DEMOGRAPHICALLY SIMILAR SCHOOLS:

VALLIVUE STANDS OUT

Recently, Governor Little's Task Force approved five recommendations, including one that proposed comparing results for schools with similar demographics. Idaho Ed News reported this task force statement: “Using similar cohorts of students, for comparison purposes, allows parents, education stakeholders, and state policymakers to compare the success of our schools and measure continuous improvement in a fair and unbiased manner.”

So, then, how can we develop a statewide strategy that would allow us to recognize the efforts of high achieving schools across the demographic spectrum, and find out just what those schools are doing?

Well, we can use demographic "slices" to look at academic performance and identify practices used by top performing schools in those "slices". And, of course, using Idaho's School Report Cards, we at RISE have done that for almost all of the elementary schools in the state of Idaho.

In our analysis we have used status percentages in lieu of growth, because of the lack of cohort information and other issues with growth data, such as scaling issues on the IRI. And we have focused on more than one assessment to paint a picture of school performance, because that has been a sticking point for Idaho educators in the past.

We broke down free/reduced lunch "slices" for various percentages of free/reduced lunch schools (0-20%, 20-25%, 25-30%, 30-35%, etc.), created a special category for CEP schools, (those that qualify under federal guidelines to feed all kids), and looked at performance on SBAC ELA and SBAC Math, and on the IRI. All free/redcued lunch eligibility percentages came from the 2018-19 Lunch Eligibility Report from the State Department of Education. The results were fascinating.

THE CHARTS

For example, we analyzed the data for schools that had 50-55% free/reduced lunch, and then used the percentage of students at grade level/proficient as the y-variable and the percentage of Limited English students as the x-variable in a scattergram, and identified the "high flying" schools. This was the result.

This chart was for SBAC ELA, but the results were similar for SBAC Math and for the IRI. For schools with fewer than 10% ELA, Rulon Ellis Elementary in Pocatello. Riverview In Shelley (grades 3-4), Orofino, and Southside in Lake Pend O'reille,  were high performers for this demographic. For schools with more than 10% Limited English students, here of Vallivue District's schools were top achievers: Lakevue, West Canyon, and Desert Springs. Now granted, the difference between these schools and some others in a "slice" may have only been a few percentage points, but it gave us an idea of some schools that are making a difference for kids.

When we looked at 60-65% FRL, here's what we found:

These are results for the Spring IRI, but, again, the top schools tended to perform well across assessments.  For fewer than 10% LEP, Winton Elementary in Coeur d'Alene, Silver Hills in Wallace, Priest River in West Bonner, Cambridge, and Dietrich were top achievers. For schools with more than 10% LEP, Maxine Johnson Elementary in Parma, Henry's Fork in Fremont County, and three Vallivue schools, Central Canyon, Skyway, and East Canyon showed excellent achievement.

For the record, Vallivue's other elementary school, Birch, was also a high performer in the 40-45%  free/reduced lunch category.

SO WHAT'S VALLIVUE DOING?

We were curious to find out just what Vallivue's elementary schools are doing that produces top results compared with demographically similar schools. So we asked Vallivue Deputy Superintendent Lisa Boyd to set up a meeting with some principals who could provide us with a view of their successful strategies. Superintendent Pat Charlton attended, as did Curriculum Director Cindy Johnstone and four district principals.

L to R - Sara Ward. Desert Springs, Lynn Munoz. Central Canyon

Cindy Dodd.  West Canyon, Katrina McGee  East Canyon

At first, the administrators were reluctant to talk - educators are not often asked about the basis for their successes. But after a few minutes, they opened up and we learned a lot about Vallivue. Here were some of the successful strategies they identified:

• AVID - Vallivue has fully implemented this proven strategy, and is the only Idaho district making extensive use of the program in the elementary grades.

College pennants in the hallway of Central Canyon Elementary

• Consistent, Regular Tracking of Results - The District has developed strategies for checking on student progress regularly, and sharing progress.

Tracking student IRI results, Red to Yellow to Green.

• Use of Instructional Coaches - Vallivue uses these coaches to provide curricular assistance, instructional help, and assessment interpretation.
• High Expectations  - Vallivue is known for establishing high expectations for administrators, teachers, and kids. It's a culture that promotes high achievement, respect, and dignity from the Superintendent to the classroom.
• Excellent Professional Development tailored to the needs of teachers and principals.
• Consistent, timely  support for instructional needs in the classroom.
• Outstanding teachers and administrators.
• Buy-in to District standards for learning.
• Use of meaningful assessments, not of superfluous testing (whenever possible).

