High School Graduate Outcomes

Data Definitions

Metric: First Year Enrollment

First year enrollment is defined as having an enrollment record at a postsecondary institution at some point in academic year following graduation, which is defined as the summer term immediately following graduation through spring term of the next calendar year. If a student enrolled at a 2-year and a 4-year institution in the year, they are categorized as a 4-year enrollee.

2-Year / CTC includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 2- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 2-year institutions and the SBCTC data for the publicly funded 2-year Washington institutions.

4-year includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 4- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 4-year institutions and the PCHEES data for the publicly funded 4-year Washington institutions.

Not Enrolled simply means that an enrollment record was not found in any of the aforementioned data sources (see note below). Students that enroll in apprenticeship programs administered by the WA State Dept of Labor & Industries are not included in this group. They are not reported separately, however, because they account for less than 0.5% of high school graduates and rarely exceed the redaction threshold.

NOTE: The NSC data slightly undercounts the number of enrollments in private and out-of-state institutions because about 8% of the private and out-of-state institutions do not participate and students at participating institutions can opt out of having their information included in the NSC data.   In addition, NSC data uses the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classification of two-year and four-year institutions (institutional category). Under IPEDS classification, students who attend an out-of-state or WA private two-year institution that offers four-year degrees will be categorized as an enrollment at a four-year institution.  We are working to reconcile this discrepancy between NSC and WA Public data.

Metric: Enrollment by Sector

First year enrollment is defined as having an enrollment record at a postsecondary institution at some point in academic year following graduation, which is defined as the summer term immediately following graduation through spring term of the next calendar year. Because students can enroll at more than one institution in an academic year, this metric counts enrollments not students. If in one academic year a student enrolled at a 2-Year CTC and a 4-Year institution, both enrollments are counted.

2-Year / CTC includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 2- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 2-year institutions and the SBCTC data for the publicly funded 2-year Washington institutions.

4-year includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 4- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 4-year institutions and the PCHEES data for the publicly funded 4-year Washington institutions.

NOTE: The NSC data slightly undercounts the number of enrollments in private and out-of-state institutions because about 8% of the private and out-of-state institutions do not participate and students at participating institutions can opt out of having their information included in the NSC data.  In addition, NSC data uses the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classification of two-year and four-year institutions (institutional category). Under IPEDS classification, students who attend an out-of-state or WA private two-year institution that offers four-year degrees will be categorized as an enrollment at a four-year institution.  We are working to reconcile this discrepancy between NSC and WA Public data.

Metric: Enrollment by Institution

First year enrollment is defined as having an enrollment record at a postsecondary institution at some point in academic year following graduation, which is defined as the summer term immediately following graduation through spring term of the next calendar year. Because students can enroll at more than one institution in an academic year, this metric counts enrollments not students. If in one academic year a student enrolled at a 2-Year/CTC and a 4-Year institution, both enrollments are counted. Enrollments at out-of-state and private institutions are presented in broad categories (private/out-of-state) and not by individual institution. If the average enrollment at a publicly funded in-state institution is less than 2% of enrollees, the institution is recoded as “Other”. This recoding is not applied to the Statewide metric.

2-Year / CTC includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 2- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 2-year institutions and the SBCTC data for the publicly funded 2-year Washington institutions.

4-year includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 4- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 4-year institutions and the PCHEES data for the publicly funded 4-year Washington institutions.

NOTE: The NSC data slightly undercounts the number of enrollments in private and out-of-state institutions because about 8% of the private and out-of-state institutions do not participate and students at participating institutions can opt out of having their information included in the NSC data.  In addition, NSC data uses the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classification of two-year and four-year institutions (institutional category). Under IPEDS classification, students who attend an out-of-state or WA private two-year institution that offers four-year degrees will be categorized as an enrollment at a four-year institution.  We are working to reconcile this discrepancy between NSC and WA Public data.

