Missouri Students' Postsecondary Access Report

By: Misti Jeffers, Ph.D., Evan Rhinesmith, Ph.D., and Brianna L. Anderson, Ph.D.

In this report, we use publicly available data to describe patterns in college-intending behaviors and postsecondary access for Missouri high school students compared to national trends. We also examine trends within Missouri by looking at high schools serving unique student bodies, by locality, and by region. Finally, we examine results for the class of 2019, the most recent class to have successfully completed high school prior to COVID-19-induced disruptions. Findings indicate that college access, as measured by immediate college-enrollment, is declining in Missouri. This decline is not evident at the national level. Simultaneously, we find a drop in key college-intending behaviors, including ACT participation and FAFSA completion rates.

Key Ponts:

• Missouri's 4-year high school cohort graduation rate has steadily increased since 2011.

• ACT participation is sensitive to state policy implementation.

• FAFSA completion in Missouri has failed to keep pace with college enrollment.

• Immediate college enrollment upon high school completion in any postsecondary institution declined between 2011 and 2019.

• A considerable share of Missouri high school graduates who immediately enroll in college do so at out-of-state institutions.