According to a report by the National Catholic Education Association, Catholic high school students are more likely to graduate and attend college than students attending other schools, public or private.
The Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing, United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools 2009-2010 touts a Catholic high school student graduation rate of 99.1 percent, higher than graduation rates of religious (97.9), non-sectarian (95.7) or public schools (73.2).
“[Catholic high schools’] effectiveness in educating students, even from disadvantaged backgrounds, has been cited consistently in research published over the last 25 years,” said Marie A. Powell, executive director of the Secretariat of Catholic Education of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “The Catholic community can be very proud of their support for such schools.”
The report also states that Catholic school graduates are more likely to attend four-year colleges than students graduating from other religious and non-sectarian schools. Additionally, 84.7 percent of Catholic school graduates go on to attend four-year colleges while only 44.1 percent of public school graduates do.
