What does this measure?

The self-reported post-graduation plans of high school graduates as reported to the state.

Why is this important?

Higher education is associated with greater earnings and standard of living. Post-graduate plans are also an indirect measure of the educational strength of the region's schools.

How is our county performing?

In 2017, 66% of high school graduates in Berks County planned to attend college at either a 2- or 4-year program. The Berks' rate in 2017 was slightly higher than the state rate of 64% and slightly up from 65% in 2008. The state saw a decrease of 5 percentage points (69% to 64% in that same time period).

Wyomissing Area School District had the highest college-bound rate with 83% of its graduates planning to go to a 2- or 4-year college. In addition to Wyomissing, 75% or more of graduates in the following districts planned to attend college upon graduation: Wilson, Schuylkill Valley and Fleetwood Area. The lowest college-bound rates were in Reading, where only 51% of graduates planned to attend college at a 2- or 4-year institution.

Berks' 2- or 4- year college going rate was below those of Montgomery (80%), Chester (82%) and Lehigh (75%) counties. Berks had a larger share of college-bound graduates than Schuylkill (59%), Lancaster (62%), and Lebanon (59%) counties.

Notes about the data

The plans of a high school graduate may not come to fruition for many reasons, including finances, lack of admission opportunities, or a change of plans between the time of reporting and enrollment. For purposes of the listed reports, a high school graduate is a student who has received a diploma. Students earning high school credentials by obtaining a General Educational Development (GED) diploma are not considered graduates for the purpose of the data as reported by the state of Pennsylvania.

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