College Enrollment and Completion among Texas High School Graduates with a Disability

Trey Miller, Marshall Garland, and Dean Gerdeman

The limited available research suggests that students with a disability are less likely to enroll in and complete college than students without a disability; however, this research draws primarily on surveys with voluntary responses and often with a small sample size.

In response to concerns raised by Texas higher education stakeholders, this study examined college enrollment and completion among Texas public high school graduates by disability status, student demographic characteristics, and primary disability type.

The study provides new evidence on college outcomes for students with a disability that can inform policies and research about how to serve this population at the postsecondary level. The report examines college enrollment and completion among four cohorts of Texas public high school graduates (2006/07 through 2009/10) by disability status in high school, student demographic characteristics, and primary disability type.

Key Findings

College enrollment and attainment of a college credential or degree were substantially lower among high school graduates with a disability than among graduates without a disability, particularly at four-year colleges.
About 31 percent of high school graduates with a disability enrolled in a Texas college within two years of graduation. Of those, 90 percent initially enrolled in a two-year college.
Among high school graduates with a disability who initially enrolled in a two-year college, 17 percent attained a certificate or associate degree or transferred to a four-year college within four years of enrollment.
Among high school graduates with a disability who initially enrolled in a four-year college or in a two-year college with the intention of attaining a baccalaureate degree, 16 percent attained a baccalaureate degree within seven years of enrollment.
Among high school graduates with a disability, college enrollment and attainment were lower for Hispanic graduates than for White graduates and substantially lower for graduates who had been eligible for the national school lunch program in high school than for graduates who had not been eligible.
College enrollment and attainment were higher for high school graduates with auditory, speech, visual, orthopedic, and other health impairments than for graduates with other types of disability.