Data shows fewer Arizona high school graduates enrolling in college

PHOENIX — A report from the Arizona Board of Regents showed that almost half of the state’s high school graduating class of 2017 didn’t sign up for college.

According to the data released late last week, 47.4 percent didn’t enroll in either a two-year or four-year college.

The study went to say at the current rate, only about 17 percent of students in ninth grade this year will graduate from a four-year college by 2028.

Another startling statistic revealed 27.3 percent of the 2011’s high school graduates had completed a two- or four-year degree six years after finishing their secondary education.

Young women were ahead of young men enrolling for college, extending the trend to a fifth year. They made up 50.8 percent of of high school graduates, but 56.2 percent of enrollment at two- and four-year colleges.

“If our current rate of attainment doesn’t improve, Arizona’s economy will underperform, and residents won’t realize benefits from increased education, including higher wages, lower unemployment and better health,” regents board Executive Director John Arnold said in a statement.

Among 2011 high school graduates, just 27.3 percent had completed a two- or four-year degree six years after high school graduation.”

The report also said college enrollment among black, Hispanic and Native Americans high school graduates wasn’t keeping up with that of white and Asian students.

Arizona’s poverty rate played a factor. The report said the state ranked 12th in the country in residents living below the federal poverty line in the past year, with about a quarter of its children in that category.

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