High School Enrollment
Key Takeaways:
- Massachusetts high school enrollment rose by about 2,000 students from 2015 to 2018, when enrollment peaked at approximately 291,000, then fell by almost 4,000 students from 2018 to 2022 to approximately 287,000. While enrollment rose slightly in 2023, it is expected to fall in the long term based on demographic trends.
The Statewide High School Enrollment by Year figure shows the total number of Massachusetts students in grades 9 through 12 at all public schools (including charters). The data come from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's School and District Profiles Enrollment by Grade report. You can hover over a specific point to see the data for that year.
The pandemic impacted enrollment during the 2020 and 2021 school years and the trends here have played out similarly on a national scale with a drop in total K-12 enrollment by 1,400,000 students between 2019 and 2020.
When reviewing all data in this dashboard presented for the 2020 and 2021 school years, it's important to consider the impact the pandemic may have had on student enrollment, experience, and outcomes.
Graduation Rates
Key Takeaways:
- Overall, graduation rates across Massachusetts increased by approximately 3 percentage points between 2015 and 2022.
- Every year between 2015 and 2022, English learners and students with disabilities had the lowest four-year graduation rates, between 63-73% each year. However, graduation rates for both groups climbed nearly 10 percentage points during this period, narrowing the gap with other student groups.
Massachusetts reports the number and percentage of students who graduate from public high schools each year in the School and District Profiles Graduation Rates report. The figures in this section of the dashboard show four-year graduation rates, or students who graduate high school within four years of starting high school. Students who earn a GED or Certificate of Achievement are not counted as graduates.
The Four-Year Graduation Rate figure shows the percent of all Massachusetts public school students who graduated high school in four years. Each line represents the percentage of students who graduated that year, within four years of starting high school. Students who graduate in their fifth year of high school are not included in this measure, but are included in the reported five-year graduation rate data.
By default, this chart includes all students across the Commonwealth. However, you can use the dropdown at the top of the visual to select a specific student group to review their data. The next charts below allow you to compare specific student groups. To review graduation and other high school outcomes by district, please see the District Analysis Review Tool (DART) for Success After High School.
The Graduation Rate by Race/Ethnicity and Graduation Rate by Gender figures show the percentage of Massachusetts students who graduated in four years across race/ethnicity and gender.
Each line in the charts represents one student group. You can hover over a specific point in either of the charts to see the data for that year. By default, the Graduation Rate by Race/Ethnicity shows the largest four racial student groups. You can add other student groups by selecting the dropdown at the top. Small numbers of students in some student groups leads to higher variability in outcomes from year to year.
Key Takeaways:
- Every year between 2015 and 2022, Asian and white students had the highest percentage of students graduating in four years, with graduation rates over 90% in all years.
- In almost every year, Hispanic or Latino and African American/Black students were the racial and ethnic groups with the lowest four-year graduation rates by race and ethnicity, between 70-84% every year.
- However, the gap has narrowed in recent years between the student groups with the highest graduation rates (Asian and white students) and those with the lowest graduation rates (Hispanic or Latino and African American/Black students).
- Across all years, female students graduated in four years at a rate approximately 5 percentage points higher than male students.
MassCore Completion
In 2007 the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted a state-recommended program of studies, or defined set of recommended courses that a high school student should complete, intended to align high school coursework with college and workforce expectations. This program of studies, known as MassCore, was updated in 2018.
MassCore includes successful completion of four units of English, four units of mathematics, three units of lab-based science, three units of history, two units of the same foreign language, one unit of the arts, and five additional “core” courses.
Massachusetts reports on the percentage of students who completed the MassCore program of study by the time they graduated high school. The MassCore Completion chart shows the percentage of students who completed the MassCore program of study from 2015 through 2022. By default this chart represents all Massachusetts students. However, you can use the dropdown at the top of the visual to select a specific student subgroup to review their data.
Key Takeaways:
- Overall, a majority of students complete MassCore requirements, and this number has grown steadily in recent years.
The MassCore Completion by Race/Ethnicity and MassCore Completion by Gender charts show the percentage of Massachusetts students who completed the MassCore program of study by these student groups.
Each line in the charts represents one group of Massachusetts students. You can hover over a specific point in either of the charts to see the data for that year. You can add other student groups by selecting the dropdown at the top. Small numbers of students in some student groups leads to higher variability in outcomes from year to year.
Key Takeaways:
- White students and Asian students were the most likely to complete the MassCore program of study, while African American/Black students were the least likely to complete the program of study. However, the gap between these racial groups has narrowed over time, with the completion rate for African American/Black students increasing by nearly 10 percentage points between 2020 and 2022.
- Female students were more likely than their male peers to complete the MassCore program of study.
Participation in Designated High School College and Career Pathways and Internships
The Office of College, Career, and Technical Education supports four Designated High School College and Career Pathways (“Pathways”) to help ensure students graduate college and career ready:
1. Career Technical Education (Chapter 74 state approved programs)
State-approved high school programs that prepare students for both employment and continued education in specific industries through immersive coursework and work experience.
