How well do these states rank on college preparedness and persistence?

1,742 high schools across 25 states were awarded the 2022 College Success Award. Which states received the most?

For its fifth consecutive year, GreatSchools, a nonprofit that empowers parents through information, announced the recipients of the 2022 College Success Award.

This year, 1,742 high schools across 25 states were recognized for their success in preparing students to enroll and persist into their second year of college.

“For five years, we have had the privilege of recognizing schools for doing exactly what they set out to do: prepare students for success after high school,” said CEO of GreatSchools Jon Deane. “In doing so, we’ve learned so much about the creative ways these schools are supporting students for lifelong success, especially those from historically marginalized communities.”

Award winners are selected based on school-level data in the following areas:

  • College Preparation: The percentage of high school students from a 4-year cohort who graduate high school, in addition to measures of ACT or SAT performance.
  • College Enrollment: This is determined based on college enrollment metrics that vary by each state. For example, some states report this metric based on those who enrolled in a postsecondary institution within a year after graduating high school. Others use a time frame between zero and 16 months.
  • College Performance: Varying by state, this metric includes remediation and persistence data. It encapsulates the percentage of students requiring remediation for college for either 2-year or 4-year institutions. Persistence is measured by the percentage of students returning to these institutions for a second year.

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Recipients by state

Among the 25 states selected, Ohio schools received the highest amount of awards (181). Texas saw the second highest with 164 and Michigan with 154. See the complete list below.

  1. Ohio: 181
  2. Texas: 164
  3. Michigan 154
  4. New Jersey: 126
  5. Minnesota: 91
  6. Colorado: 90
  7. Oklahoma: 90
  8. Massachusetts: 84
  9. Georgia: 83
  10. Indiana: 81
  11. Missouri: 78
  12. Louisiana: 69
  13. Alabama: 66
  14. Nebraska: 55
  15. Connecticut: 50
  16. Mississippi: 46
  17. Washington: 45
  18. Kentucky: 43
  19. Arkansas: 39
  20. Idaho: 28
  21. Nevada: 25
  22. North Dakota: 17
  23. Maine: 15
  24. Vermont: 12
  25. Hawaii: 10

“We applaud all of the winners for their hard work—and the 25 states for making these valuable data publicly available to parents,” said Deane.

Award recipients, and the number of awards each state has received since inception, can be viewed here.

Micah Ward
Micah Wardhttps://districtadministration.com
Micah Ward is a District Administration staff writer. He recently earned his master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Alabama. He spent his time during graduate school working on his master’s thesis. He’s also a self-taught guitarist who loves playing folk-style music.

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