Previously, we have concentrated on the types of institutions METS students attend. This post will discuss the enrollment rates of METS students when compared to their peers from their high schools.
The state of Maine, in partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse and the Mitchell Institute, has put out a series of reports for each high school in Maine. The most recent year studied for METS target schools is 2013-2014. Data for economically disadvantaged has also been included, as that group is the most analogous to the METS student population.
One note: METS changed schools slightly during the last grant cycle, so not all schools shown are current METS target schools. Also, in order to protect the privacy of our students, the schools have been labeled School A through I. If you are an administrator or staff from a METS target school, and would like to know where your school rates fall, please contact METS Director Karen Keim, kkeim@maine.edu.
Table 1: Number of students served and enrolled in METS target schools, 2013-2014
| School | # METS Seniors | Rate METS Seniors enrolled in PSE | Seniors in target school | Rate target school seniors enrolled in PSE | Economically Disadvantaged Seniors in Target School | Rate Economically Disadvantaged Students enrolled in PSE |
| School A | 3 | 100% | 52 | 59.6% | 26 | 57.7% |
| School B | 15 | 100% | 104 | 63.5% | 47 | 40.4% |
| School C | 7 | 85.7% | 83 | 45.8% | 46 | 30.4% |
| School D | 21 | 95.2% | 118 | 52.5% | 70 | 38.6% |
| School E | 14 | 85.7% | 49 | 55.1% | 35 | 57.1% |
| School F | 45 | 82.2% | 240 | 60.8% | 148 | 52% |
| School G | 8 | 100% | 31 | 48.4% | 24 | 54.2% |
| School H | 18 | 77.8% | 61 | 47.5% | 41 | 39% |
| School I | 5 | 100% | 23 | 52.2% | 14 | 42.9% |
| Totals | 136 | 88.2% | 761 | 56% | 451 | 45.9% |
As this data illustrates, METS students enroll in college at a significantly higher rate than their peers. As the Table 2 shows, the rate if improvement varies slightly from school to school, with a range between 28% and 60% improvement.
Table 2. Difference in enrollment rate for METS students and their peers.
| School | METS Enrollment rate | School Enrollment Rate | Economically Disadvantaged Rate | Rate of METS Improvement of School Rate | Rate of METS improvement of Economically Disadvantaged Rate |
| School A | 100% | 59.6% | 57.7% | 40.4% | 42.3% |
| School B | 100% | 63.5% | 40.4% | 36.5% | 59.6% |
| School C | 85.7% | 45.8% | 30.4% | 39.9% | 55.3% |
| School D | 95.2% | 52.5% | 38.6% | 42.7% | 56.7% |
| School E | 85.7% | 55.1% | 57.1% | 30.6% | 28.6% |
| School F | 82.2% | 60.8% | 52% | 21.4% | 30.2% |
| School G | 100% | 48.4% | 54.2% | 51.6% | 45.8% |
| School H | 77.8% | 47.5% | 39% | 30.2% | 38.8% |
| School I | 100% | 52.2% | 42.9% | 47.8% | 57.1% |
| Total METS Target Schools | 88.2% | 56% | 45.9% | 32.3% | 42.3% |
Sources: Educational Talent Search Annual Performance Report, 2013-2014; National Student Clearinghouse, StudentTracker for High Schools Demographics report, 2015.
As is evident in the data, METS students are more likely to enroll in college following high school. In fact, when compared with a similar demographic cohort, METS students are almost twice as likely to enroll in postsecondary education.
Next up in our series on METS Outcomes is a closer look at the impact METS is having on target schools.
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