2. Career Connections (non-Chapter 74 programs)
Locally-approved high school programs that provide students opportunities to explore specific industries through coursework and work experience.
State-approved high school programs that support students to enroll in a sequence of college courses, with the goal of graduating high school with 12 transferable credits and acceptance to a college.
State-approved high school programs that provide students the opportunity to explore and prepare for continued education in high demand industries such as information technology, engineering, healthcare, life sciences, or advanced manufacturing through a combination of coursework and work experience (i.e., internships).
The Percentage of Massachusetts High School Students in Any Pathway chart shows the proportion of all Massachusetts public and charter school students in grades 9-12 and special education beyond grade 12 who are participating in any of the Designated High School College and Career Pathways. Please note that individual students may participate in multiple Pathways. After Dark programs are a subset of Career Technical Education programs.
Key Takeaways:
- The percentage of Massachusetts high school students participating in any Pathway increased 1.7 percentage points between 2022 and 2023. Almost all that growth came from increased participation in Early College and Innovation Career Pathways.
- The most popular Pathway by far was Career Technical Education, with nearly 20% of all high school students participating each year.
The Percentage of Massachusetts High School Students in Pathways by Gender and Percentage of Massachusetts High School Students in Pathways by Race/Ethnicity charts display the proportion of participants for each Designated High School College and Career Pathway disaggregated by student group.
Key Takeaways:
- Participant gender varied substantially between different Pathways. Male students made up 52.9% of students participating in any Pathway.
- Male students were the majority in After Dark, Career Connections, and Career Technical Education. Female students were the majority in Early College and Innovation Career Pathways.
Key Takeaways:
- Participation rates in individual Pathways varied based on students’ racial and ethnic groups. Overall Pathway participation by race and ethnicity student groups was similar to the composition of the high school population.
- Hispanic or Latino students had high participation in each of the Pathways, relative to the percentage of high school students who are Hispanic. Compared to statewide racial composition, African American/Black students participated at a higher rate in all Pathways (especially Early College and After Dark) except Career and Technical Education.
- Asian students participated at lower rates across all Pathways, except Career Connections and Early College.
Advanced Placement Participation and Performance
Massachusetts reports on student participation and performance in Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. In the spring of 2022, Massachusetts students participated in 38 unique AP exams across seven subject areas (Arts, English Language Arts, Foreign Languages, History and Social Science, Math and Computer Science, Science and Technology, and Capstone).
The AP Tests Taken by Year figure represents the number of AP tests taken across the state of Massachusetts. To view the data broken out by student race or ethnicity, select the Breakdown by Race button across the top. To view the data broken out by gender, select the Breakdown by Gender button across the top. To view the data broken out by test subject area, select the Breakdown by Test Subject button.
These figures show the number of AP tests taken, not the number of unique Massachusetts students who took these tests, e.g. if one student took 3 tests in a given year, this chart will count each of the 3 tests separately.
Key Takeaways:
- The number of AP tests taken statewide rose steadily from 2015 to 2019, and then fell in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic. It rose again in 2022, but is still short compared to the peak number of tests taken pre-pandemic.
- White students took a majority of AP tests every year. Asian students took the greatest number of AP tests relative to number of students.
- Female students took a slight majority of AP tests every year.
- The number of tests by subject area does not necessarily reflect student interest, because there are different numbers of tests available in each subject area.
All AP exams are graded on a 1 through 5 scale. Generally, a score of a 3 or higher is accepted by most colleges as a passing score on an AP exam. The AP Test Passing Rate (3 or Higher) figure shows the percent of AP exams in which students scored a 3 or higher. By default, this figure shows the performance of all students in all subject areas. You can change the student population represented by selecting a different student population from the first drop down. You can add additional subject areas to the chart by selecting additional test subjects from the second drop down.
Key Takeaways:
- Passing rates (score of 3 or higher) stayed relatively flat around 66% from 2015-2019, and then rose to 71% in 2020 before declining to around 61% in 2021. They rose to about 65% in 2022, similar to pre-pandemic levels.
- Passing rates were highest for Capstone, Arts, and Foreign Languages test subjects, all around 80% or higher since 2021.
- Asian students and white students had the highest passing rates. Male students had a slightly higher passing rate than female students.
Graduates Attending College
Massachusetts tracks the enrollment of Massachusetts public high school graduates into institutions of higher education. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education obtains data on college enrollment from the National Student Clearinghouse, which gathers the data nationally. Results by school and district are published in the Graduates Attending Higher Education report.
Students in Massachusetts may attend different types of institutions, including:
- Private four-year institutions both in state and and out of state
- Public four-year institutions including both in-state public institutions (Massachusetts state schools or UMass schools) and out-of-state public institutions
- Public two-year institutions, including most community colleges
Note: Fewer than 0.1% of Massachusetts students attend private two-year institutions and are omitted here.
Overall College Attendance:
The High School Graduate Attending College/University figure below displays the percentage of Massachusetts high school graduates attending any of the higher education institutions listed above by March of the following year. The year for each data point is the year of students' graduation from high school.