Wow, that's lot, and probably not enough detail for someone to adequately describe what's working. However, Vallivue's staff and administration is always willing to help. They are true professionals, and dedicated to excellence.

Bennet Mountain Alternative School, Mt. Home, Idaho  

Creating a Culture of Acceptance and Achievement

How many alternative schools can boast receiving the following parent comment? “I LOVE this school. By far the BEST school in (the) Mountain Home School District. Thank you for allowing (italics added) my child the opportunity to attend this wonderful school!” Or this one, “I love Bennett. Currently I have my 3rd child attending Bennett. I love how Bennett treats you like family. My children have thrived since they have been at Bennett. You are awesome.” Those comments were received by the Bennett Mountain Alternative School in Mt. Home, Idaho. They represent the feelings of parents about the culture the staff of Bennett Mountain have created for their children. 

Bennett Mountain Alternative School 

Bennett Mountain was opened mid-year in January, 2013 by the Mt. Home School District Board of Trustees to serve the needs of students who had not been successful in the regular school program at Mt. Home High School and who needed an “alternative” setting to meet their needs that would keep them in school working towards successful completion of their graduation requirements. The alternative school has grown from its original 30 students in grades 9-12 with 2 staff members to its current 115 students in grades 7-12 with 12 fulltime staff members (and a 40 student waiting list). Bennett Mountain issues every student a computer (1:1) which can be used at school and at home to do their school work, homework, and research. The school has annually ranked in the top 5 alternative schools throughout Idaho for its 4 year cohort graduation rate (5 year average of 62%) which would be even higher if they could count the students who graduate in the summer beyond their graduation year or who need one additional semester to complete they diploma requirements. Those are very good graduation numbers for an alternative school. Mt. Home Superintendent James Gilbert says that "Bennett Mountain has always been a great source of pride for us. A lot of these kids are the first in their families to graduate from high school."

BM Principal Stehvn Tesar

The high school principal, Stehvn (pronounced Steven) Tesar, himself a 2000 graduate of Mt. Home H.S. returned after graduating from the University of Idaho in 2004 to teach and coach at his alma mater. He was the first, and remains the only principal Bennett Mountain has had. He has a passion for Bennett Mountain. He gave up his regular teaching position and the joy he found in coaching to open Bennett Mountain in order to create new opportunities and new relationships with students who hadn’t experienced much success in school.  “I felt I could relate to kids well and that this was a good calling for me”. The students and parents of BM could not agree more.

Contributing to their student centered approach, Bennett Mountain provides day care for its teen parents which helps prevent students from having to drop out of school. They have a food pantry for students and their families needing some assistance. Students can pick up personal hygiene products that have been donated. The school works with a local organization to provide counseling and mental health services on campus. And every student has a mentor who checks in with them twice daily.


The community of Mt. Home is in full support of Bennett Mountain. Local non-profits and businesses, a Mt. Home Air Force base auxiliary and anonymous donors have contributed funds to allow the school to add handicapped access to the building, provide funds and supplies for their annual Turkey Bowl, where they serve a Thanksgiving meal to all the students and their parents and then send a Thanksgiving dinner box home for every student and their family. Donations help provide a dinner for students and their parents during parent-teacher conferences in the fall, breakfast for students every Friday, and a pancake breakfast once every eight weeks and student birthdays which are celebrated monthly. Because of the support for their students and families, Bennett Mountain has received recognition for being one of the top 10 schools for student engagement on the ISDE annual survey. Their parent engagement and satisfaction score was 92.9%. The Bennett Mountain staff registered a 98.2% level of satisfaction on the staff survey. Principal Tesar does not have difficulty filling openings, which rarely occur. 


Bennett Mountain Alternative School, named after the most recognizable geographic landmark in the area, represents one of Idaho’s gems in education where achievement and satisfaction are not measured by test scores, but by the staff-student relationships that lead to individual achievement and accomplishment in the face of personal adversity. 

Bennett Mountain Alternative School Day Care room and Graduate Wall

NAMPA SCHOOL DISTRICT'S CO-TEACHING MODEL BENEFITS ALL STUDENTS

The Nampa School District has instituted a district-wide instructional model to support English Language (EL) students. It’s Co-Teaching and it’s having a major and positive impact on student learning. The strategy puts an EL specialist and a classroom teacher together as co-equal instructors who together, teach language skills alongside core content to integrated classrooms of students.

