College-going rates vary sharply by race and gender

From Philadelphia’s high school class of 2009, 42% of female students and 29% of males enrolled.

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There is a gender gap in college-going rates in Philadelphia. The rate is 14 points lower for both White and African American males than for their female counterparts.

The variations by race are even greater. For instance, both Asian males and females enroll in college at double or more the rates of their Latino counterparts.

The groups with the lowest high school graduation rates – Latino males, African American males, and Latino females – also have the lowest college enrollment rates. And they have the most attrition from college: Many haven't continued on to a second year.

Note: Data are for students who were first-time 9th graders in Philadelphia public schools in fall 2005. Data cover the period through fall 2011. Students who transferred to another school system before finishing high school are not counted. Students are attributed to the school where they started 9th grade. Some percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

• No H.S. diploma includes students who have dropped out of high school and a small number of students who were still enrolled in 2011, but had not earned a diploma.

• H.S. diploma, no college includes students who graduated high school but have so far not enrolled in a postsecondary institution tracked by the National Student Clearinghouse.
  

• Enrolled in college includes students who enrolled in a postsecondary institution by fall 2011.
  

• Continued to a 2nd year includes students who enrolled in a postsecondary institution in their first year after graduating high school, and either graduated or enrolled in a postsecondary institution again in their second year after graduating high school.
  

-Source: School District of Philadelphia, National Student Clearinghouse. Data analysis by Michelle Schmitt.