Metric: Pre-college course taking

Pre-college courses, also referred to as remedial or developmental courses, are courses used by institutions to prepare students for college-level Math and English courses. Information on postsecondary course taking is only available for students who attended a publicly funded Washington institution because the NSC data does not have this level of detail about course taking. Therefore, the counts of enrolled students used to calculate the percentages for this metric do not match the counts used for calculations in other metrics.

If a student enrolls at a 2-year/CTC and a 4-year institution in the academic year, they are only counted at the 4-year institution. For example, if a student enrolls at Seattle Central Community College in fall of 2009 and takes pre-college math, but transfers to the University of Washington in Spring 2010 the student would be counted in the 4-year institution category and their enrollment in pre-college math would still be included but counted under the 4-year institution category.

Enrollment in pre-college coursework in Math is defined as any enrollment between summer term and spring term in remedial or developmental courses in math. For records from PCHEES data, pre-college courses in math were identified by course CIP code "320104" as well as remedial course flag "Y" combined with CIP code "27" (27.0101 through 27.9999). Records of pre-college courses in math from SBCTC data are identified by CIP code "330101."

Enrollment in pre-college coursework in English is defined as any enrollment between summer term and Spring term in remedial or development courses in English. For records from PCHEES data, pre-college English is from CIP code "320108" and remedial course flag "Y" combined with CIP code "23" (23.0101 through 23.9999). Records of pre-college course in English are identified by CIP codes "330102," "330103," and "330104."

Enrollment in any pre-college coursework is enrollment in either math or English pre-college courses from the PCHEES and SBCTC data.

Enrollment in both pre-college English and Math coursework is enrollment in both math and English pre-college coursework between summer term and spring terms.

Metric: Persistence / Retention

Persistence is defined as continued enrollment at any institution in the second year after high school graduation. Retention is defined as continued enrollment in at least one of the same institutions during the students’ first and second years of enrollment.

If a student persists or retains at a 2-year/CTC AND a 4-year institution in the academic year, they are only counted at the 4-year institution. For example, if a student enrolls at Seattle Central Community College and University of Washington in AY 2009 & AY 2010, the student would be counted as a retained student 4-year institution category.

2-Year / CTC includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 2- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 2-year institutions and the SBCTC data for the publicly funded 2-year Washington institutions.

4-year includes all Washington and out-of-state private and publicly funded 4- year institutions. This uses the NSC data for private and out-of-state 4-year institutions and the PCHEES data for the publicly funded 4-year Washington institutions.

NOTE: The NSC data slightly undercounts the number of enrollments in private and out-of-state institutions because about 8% of the private and out-of-state institutions do not participate and students at participating institutions can opt out of having their information included in the NSC data.  In addition, NSC data uses the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classification of two-year and four-year institutions (institutional category). Under IPEDS classification, students who attend an out-of-state or WA private two-year institution that offers four-year degrees will be categorized as an enrollment at a four-year institution.  We are working to reconcile this discrepancy between NSC and WA Public data.

Metric: Post-secondary Completion

Post-secondary completion is defined as having earned a degree or certificate at a postsecondary institution or completion of an apprenticeship program at some point in the eight academic years following high school graduation. If a student earns more than one degree or certificate during the eight year period, the highest degree level attained is reported.

Apprenticeship includes completions in apprenticeship programs administered by the WA State Department of Labor and Industries. Apprenticeship completion is only reported at the state level because there are not adequate numbers of apprenticeship program completers to meet redaction criteria at the school and district level. Data source: WA State Department of Labor and Industries.

Certificates include any completion of a certificate program at a 2- year institution. Data sources: NSC (private and out-of-state 2-year institutions), SBCTC (publicly funded 2-year Washington institutions).

Associate degrees include completions of all types of associate’s degrees (Direct Transfer Agreement, Transfer Degree, Applied Sciences, etc.) In this metric, if a student earns a bachelor’s degree after completing an associate degree, they are only counted in the Bachelor’s degree category. Data sources: NSC (private and out-of-state 2-year institutions), SBCTC (publicly funded 2-year Washington institutions).