Nampa, with 1,800 EL students, is in its fourth year of implementing the co-teaching model and they are closing the achievement gap for these students. For example, the district’s 5^th grade EL students improved from 8% proficient on their ELA ISAT scores in 2016 to 37% proficient in 2019! The graduation rate for EL students in Nampa has increased at a higher rate (6.8%) than the district’s overall increase of 4.6% for all students. They are moving the needle!

The model was adopted after a district task force was convened during the 2015-16 school year to research instructional models and programs that focus on inclusion, access to content, teacher collaboration, and perhaps most importantly, that represented a dramatic change in instruction that would best serve the district’s EL student population.

The task force visited the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado to see their co-teaching model in action. Cherry Creek is a large district situated a few miles SE of Denver. Cherry Creek serves more than 55,000 students of which 45% represent minority subgroups. The district has more than 150 languages spoken by students across the district. Cherry Creek uses the co-teaching model very successfully.

The task force returned to Nampa and immersed themselves in creating a strategic plan to implement co-teaching in ALL their schools. After one year of implementation, the district received a grant to support a full-time EL Coach, Jill Ayabei to oversee the co-teaching program districtwide. Jill is more than a mere coach for the program.  “I have the privilege to see and help co-teachers get through the challenges together as they step out of their comfort zones, try new things, and grow and develop into stronger educators. Additionally, I get to see students valued and supported as they learn and grow in their language content and experience success in the classroom.”

During a recent visit to a Social Studies class at West Middle School in Nampa, we observed the co-teaching model in action. Co-teachers Luiz Novoa and Jesse Rhodes were teaching an 8^th grade group of students about Toussaint Louverture and his influence on the independence movement in Haiti in the 18^th century. The two teachers were interchangeable sharing equally in the instruction, both in content and language development. They focused on instructional strategies that served all students in the class, of which 30% were EL students. They used Thinking Maps, emphasized vocabulary, used choral responses, required answers in complete sentences, and best of all, had students interact and engage in discussions that enriched the learning for everyone. Students were even encouraged to use their native language (Spanish and Samoan) to describe Toussaint to the enjoyment and edification of their peers and teachers. It was difficult to distinguish which teacher was the language specialist and which was the content specialist. Brilliant!

Endeavor Elementary in Nampa has just under 500 students in K-5, of which more than 140 are identified as EL learners, and more than 85% of Endeavor’s students are eligible for free & reduced lunches. Co-teaching is used in every classroom. We watched Sarah Wang work with co-teacher Jennifer Ballard in a 1^st grade classroom and co-teachers Sarah Ziemer and Taylor Warren teach together in a 4^th grade class. What stood out watching these co-teachers work was the emphasis on language skills. And the teachers were co-equal in the eyes of the children, although one was an EL specialist and the other a content specialist.  As Ms. Zeimer made very clear about the Nampa co-teaching model, “You shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the EL specialist and the content teacher.”

Every student is required to write – a skill that is often under emphasized because of the difficulty in teaching it and the time consuming nature of evaluating and remediating student performance. The staff at Endeavor has made writing a priority. They base their writing instruction on the work of specialist Lucy Calkins and are very intentional in their instruction based on her work. As Heather Yarbrough, the Principal of Endeavor shared with us, “Our students see themselves as writers.”

Other co-teaching resources that have been employed as part of Endeavor’s ongoing training and professional development include the works of AndreaHonigsfeld and Elena Aguilar, author of the book, Onward.

The Endeavor teaching staff is a highly motivated and passionate crew. Everyone is “on-board” and committed because they see the results in their students’ performance and especially the students’ attitudes towards learning. As we finished our interview with a room full of co-teachers, building, and district level administrators, Principal Yarbrough said with a smile and in a tone that exuded the group’s confidence, “Someday they’re going to write a book about us.”

SIC DISTRICT FEATURE

BOISE DISTRICT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Each month, RISE/TVEP will focus on a Southern Idaho Conference District program. This month, it's the Community Schools program in the Boise School District, and Taft Elementary School.

History

In 2015, United Way CEO Nora Carpenter led a group of Treasure Valley non-profit, business, and education leaders to Salt Lake City to visit the Promise Partnership program operated by the SLC United Way. The visit was productive and introduced the group to a new way of thinking about provision of wrap-around services in areas of high poverty.

