All students” category because there were some students whose specific race/ethnicity groups are not shown in the figure, but who are included in the overall numbers. Specifically, Native American/Alaskan Native students, Multiracial students, and students whose did not report their race/ethnicity are not shown because fewer than 100 students identified in each of those categories, making it difficult to reliably interpret rates.
Key Points — Immediate College Enrollment Rate by Race/Ethnicity and Gender
  • In 2021, young women of all race/ethnicity groups immediately enrolled in four-year colleges at a rate higher than young men.
  • Rates of immediate college enrollment varied more across race/ethnicity and gender than high school graduation rates in 2021.
  • Only 31.5% of Latino young men immediately enrolled in a four-year college, vs. the district-wide enrollment rate of 42.9%. However, Latino young men and Latina young women enrolled in two-year colleges at the highest rates among all groups (20.6% and 20.8% respectively, vs. a district-wide average of 15.6%).

To learn more about how we disaggregate by race/ethnicity and gender, see the Appendices. To track immediate college enrollment rates disaggregated by race/ethnicity and gender over time, see the To&Through Milestones Tool.10

English Learner Status–disaggregated Immediate College Enrollment data

Figure 8 Immediate college enrollment by English Learner (EL) status (spring 2021 CPS high school graduates)
Bar chart comparing data 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percentage of graduates All students (N=22,530) 42.9% 15.6% 58.6% Began as English Learners (N=7,448) 37.5% 20.9% 58.4% Never classified as English Learners (N=15,082) 45.6% 13.0% 58.7% Immediate enrollment in a 4-year college Immediate enrollment in a 2-year college
These are immediate college enrollment rates for all CPS high school graduates, including those who graduated high school in five or six years. Enrollments from North Park University are missing from 2020 and 2021 rates. In 2019, North Park University enrollees comprised around 1% of all immediate enrollees from CPS. Due to rounding, individual rates may not sum exactly to the total rate displayed. The “began as English Learners” category includes students who took the ACCESS test at any point after their entry into CPS—which includes both 1) students who later demonstrated English proficiency (scoring above the cut score) on the ACCESS test, and thus were no longer classified as English Learners, and 2) students who remained as active English Learners throughout high school. We define students who were never classified as English Learners as students who were never eligible to receive EL services, either because their native language was English or because they took the English proficiency screening test when they began school in CPS and scored high enough to be considered proficient in English.
Key Points — Immediate College Enrollment Rate by English Learner Status 11
  • Among 2021 high school graduates, students who began as English Learners at CPS immediately enrolled in college at about the same rate overall as students who were never classified as English Learners.
  • CPS graduates who began as English Learners enrolled immediately in a four-year college at a lower rate (37%) than their peers who were never classified as English Learners (46%).
  • However, CPS graduates who began as English Learners immediately enrolled in two-year colleges at a significantly higher rate (21%) than graduates who were never classified as English Learners (13%).

We define students who began as English Learners as students who took the ACCESS12 test of English proficiency at any point during their time in CPS. This category includes students who later became former English Learners13 by demonstrating English proficiency (scoring above the cut score) on the ACCESS test as well as students who remained as active English Learners throughout high school. We define students who were never classified as English Learners as students who were never eligible to receive EL services. To learn more about how and why we disaggregate data by English Learner status, see the Appendices.

Disability Status–disaggregated Immediate College Enrollment data

Table 2 Immediate college enrollment rates by disability category
2021 CPS graduates
Students Immediate enrollment rate in 4-year colleges Immediate enrollment rate in 2-year colleges
All students 22,530 42.9% 15.6%
Students with an IEP related to a learning disability 2,073 22.3% 18.4%
Students with an IEP related to another disability 846 21.7% 13.4%
Students without an IEP 19,611 46.0% 15.4%
These are immediate college enrollment rates for all CPS high school graduates, including those who graduated high school in five or six years. Enrollments from North Park University are missing from 2020 and 2021 rates. In 2019, North Park University enrollees comprised around 1% of all immediate enrollees from CPS. Please see the Appendices for details about the disability categories used in this table.
Key Points — Immediate College Enrollment Rates by Disability Status
  • The immediate enrollment rate into two-year colleges was higher for students receiving services related to a learning disability (18%) than for students with no disabilities (15%). However, students with no disabilities immediately enrolled into four-year colleges at over twice the rate (46%) of students receiving services related to a learning disability (22%) or students receiving services related to another disability (22%).
  • The immediate enrollment rate into four-year colleges was similar for students receiving services related to a learning disability (22%) and students receiving services related to another disability (22%).
  • The immediate enrollment rate into two-year colleges differed by 5 percentage points between students receiving services related to a learning disability (18%) and students receiving services related to another disability (13%).