Bachelor’s degrees include completions of a 4-year degree. This category also contains Applied Baccalaureate Degrees offered at some 2 Year / CTCs. Data sources: NSC (private and out-of-state 4-year institutions), PCHEES (publicly funded 4-year Washington institutions), SBCTC (Applied Baccalaureate Degrees).

Graduate degrees include any post baccalaureate degree (Masters, Professional Doctoral Degrees (JD, MD), Academic Doctoral Degrees (PhD)). Data sources: NSC (private and out-of-state 4-year institutions), PCHEES (publicly funded 4-year Washington institutions).

NOTE: The NSC data slightly undercounts the number of completions in private and out-of-state institutions because about 8% of the private and out-of-state institutions do not participate and students at participating institutions can opt out of having their information included in the NSC data. Additionally, the NSC data only contains the title of the degree awarded. While the award type (Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, etc) can be inferred from the title in most cases, there may be some errors in the interpretation of the NSC data.

Metric: Earnings

The Washington State Employment Security Department provided Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage records for individuals employed in Washington. We display earnings measures for all cohort members who are employed in Washington, have wage records (federal employees, independent contractors, and others do not have UI wage records), and are NOT enrolled in a post-secondary institution during the calendar year.

Earnings are displayed for years after high school graduation. Earnings data is available through 2023. Instead of reporting earnings by calendar year, we report earnings by years after graduation. This is done to maximize the number of schools, districts, and award levels that we can display. The matrix below shows the graduation year across the columns, the earnings years along the rows, and the “Year(s) after Graduation” in the cells.

We have adjusted earnings data for inflation. Earnings are adjusted to 2023 dollars using annual CPI-W for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Area (BLS Series ID CWURS49DSA0).

Earnings are displayed as percentile values. The median – or 50th percentile value – is the value that divides the earners into two groups – half earning more than the median and half earning less.

There are minimum cell sizes required for display. We display the median earnings of all cohorts that contain at least 30 individuals.

NOTE:   The Degree displayed is highest degree level attained during the 8-year post-high school period.  If a student earns a degree after the 8-year observation period, it is not reflected in this data.  Wage data are not displayed beyond the first 15 years after high school graduation.

Metric: Earnings by NAICS (Statewide Only)

The Washington State Employment Security Department provided Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage records for individuals employed in Washington. We display earnings measures for all cohort members who are employed in Washington, have wage records (federal employees, independent contractors, and others do not have UI wage records), and are NOT enrolled in a post-secondary institution during the calendar year. Each earning record contains a code (the North American Industry Classification System, “NAICS”) that we use to determine the employer’s industry sector (e.g. Construction, Manufacturing, etc). More information about the NAICS system can be found here. Keep in mind that industry of employment does not always correlate to occupation. For example, an IT professional working at an aerospace company will be assigned to the “Manufacturing” sector and not the “Information” sector. For individuals that were employed in multiple industries in a given year, they were assigned to the industry in which they had the highest earnings.

Earnings are displayed for years after high school graduation.

Earnings data is available through 2023. Instead of reporting earnings by calendar year, we report earnings by years after graduation. This is done to maximize the number of industries and award levels that we can display.  See the matrix in the "Earnings" section for more information.

We have adjusted earnings data for inflation. Earnings are adjusted to 2023 dollars using annual CPI-W for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Area (BLS Series ID CWURS49DSA0).

Earnings are displayed as percentile values. The median – or 50th percentile value – is the value that divides the earners into two groups – half earning more than the median and half earning less.

There are minimum cell sizes required for display. We display the median earnings of all cohorts that contain at least 30 individuals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the dashboard?

The purpose of this dashboard is to provide school districts, high school, and other stakeholders with information about the postsecondary education (enrollment, persistence, completion) and workforce (hours worked, wages) outcomes of their high school graduates.

Where does the data for this dashboard come from?

The data for the dashboard comes from many sources including:

• OSPI P210 Enrollment Summary for information about high school graduates.
• State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) for enrollment and completions data for Washington Community and Technical Colleges (2-year institutions).
• PCHEES system for enrollment and completions data for Washington public 4-year institutions.
• National Student Clearinghouse for enrollment and completions data for private and out-of-state institutions.
• WA State Employment Security Department for information about workforce outcomes.

