The Leaky Pipeline: Assessing the College Outcomes of Ohio’s High-Achieving Low-Income Students

Ohio has a large store of untapped human potential. Every year, thousands of students with exceptional academic ability — many from low-income household s— fall off the path to college, missing out on opportunities to improve their economic well-being and, consequently, the prosperity of their families and fellow Ohioans. This report examines Ohio’s public-school pipeline to college, particularly for high-achieving low-income (HALO) students, and identifies the characteristics of districts and high schools that are most effective at getting these students into four-year colleges and universities.

The results suggest that Ohio could better support its high-achieving low-income students by expanding their access to advanced coursework and high-achieving peers throughout the K–12 pipeline. Early interventions, so that students are ready to enroll in algebra by eighth grade and to enroll in AP coursework during high school, appear to be effective pathways to get HALO students into top colleges and universities. Expanding students’ schooling options, such as establishing selective-enrollment magnet schools and increasing districts’ participation in Ohio’s open enrollment program, could help families and schools overcome resource constraints that prevent them from providing HALO students with advanced coursework and access to high-achieving peers. Indeed, selective high schools located in city districts are some of Ohio’s most effective at getting HALO students into college. Offering families more help in navigating these and other school options, such as Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (EdChoice), would likely further enhance their benefits.