Not long afterward, just by chance, then Boise Superintendent Don Coberly and Dr. Robert Barr, former Boise State University Education Dean, national expert on poverty and schools, and author of the award winning book "Building a Culture of Hope" were both shopping at a Bed, Bath, and Beyond in Boise.

Coberly was looking for additional options to address needs of students at some of Boise's highest poverty schools, and Barr had been working with the Vancouver School District (Washington) and their Community Schools program. Dr.Barr recommended a visit, and provided contact information.

Within a month, Deputy Superintendent (now Superintendent) Coby Dennis, Director (now Deputy Superintendent) Lisa Roberts, and several others visited Vancouver and learned about their program. Vancouver runs a district-directed program that provides "wrap-around" services for students in a particular district neighborhood. 

Typically, a district-hired community liaison coordinates services that include a food pantry, clothing closet, access to technology, medical and dental services, translation services, help with filling out forms, assistance with finding housing, and all other manner of supports for families. Many partners are involved in each of the Community Schools, including non-profits such as the United Way and the Y, area hospital and clinics, churches, and others. The idea is to support those families so the children can come to school ready to learn.

Boise initiated its program with five Community Schools (Whitney, Whittier, Morley Nelson, and Garfield Elementary Schools, and Frank Church Alternative High School, then added a sixth last year at Taft Elementary.

Taft's Community School

Taft Elementary School was built in 1960 to relieve overcrowding at nearby Collister and Lowell Elementary schools. Ninety-two percent (92%) of Taft's 330 students qualify for free/reduced lunch, and a third of the school's student population has Limited English abilities. Twenty-one languages are spoken by Taft students, and over 80 students are refugees.

"Home of the Tigers"

Taft has a food pantry, and clothing is available for families, as well. Licensed mental health services are available, and medical and dental services can be accessed at the school. Additionally, the Boise District's Ready Set Go! program provided school supplies at a central location (Dennis Technical Education facility) prior to the beginning of the school year, serving over 1,000 students.

RISE/TVEP Co -Director Wil Overgaard and Taft Principal Tim Lowe

Many partners have stepped up as part of the Community School, including local churches, hospitals, Boise City Parks and Recreation, and non-profits. Principal Tim Lowe works with the community partners, as does Community Schools Coordinator Michelle Weickum. Michelle provides classes as part of the Community School services, such as knitting, sewing, and world rhythms drumming.

Taft Community Schools Coordinator Michelle Weickum

Boise's Community Schools have quickly grown into an essential part of the fabric of the District, and are greatly appreciated by community members. In the words of a Taft parent:

"When my family came to Taft, we had just lost everything we owned except our family vehicle...I was once told that if you are homeless, it is impossible to do the everyday things that people take for granted. I didn't realize how true this was until I experienced it."

...The Taft community helped us in so many ways, but I want to mention just a few of them that changed our lives. At Taft, my kids were able to have school breakfast, hot lunches, and an after school snack, care, and activities....After working hard to overcome homelessness, joblessness, sleeping in a garage and on floors, wondering if we would have enough to eat...I (now) have my dream job and my kids sleep in warm beds every night and we have food on the table...My kids are smiling again. I am smiling again.

I would not be where I am today without this support. I truly believe God must have led us to Taft to get us through this time. I have never experienced or witnessed such support with so much respect and love. Taft helped us to meet our basic needs and more when there was no one else. Because our basic needs were met, I was able to focus on creating a successful future for my family. I will be forever grateful for Taft's generous and respectful support that helped my family get back to our 'normal'."

MAJORS AND INSTITUTIONS OF GRADUATION

FOR BOISE DISTRICT COLLEGE GRAD ALUMNI

NOTE: The data used in this series of posts was provided by the Boise District, using files from the National Student Clearinghouse. Its purpose here is to show the information Districts can put together about college progress and success of their students.

Majors

A few years ago, the Boise District provided data regarding college graduation for Boise District alumni from the classes of 2007-10. This is the second post updating that information, featuring the most popular majors of 2011-18 Boise District graduates.

The 3 most popular majors among Boise District alumni were the same as they were for the classes of 2007-10; Biology, Business, and Psychology. Health Sciences and Mechanical Engineering were a bit more popular than in our previous analysis. But Computer Engineering/Science, the 24th most popular major for the classes of 2007-10, was the 7th most popular major among the classes of 2011-18 college graduates. Marketing is also more popular than in our previous analysis, moving from 14th to 8th.