What did the profiling of Professional License indicate as it relates to high school graduates?

Of the 243,575 professional licenses (Dept of Licensing) issued, 0.6 percent (1,509) were issued to applicants in the age range of 16-18 years old. For age range 19-25, 57,848 were issued for an average of about 2900 per year. Of those, forty-eight percent were for operators, twenty percent for notary public, and twenty percentg for Engineer in Training.

Why doesn’t the dashboard include my school or district?

High schools that are not included in OSPI’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculations are not included. Additionally, high schools / districts with small numbers of graduates may not be included in order to comply with student privacy laws.

How do we protect student privacy and ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)?

ERDC mitigates the risk of unintentionally releasing personally identifiable information using a variety of techniques recommended by the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the US Department of Education. These techniques include data suppression, recoding, and blurring. Some of these techniques do affect the utility of the data by reducing the users’ ability to view information about specific demographic groups or view exact percentages. We do not publish counts. It is our goal to maximize the utility of the data to our stakeholders while minimizing the risk of accidental disclosure. To this end, we apply the following disclosure avoidance logic to the aggregated data:

First, we determine the average number of graduates in each demographic subgroup (ie male students, Asian students). Next, we determine the minimum of the average number of graduates previously calculated in each demographic group (ie gender, race). If this minimum is less than 10 for demographic groups other than race, the demographic group is suppressed. For race/ethnicity, the racial/ethnic group is recoded to “Other” when the average number of graduates is less than 10. When only one racial/ethnic group is recoded, complementary recoding of the next smallest racial/ethnic group to “Other” is performed. Thus far, we have only considered the average cell size of subgroups across years and not examined the specific cell size for each year. After recoding and suppressing data as described above, we then determine the minimum cell size for each demographic subgroup for each year. If the minimum cell size for any subgroup is less than 10, we use a three-year rolling average for this subgroup to ensure the minimum cell size is greater than 10. This technique allows us to redact less data. It also masks some of the large year-to-year variance that is often observed in small sample sizes. Finally, in order to protect small groups of individuals, results are “top-coded” and “bottom-coded” when very few students (less than 4) or nearly all the students (greater than N-4) are contained in a cell. Complementary blurring is also applied when only one cell is top- or bottom-coded.

When I choose a particular demographic group, the chart is blank. Why?

That particular demographic group may have met the cell size threshold for the number of high school graduates, but does not meet the cell size threshold for the number of college enrollees. For example, if a school has 15 graduates that were dual language learners, their first year college enrollment rates will be displayed (the denominator is 15). If only 8 of these graduates enroll in college, the progress metrics will be suppressed, since the denominator (number of enrollees) is less than 10.

What are pre-college courses and who offers them?

Pre-College courses, also referred to as remedial courses, are courses used by institutions to prepare students for college-level Math and English courses.

The majority of pre-college courses are offered at a community or technical colleges. Central Washington University and Eastern Washington University are the only public four-year institutions that offer pre-college courses. Students in other four-year institutions that require remedial courses take them at a community or technical college.

Why do the charts for enrollment have more years of data than those for progress and completion?

The progress and completion metrics measure outcomes somewhere between two and eight years after high school graduation. To fully report this metric, there needs to be more elapsed time between high school graduation and the metric outcome. Persistence and retention capture the student’s enrollment in the second year after graduation, so it has one less year of data. The post-secondary completion metric considers the student’s achievements within 8 years of high school graduation, so there are seven fewer years of data available.

How do I print or save what I’m looking at?

If you simply want to capture a screenshot of the current view, click the button on the Tableau Toolbar (bottom right corner of dashboard). Select either PDF or image depending on your preference.

Alternatively, if you want to download the underlying data, navigate to the “Tabular” version of the dashboard and click the button to open the dataset on the data.wa.gov open data portal.

When is the dashboard updated with new data?

The dashboard is updated annually, toward the beginning of the year.

Who do I contact about questions, suggestions, or training on how to use the dashboard?