An average of slightly more than three out of five public high school graduates in Virginia in 2008 enrolled in higher education within a year of graduating, and only 37 percent in four-year colleges, according to a new study by the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia.
The report found students who earned a more-rigorous certificate, the Advanced Studies Diploma were nearly twice as likely to enroll in higher education than those who earned a standard diploma—85 percent versus 46 percent. More than 65 percent of the advanced-diploma graduates enrolled in four-year colleges compared with 12.8 percent of graduates with standard diplomas.
The analysis also showed that within a given type of diploma, enrollment gaps between black-versus-white, male-versus-female, and poor-versus-nonpoor students narrowed in 2008.