That's a major change in the popularity of CS, but it's really to be expected. Computer Science has been a major emphasis in the District's Advanced Placement program, with the addition of a new course (AP Computer Science Principles) and enhanced college offerings, especially at BSU and at Idaho.  Clearly, many more students are making this area their specialty.

As you can see, the status of most of the next group of majors is relatively static, with the exception of Communications and History, which have decreased in popularity since the classes of 2007-10.

Institutions

As is to be expected, a significantly higher  number of Idaho students graduate from higher ed institutions in their home state than go to school outside of the state. That's also true of the Boise District, with the exception of Boise High School.

The specific choices of Boise District students have changed a bit since the District examined the data for alumni of the classes of 2007-10.

Almost 60% of 2011-18 Boise District alumni who graduated from college did so in the state of Idaho.  Graduates from Utah State University and the University of Utah accounted for another 4.6% of the total. 

COLLEGE DEGREES EARNED BY

BOISE DISTRICT ALUMNI, 2011-18

NOTE: The data for the following 3 posts were provided by the Boise School District. The information contained in the posts was derived from files provided to the district by the National Student Clearinghouse, an organization which compiles college enrollment record for schools districts, among other research information. Districts in Idaho have access to NSC information for their students. These blogs are intended to show the kind of information districts can glean to inform their patrons about college enrollments and graduation for their students.

A few years ago, the Boise District made a post detailing the major areas of the most popular degrees earned by Boise District alumni, detailing subject cluster areas and examining demographic characteristics of the degree-earners. This post and the two following it will examine the data using data from  ore recent graduating classes.

District officials looked at certificates and degrees earned by students from the high school classes of 2011 to 2018. Obviously, the vast majority of the degrees came from the classes of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018 have earned many fewer than 100 certificates and degrees, since they've been in college fewer than four years.

Here are some of the data we gleaned from our analysis. In terms of the number and type of degrees:

There were also 40 Master's Degrees earned by alumni from  these classes. However, for purposes of this comparison we will look at 4-year college grads for the remainder of the post, since they are the vast majority of the diploma earners.

STEM degrees are clearly the most popular among District alumni, followed by Social Science degrees and degrees in Business, Accounting. and Management. The paucity of degrees in education may be a bit misleading, since prospective secondary teachers often get their degrees in a field like History , English, or Math and then add a secondary teaching credential. However, it's concerning when we look at the changes in degree area percentages since the District's previous investigation.

So, Business and STEM degree percentages have increased, while percentages of Social Science, Eduication, and Performing Arts/Art degrees have declined. Not too surprising - with the amount of attention given to STEM in Boise's schools, it makes sense that more students would be attracted to majors in those areas.

ASSESSING THE STATUS OF 
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN IDAHO

Idaho is one of four states that currently provides no state funding for preschool programming. The status of pre-K educational opportunities in Idaho for kids ages 3 – 5 includes federally funded programs like Head Start, private preschools, as well as programs with funding sources from local governments, businesses, non-profit organizations, and school districts.

The Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (IAEYC) has been given approval from Governor Little to submit a grant proposal to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services to develop a strategic plan to assess and facilitate collaboration and coordination among existing programs of early childhood care and education across the state.  Idaho is one of six states along with several territories that has been singled out and encouraged to submit a Preschool Development Grant.

There are many studies that reveal the benefits of preschool programs for children preparing to enter school. One such study was conducted by a task force of scientists from Georgetown University, Vanderbilt, Duke, the Brookings Institution, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of California Irvine, University of Wisconsin Madison, and the University of Michigan. Their report, “The Current State of ScientificKnowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects” (2017) reviewed the current status of preschool education in the United States. Some of their major findings include:

•  All kids benefit from preschool, but poor and disadvantaged kids make the most gains.
• Dual language learners show large benefits in both developing English language proficiency and academic skills
• Successful programs rely on well implemented evidenced-based curriculum delivered by teachers that have received quality training

Nationwide nearly 55% of 3-5 year-olds attend a center-based preschool program. That means that 45% of preschool aged children do not participate in any early childhood programs. The percentage of preschool participation increases to 75-80% if the family income is over $97,000. Families with income levels at or below the poverty level are more likely (50%) to participate in federally subsidized programs like Head Start, designed to serve these families. The percentage participation drops below 50% for families with incomes between the federal poverty level ($24,250) and $48,500.

