Educational Outcomes of Hartford Students
Hartford Youth are interested in learning more about their educational system and how their friends and peers fare in its system. Two of the 2023 Hartford Youth Data Fellows worked with the Hartford Data Collaborative team to review data from the CT State Department of Education to better understand critical and current issues for them— the impact of high school students missing school and their college readiness and persistence.
Chronic Absenteeism in High School
Nasere Lewin, 2023 Hartford Youth Data Fellow, analyzed the rates of absenteeism—a key issue post-pandemic topic— for students attending different Hartford high schools and compared it to those across the state.
Chronic Absenteeism is when an individual misses 10% or more of the total number of school days for any reason during the academic year. Students who are chronically absent in the early years of their education may miss out on learning important skills for school preparedness and may lag behind their peers in social and emotional development. Its impact is particularly critical in high school, where the link between attendance and dropout rates has significant repercussions outside of the classroom.
As a school system, Hartford has a sizable portion of high school students who miss class frequently. In the 2021–2022 school year, Hartford's average rate of chronically absent high school students was 2.2 times higher than the Connecticut average.
College Readiness & Persistence for High School Students
Rhaili-Em Lowe, 2023 Hartford Youth Data Fellow, studied and analyzed available data to better understand how Hartford students fare for enrolling in college and applying for federal financial aid to secure loans for their higher education.
College access is important for improving education equity for all students. College enrollment indicates improved economic mobility as college graduates tend to earn more than high school graduates. The four-year high school graduation rate in Hartford was 72.3% in 2020-21, a 17.3 percentage point difference from the overall Connecticut graduation rate of 89.6%. The Connecticut State Department of Education offers various college readiness programs where high school students can utilize college planning tools, such as Naviance and College Board so that students can be prepared and motivated to apply for post-secondary education with support from their schools. Still, we see a difference in college enrollment and financial aid application rates in Hartford.
Though high school students in Hartford Public Schools receive the same education, they reside in different cities and towns because of the school choice program and have different resources and opportunities. The differences contribute to the college enrollment rates for Hartford students. White Hartford students enroll in college at higher rates each year than students of color. 2021 was the lowest enrollment rate for students of color (46.6%), while white students had 76.2% enrollment rates. During the pandemic years, the difference was prominent. During the pandemic, it was harder for students to enroll in college, especially if this experience was new and unknown. White students still during this time could maintain over 70% enrollment while students of color were in the 40th percentile.
For More Information
Hartford Youth Data Fellows create community-based data projects through a paid fellowship with the Hartford Data Collaborative. To read more about their work and see the full data projects, click here. Join us for 2024 Hartford Youth Data Walk to learn about local issues that affect you and your community! If you are interested in learning more about Hartford Data Collaborative, click here. To review more Hartford data projects by CTData, click here. You can keep up with us by subscribing to the CTData newsletter and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.