High School Income Level Drives Postsecondary Success

Clearinghouse Releases 13th Annual High School Benchmarks Report

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reveals that income disparities between high schools have a greater impact on graduates’ postsecondary outcomes than geographic differences. The 2025 High School Benchmarks Report shows national college progression rates for high schools participating in the National Student Clearinghouse’s StudentTracker service. 

According to the report, only low-poverty high schools saw more than half of their 2018 graduates earn an associate degree or higher within six years. In contrast, just 25% of graduates from high-poverty high schools achieved the same success.

The High School Benchmarks report uses the percentage of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch, as reported to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), to determine high school income and poverty characteristics.

“Large differences in college access and degree attainment mean many students don’t see the benefits of higher education opportunities, particularly those from low-income backgrounds,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Even with stable enrollment outcomes, the socioeconomic gaps continue to persist.”

Now in its thirteenth year, this report offers the latest insights into how high school graduates are progressing in college — tracking enrollment, persistence, and completion. These metrics serve as key indicators for evaluating efforts to help students successfully transition from high school to higher education and earn credentials on time.

The report’s key findings show that students from low-income high schools have:

Lower persistence: Income disparities stand out in persistence rates from the first to second year of college, which held largely steady except for high-poverty high schools. These schools — which already have the lowest persistence rates — saw a decline of 1.1 percentage points for the class of 2022 to 74.4%.

Lower STEM completion: Graduates of low-poverty and higher-income high schools were also more likely to complete STEM degrees within six years (22.4% and 17.5%, respectively) than their counterparts at high-poverty (8.1%) and low-income (9.1%) high schools.

More broadly, the report shows immediate fall college enrollment — meaning students who enroll in college the fall after graduating high school — remained consistent across nearly all types of high schools for the graduating classes of 2023 and 2024.

“This year’s High School Benchmarks report continues to highlight persistent disparities in postsecondary outcomes based on school poverty levels,” Jennifer Causey, Senior Research Associate at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, conveyed. “While overall patterns of immediate college enrollment have remained stable, we see stark differences in degree completion rates — especially between low- and high-poverty high schools. These findings underscore the importance of targeted support and resources to ensure all students have equitable opportunities to succeed in higher education.”

The 2025 report analyzes three key milestones in students’ postsecondary journeys: immediate college enrollment for the class of 2024, persistence for the class of 2022, and degree completion for the class of 2018. The report breaks down outcomes by high school characteristics, including income level, minority representation, and geographic location. Explore the research at https://nscresearchcenter.org/high-school-benchmarks/.