The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released its High School Benchmarks report on September 18, 2026. The data showed that the rate at which high school graduates go directly to college remained steady between the Classes of 2024 and 2025.

The organization tracks postsecondary outcomes using a nationwide network of roughly 3,600 colleges. This network represents 97 percent of postsecondary enrollment. The National Student Clearinghouse is an educational nonprofit that provides educational reporting, verification, and research services to North American colleges and universities.

The report examined enrollment patterns among students from different economic backgrounds. It used the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch in a given high school as a proxy for income level. Among the Class of 2023, 60.4 percent of students at low-income schools enrolled in college within two years. The percentage of graduates from low-income high schools in the Class of 2023 who entered college within two years of finishing high school increased by two percentage points compared to the Class of 2022.

Persistence rates also showed variation across income groups. Persistence from the first to second year of college remained steady or increased slightly for all high school graduates between 2022 and 2023. Persistence from the first to second year of college increased by 1.7 percentage points among students from high-poverty high schools between 2022 and 2023.

Major selection data revealed differences in academic pathways. Among the high school Class of 2025 headed to college, most low- and high-income students chose majors in liberal arts and sciences. Business and management majors were the second most popular choice among the high school Class of 2025 headed to college. Engineering was cited as a major by 8.8 percent of higher-income students in the Class of 2025 headed to college.

Historical data from earlier graduating classes provided additional context on degree completion. The number of students who finished their degree within six years of graduating high school declined from the Class of 2018 to the Class of 2019. The decline in six-year degree completion rates from the Class of 2018 to 2019 was less than one percentage point. Among 2019 high school graduates, 17.1 percent of high-income students graduated with a STEM degree.

Within the STEM-degree cohort of 2019 high school graduates, low-income students were more likely to have earned degrees in psychology or the social sciences. Within the STEM-degree cohort of 2019 high school graduates, high-income students were more likely to have studied engineering.

What's New

NSC has a nationwide network of roughly 3,600 colleges, representing 97 percent of postsecondary enrollment.

Why It Matters

The report covers a vast majority of postsecondary enrollment through its network of roughly 3,600 colleges. This scale allows the data to reflect trends across diverse economic and geographic populations. The steady immediate enrollment rate between the Classes of 2024 and 2025 indicates stability in recent high school graduate behavior regarding college entry.

Changes in persistence and major selection highlight ongoing disparities in educational outcomes. The increase in two-year enrollment for low-income graduates from the Class of 2023 suggests shifting access patterns. Differences in STEM degree attainment between high- and low-income students from the Class of 2019 illustrate long-term variations in field of study choices.