To learn how we disaggregate by disability status, see the Appendices.

Photo by Rattanakun Thongbun for Getty Images

College Completion Rate — CPS

Among the CPS graduating class of 2014, 46%14 of students who immediately enrolled in college completed a bachelor’s degree, associate degree, or certificate within six years.

We show college completion for the CPS graduating class of 2014 disaggregated by their college enrollment status immediately after high school graduation. Figures 9 and 10 show how many students who immediately enrolled in a four-year college or a two-year college, respectively, completed a degree or certificate. Figure 11 shows how many delayed and non-enrollees15 completed a degree or certificate. For detailed information on how this metric is calculated, see the Appendices.

Figure 9 Completion rates among immediate four-year enrollees over time (CPS graduating classes of 2008–2014)
Time plot of data trends 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent of immediate 4-year enrollees 2008 (N=6,369) 2009 (N=6,476) 2010 (N=7,086) 2011 (N=7,749) 2012 (N=8,047) 2013 (N=8,585) 2014 (N=8,886) High school graduation year (spring) 49.0% 48.7% 47.7% 48.1% 48.2% 50.5% 51.3% 5.4% 4.9% 5.6% 5.5% 5.5% 5.5% 5.1% 54.3% 53.7% 53.2% 53.6% 53.6% 56.0% 56.4% Bachelor’s degree Associate degree or certificate only
Due to rounding, individual rates may not sum exactly to the total rate displayed. These are college completion rates for CPS high school graduates who graduated high school within six years. Students are counted as having completed college if they completed a credential within six years of graduating from high school. For example, our 2014 rate includes all 2014 CPS graduates who completed a degree or credential by spring of 2020. The bachelor’s degree category includes students who completed an associate degree or certificate in addition to their bachelor’s degree. Fewer than 1.7 percent of 2014 CPS graduates who immediately enrolled in a four-year college completed both a bachelor’s degree and an associate degree/certificate.

Key Points (Four-Year Enrollees) — 2020 CPS Six-Year College Completion Rate Among Immediate Four-Year Enrollees

  • The proportion of high school graduates who immediately enrolled in a four-year college and completed a bachelor’s degree has increased by 3 percentage points since 2010, while the proportion who completed an associate degree or certificate declined slightly.
  • Slightly more than one-half of 2014 CPS graduates (51.3%) who immediately enrolled in a four-year college completed a bachelor’s degree within six years. This proportion increased slightly over the prior four years.
  • The proportion of immediate four-year enrollees who completed an associate degree or certificate fell slightly among 2014 graduates to 5.1%, after remaining at 5.5% over the prior three years.
Figure 10 Completion rates among immediate two-year enrollees over time (CPS graduating classes of 2008–2014)
Time plot of data trends 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent of immediate 2-year enrollees 2008 (N=3,301) 2009 (N=3,760) 2010 (N=3,940) 2011 (N=4,150) 2012 (N=4,486) 2013 (N=4,680) 2014 (N=4,511) High school graduation year (spring) 7.6% 6.6% 7.1% 7.0% 6.8% 6.5% 7.6% 18.4% 19.1% 18.5% 19.3% 19.3% 21.5% 19.3% 26.0% 25.7% 25.6% 26.3% 26.1% 28.0% 26.9% Bachelor’s degree Associate degree or certificate only
Due to rounding, individual rates may not sum exactly to the total rate displayed. These are college completion rates for CPS high school graduates who graduated high school within six years. Students are counted as having completed college if they completed a credential within six years of graduating from high school. For example, our 2014 rate includes all 2014 CPS graduates who completed a degree or credential by spring of 2020. Although calculating a six-year completion rate for two-year programs is not standard, we do so here to maintain consistency with our other completion metrics. The bachelor’s degree category includes students who completed an associate degree or certificate in addition to their bachelor’s degree. About 4.9 percent of 2014 CPS graduates who immediately enrolled in a two-year college completed both a bachelor’s degree and an associate degree/certificate.