By default, this chart represents all students across the Commonwealth. However, you can use the dropdown at the top of the visual to select a specific student group to review their data.
Key Takeaways:
- Prior to 2019, the percent of all Massachusetts students attending higher education institutions stayed relatively flat, between 72% and 74%.
- Between 2019 and 2020, college attendance dropped from 72.2% to 64.0%. In 2022, college attendance was about 10 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic levels.
College Attendance by Institution Type:
The College/University Attendance by School Type figure shows the trend over time in recent years. As in the last figure, each year represents the high school graduating class of that year. The lines represent the percentage of high school graduates in that year who attended that type of institution by March of the following school year.
Use the dropdown in the top-left corner of the chart to view data for a specific student group.
Key Takeaways:
- The largest single-year decline in college attendance occurred during the pandemic among students at public two-year institutions, from 16.3% in 2019 to 11.9% in 2020.
- Over the same period, the percentage of students attending public four-year institutions declined by only 2.5 percentage points, and the percentage of students attending private four-year institutions declined by only 1.3 percentage points.
- In 2022, college attendance rates remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
In-State Public College/University Attendance:
The In-State Public College/University Attendance figure shows the trend in the percent of high school graduates attending Massachusetts public higher education institutions. These include:
- Massachusetts State Universities
- University of Massachusetts (UMass) campuses, and
- Massachusetts Community Colleges
In the chart below, public four-year institutions includes Massachusetts state universities and UMass campuses, as well as out-of-state public four-year institutions (e.g. University of Connecticut). Public two-year institutions is mostly equivalent to Massachusetts community colleges, since few students (0.5%) go out of state for two-year institutions.
Each line represents the percent of high school graduates from a given year who attend that type of institution by March of the following year. Using the dropdown at the top, you can use the filter to select a specific student group to review their data, or can view the trends across all students, as is presented by default.
Key Takeaways:
- The percent of students attending UMass schools rose from 2015-2019 and then decreased slightly for classes graduating high school in 2020 and 2021. The attendance rate at UMass schools improved slightly among 2022 graduates but remained below pre-pandemic attendance.
- The percentage of students attending Massachusetts state universities stayed relatively flat between 2015 and 2019, but similarly decreased in 2020. The rates of attendance have since remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
- Massachusetts community college attendance decreased steadily between 2015 and 2019, and then decreased more sharply for the graduating class of 2020. Attendance remained lower for the graduating classes of 2021 and 2022.
College Persistence
Massachusetts tracks students who graduate from public high schools as they enroll in and attend public, private, or out-of-state institutions of higher education. Districts report the data to DESE annually via the Student Information Management System (SIMS). Data for each district is published in the District Analysis and Review Tools (DART), and can be accessed on the E2C Hub.
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The College/University Persistence by Race/Ethnicity and College/University Persistence by Gender charts show the percentage of Massachusetts high school graduates who were persistently enrolled in a postsecondary institution two years later, whether at the same or a different institution. The rate of persistence is defined as the percent of Massachusetts public high school students who enroll in postsecondary education within 16 months of graduating and return the following year, whether at the same or different institution of higher education.
Each line in the charts represents one group of Massachusetts students. By default, the charts represent all students across the Commonwealth. Use the dropdown to explore persistence by race/ethnicity in detail.
Key Takeaways:
- Asian and white students had higher persistence rates into a second year of college than African American and Hispanic students. This gap ranged from about 10 to 20 percentage points between 2015 and 2020.
- Across all years, female students persisted to their second year at a higher rate than male students. The gap widened to about 5 percentage points in 2018 and 2019 but narrowed in 2020.
- Due to small subgroup counts, college persistence for non-binary students varied considerably year-to-year.
Wage Outcomes of High School Graduates
The report on wage outcomes shows data on employment and earnings of high school graduates. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses a secure, anonymized process to match its student records with wage records provided by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and with data on college attendance. Approximately 85-90% of public school graduates can be found in the wage record system. The DUA system does not include data on:
- Those employed outside Massachusetts, self-employed individuals, and federal employees
- The number of hours worked
- Hourly rate of employment
The Average Real Earnings figure show earnings trends of high school graduate cohorts six years after graduation, accounting for inflation (using 2021 dollars). Each line represents one group of Massachusetts students. Customize the dashboard view by adding or removing other racial student groups from the dropdown at the top.
Key Takeaways:
- Graduates from more recent cohorts earned more, on average, than earlier cohorts.
- White and Asian graduates typically earned more than African American/Black and Hispanic or Latino graduates.
- Across all years, female graduates earned less than male graduates on average. The gap has widened for more recent cohorts.
The second figure is a more in-depth report on income after high school graduation. To use this report, first select a graduation year and then select either the whole state or one district. The report will update automatically to show the selected data. The report can be filtered to show results by various student groups. There is also a button to show wages and employment by industry.
For optimal viewing, open the report in a new window.
| Date published: | December 8, 2023 |
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| Last updated: | December 8, 2023 |