In a recent parent survey conducted by the RISE Prepared for School Workgroup, 53.4% of the Treasure Valley parents who responded to the survey said their children were enrolled in a preschool program. In Canyon County, which has a higher level of poverty than the surrounding area, that percentage dropped to 44%.  According to the survey, the number one reason for parents not to enroll their children in a program was cost.

And what are the benefits of preschool for children? 

Here’s one example from a rural community in the Treasure Valley with a high percentage of poverty (61% of its children in grades K-3 are eligible for free and reduced lunches):

The Weiser School District conducted an informal study of the preparedness of children for kindergarten by administering a pre-reading and math assessment when those children registered for school.  The children who had been enrolled in a center-based preschool program scored twice as high on the readiness assessment. In the most recent administration of the fall IRI (2019) those children who had participated in a preschool program scored significantly higher on the iStation reading assessment than those students who had not participated. Fifty percent (50%) of the children who had participated in preschool were rated “at grade level” on their first IRI compared to 12% of their peers who had not participated in any program. 

Many other communities in Idaho have partnered with the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children and its partners to promote "Preschool the Idaho Way". The evidence continues to mount in favor of providing pre-school opportunities for children in Idaho. 

IDAHO STUDENTS' COLLEGE PROSPECTS

The Brookings Study

Back In August, Boise Schools posted an entry on the Data Points blog entitled "Findings of the Brookings Study and Our Idaho Reality". In the study, the Brookings authors explained that they look at rates of "some college attendance" in communities to evaluate where the economic health of those communities stands and where it may be going. They expect that in tech-heavy communities like Boise, 80% of students must have completed some college for the community to thrive.

Boise was one of the communities they evaluated, but they used Idaho statewide data to evaluate  economic prospects. The Data Points post used college-going data from the State Board of Education to take a look at where Treasure Valley schools stand.

According to the Boise post, in which they looked at individual high schools around the state, college-going is related to poverty at the high school level. So high schools like Eagle, Boise, Timberline, Mountain View, Rocky Mountain, and Centennial, all in the Boise and West Ada Districts, and all with very low free/reduced lunch percentages, all have "some college completion" rates close to or above 80%  three years after high school graduation. 

Other high schools in the valley such as Borah, Meridian, and the Nampa, Caldwell, and Vallivue schools, have much lower "some college completion" rates, and much higher percentages of free/reduced lunch.

An example of a district that has high percentages of free/reduced lunch and high "some college completion" rates is Parma, a district just west of Caldwell. A district benefactor established what equates to a "Promise Scholarship" fund many years ago which has helped Parma maintain a high "some college completion" percentage. 

It's an interesting post, well worth reading.

RISE/TVEP Senior Exit Survey

This week, RISE/TVEP will release its Senior Exit Survey results and have a meeting surrounding the results. It's another fascinating report, featuring data for the students of Treasure Valley large high schools, absent West Ada, which opted not to participate.

This year's exit survey saw some changes to particular questions, which means that results from previous years are not comparable and should not be compared to 2019 results. The questions asked in this version are, from our perspective, much improved. Over 4300 Treasure Valley students participated in the survey.

The Senior Exit Survey was administered by Dr. Jean Henscheid (principal investigator for the project), Dr. Matt Vaarstra, and Dr. Christie Fuller

Among the most important findings from this year's survey:

• 68% of students planned to continue their education immediately after high school - 48% at a 4=year college, 16% at a 2-year college, and 4% at a trade or technical school. Fewer than 50% of Idaho's seniors typically actually do "go on".
• Almost 60% of seniors indicated that they decided whether or not they'd go on in 11th or 12th grade.
• 76% of students indicated they had completed the FAFSA.  The majority said they had no issues completing it.
• Not wanting to take on debt is the most important factor for students as they decide what to do after high school.
• Though 81% of students said they planned to pay for college with scholarships...a quarter said they had not applied for any scholarships.
• 70% said they plan to work while going to college.
• Most high school seniors say they need help with money and with "adulting".
• More and more seniors are working part-time and taking AP or dual credit courses; fewer are involved in leadership opportunities, clubs and sports, or apprenticeships and internships.

The Senior Exit Survey provides excellent information and supports much of what the Boise District noted about the Brookings study. Money for college  is a primary factor for Treasure Valley high school students, and they are leery of taking on debt. They also clearly indicate the need for advice on how to do college and how to do "adulting".