Key Points (Two-Year Enrollees) — 2020 CPS Six-Year College Completion Rate Among Immediate Two-Year Enrollees

  • Among high school graduates who immediately enrolled in a two-year college, completion rates have remained relatively steady since 2008.
  • Among immediate two-year college enrollees, 7.6% of 2014 graduates completed a bachelor’s degree within six years, and an additional 19.3% completed an associate degree or certificate.
  • Almost three quarters (73.1%) of immediate two-year college enrollees had not completed any credential by the end of six years.
Figure 11 Completion rates among delayed and non-enrollees over time (CPS graduating classes of 2008–2014)
Time plot of data trends 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percent of immediate non-enrollees 2008 (N=8,861) 2009 (N=9,470) 2010 (N=9,192) 2011 (N=8,515) 2012 (N=9,478) 2013 (N=9,347) 2014 (N=9,406) High school graduation year (spring) 3.3% 3.9% 3.3% 2.5% 2.2% 2.2% 2.4% 5.0% 5.6% 5.8% 5.3% 5.1% 4.6% 4.5% 8.3% 9.5% 9.1% 7.8% 7.2% 6.8% 6.9% Bachelor’s degree Associate degree or certificate only
Due to rounding, individual rates may not sum exactly to the total rate displayed. These are college completion rates for CPS high school graduates who graduated high school within six years. Students are counted as having completed college if they completed a credential within six years of graduating from high school. For example, our 2014 rate includes all 2014 CPS graduates who completed a degree or credential by spring of 2020. We define delayed enrollees as graduates who delayed entry into college, and non-enrollees as graduates who did not enroll in college within six years of high school graduation. The bachelor’s degree category includes students who completed an associate degree or certificate in addition to their bachelor’s degree. About 0.5 percent of 2014 CPS graduates who were delayed or non-enrollees completed both a bachelor’s degree and an associate degree/certificate.

Key Points (Delayed/Non-Enrollees) — 2020 CPS Six-Year College Completion Rate Among Delayed/Non-Enrollees

  • Among CPS graduates who did not immediately enroll in college, only 2.4% completed a bachelor’s degree within six years. An additional 4.5% of students who did not immediately enroll completed an associate degree or certificate.
  • Six-year completion rates among students who did not immediately enroll in college have been falling slightly over time.

Disaggregated Data — College Completion

Race/Ethnicity and Gender–disaggregated College Completion data

Table 3 College completion rates among immediate enrollees (CPS graduating class of 2014)
Bachelor’s degree Associate degree or certificate only Total
All students 36.6% 9.9% 46.5%
Asian/​Pacific Islander young women 69.4% 10.8% 80.1%
Asian/​Pacific Islander young men 58.3% 11.7% 70.0%
Black young women 31.0% 7.7% 38.8%
Black young men 22.2% 5.4% 27.6%
Latina young women 38.3% 14.3% 52.6%
Latino young men 29.9% 12.3% 42.2%
White young women 66.8% 8.1% 74.9%
White young men 55.1% 7.8% 62.9%
Data for Multiracial, Native American/Alaskan Native, and students who didn't report their race/ethnicity in CPS records are not included because we suppressed rates for groups of fewer than 100 students to avoid reporting fluctuations in rates that do not reflect consistent trends in student outcomes. These are college completion rates for CPS high school graduates who graduated high school within six years. Students are counted as having completed college if they completed a credential within six years of graduating from high school.
Key Points — College Completion Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Gender
  • Among Latinx students and Black students in the CPS graduating class of 2014, fewer than 2 in 5 students who immediately enrolled in college completed a bachelor’s degree within six years.
  • Latina young women, Asian/Pacific Islander students, and White students completed a college degree or certificate at a rate higher than the CPS average in 2020.
  • Young men were less likely to complete a college degree or certificate than young women of the same race/ethnicity, particularly among Black students and White students.
  • Latina young women were the most likely to complete an associate degree or certificate only.

To learn more about how we disaggregate by race/ethnicity and gender, see the Appendices. To track college completion rates disaggregated by race/ethnicity and gender over time, see the To&Through Milestones Tool.16

We do not examine rates of college completion for students with disabilities because there is a relatively low number of immediate college enrollees among students in certain disability categories, and we suppress rates for groups of fewer than 100 students to avoid reporting fluctuations in rates that do not reflect consistent trends in student outcomes. To learn how and why we disaggregate by disability status, see the Appendices.

PDF Download, References, and Appendix

Download this report as a PDF

The printable PDF version of this report is intended to be used for citations. It includes all text and figures on this web page as well as the report’s references and online appendices.

Download PDF

Cite as: Mahaffie, S., Malone, M., Usher, A., Mukherjee, D., & Nagaoka, J. (2022). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2021. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

References

See works cited

  • de la Torre, M., Blanchard, A., Allensworth, E.M., & Freire, S. (2019). English Learners in CPS: A new perspective. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

  • Henricks, K., Lewis, A.E., Arenas, I., & Lewis, D.G. (2017). A tale of three cities: The state of racial justice in Chicago report. Charlottesville, VA: Center for Open Science.

  • Ewing, E.L. (2018). Ghosts in the schoolyard: Racism and school closings on Chicago’s south side. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

  • Payne, C.M. (2008). So much reform, so little change: The persistence of failure in urban schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

  • Todd-Breland, E. (2018). A political education: Black politics and education reform in Chicago since the 1960s. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.

  • Chicago Beyond Equity Series. (2019). Why am I always being researched? [Guidebook]. Retrieved from https://chicagobeyond.org/researchequity/

  • Drake, S., & Clayton, H.R. (1945). Black metropolis: A study of Negro life in a northern city. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

  • Henricks, K., Lewis, A.E., Arenas, I., & Lewis, D.G. (2017). A tale of three cities: The state of racial justice in Chicago report. Charlottesville, VA: Center for Open Science.

  • Moore, N. (2016). The South Side: A portrait of Chicago and American segregation. New York, NY: Picador Paper.

  • Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. New York, NY: Liverlight Publishing Company.

  • Sampson, R.J. (2011). Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

  • Wilson, W.J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Previous Reports

Read previous reports on the educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students:

2014

Healey, K., Nagaoka, J., & Michelman, V. (2014). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: A focus on four-year college degrees. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

2015

Nagaoka, J., & Healey, K. (2016). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2015: A focus on four-year college degrees. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

2016

Nagaoka, J., Seeskin, A., & Coca, V.M. (2017). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2016. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

2017

Nagaoka, J., & Seeskin, A. (2018). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2017. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

2018

Nagaoka, J., & Seeskin, A. (2019). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2018. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

2019

Nagaoka, J., Mahaffie, S., Usher, A., & Seeskin, A. (2020). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2019. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

2020

Malone, M., Mahaffie, S., Hernandez, G., Usher, A., & Nagaoka, J. (2021). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2020. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

Access the Online Appendix

The Online Appendix provides details on data definitions and decision rules as well as additional data on Chicago Public Schools graduates’ attainment rates.

See the Online Appendix

About

The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (UChicago Consortium)

The UChicago Consortium conducts research of high technical quality that can inform and assess policy and practice in the Chicago Public Schools. We seek to expand communication among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners as we support the search for solutions to the problems of school reform. The UChicago Consortium encourages the use of research in policy action and improvement of practice, but does not argue for particular policies or programs. Rather, we help to build capacity for school reform by identifying what matters for student success and school improvement, creating critical indicators to chart progress, and conducting theory-driven evaluation to identify how programs and policies are working.

The To&Through Project

In collaboration with educators, policymakers, and communities, the To&Through Project aims to significantly increase high school and post-secondary completion for under-resourced students of color in Chicago and around the country by providing education stakeholders with research-based data on students’ educational experiences and facilitating dialogue on its implications for adult practice. At the To&Through Project, we:

The To&Through Project is located at the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute in the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.

This report reflects the interpretation of the authors. Although the UChicago Consortium’s Steering Committee provided technical advice, no formal endorsement by these individuals, organizations, the full Consortium, or the To&Through Project, should be assumed.