Now that your StudentTracker® reports have been returned and you're ready to start reviewing and analyzing the data, where to start?
Demographic vs Academic Packages
To begin with, understand that the Demographic and Academic packages are different breakdowns of the same data that's in the Basic package. For example, the Basic package includes a report on enrollment in college in the Fall immediately following graduation; in the Demographic package, that same data can be broken down to "Enrollment During First Fall Immediately After High School by Gender".
Access available reports
To access the StudentTracker® Reports:
- From your educator account, under Reports click Student Tracker.
- If the reports are ready, they will be available in PDF and Excel format. Click on the format you wish to view the report in to begin the download.
Note: The Student Details report is only available in CSV format.
Organization of aggregate reports
All the reports are organized by different outcome. The outcomes include:
- % of students who enrolled in college in the fall immediately after high school
- % of student who enrolled in college the first year after high school you returned for a second year
- % of high school class who completed a college degree within six years
- Post secondary enrollment and progress by graduating class
Each outcome is then broken down by institution type: public or private, two-year vs four-year, and in-state vs. out-of-state.
At the end of each outcome is a table with the exact numbers that produced the percentages in the previous charts and graphs. For example, the first outcome of the Basic report packet shows the total count of students in the graduating class, the count of students enrolled, the number enrolled in public and private schools, 4-year and 2-year schools, and in-state and out-of-state.
The last section of the report is the appendix that provides the report definitions. Use this to learn what each report is and what they contain.
Student details report
The Student Details report is a helpful way to easily view and filter the student-specific data that was provided by National Student Clearinghouse. It shows the enrollment and credential data by student. Filter by high school graduating class, in and out-of-state, 2-year vs 4-year, public or private institutions, withdrawals, and students who graduated.
Frequently Asked Questions
They both have to do with the first two years following graduation of high school. Retention is when a student returns to the same school the second year. Persistence is when the student attends a different college from the first year.
There are two possible reasons. Either your school did not provide eight years' worth of graduating classes. Or not enough time has elapsed for accurate data on the most recent graduating class - for example, 6 years would have to pass from the time of high school graduation to college graduation for there to be a enough data in the report titled "Time to College Graduation Within Six Years". A high school graduating class of 2016 would not have six years' worth of data if a report was run in 2019.
If a student has opted to protect their privacy under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) their details will not show in the Student Detail Report. Since the Aggregate reports do not personally identify any students, their data is included in the data that National Student Clearinghouse returns in their StudentTracker® reports.
If there is a blank page in your report it is because your high school has opted not to include that element in their StudentTracker® request.
The National Student Clearinghouse updates their data three times a year: mid-late April, Mid-August, and Mid-late November - each of these dates is called an Effective Date, and will be displayed in your reports.
An academic year is defined as enrollment that occurs between August 15th of one year and August 14th of the following year.
Additional Resources
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Recorded webinarRecorded webinarStudentTracker Reports and Xello
StudentTracker® Reports are the leading source of college enrollment and graduation rates in the US. Attend this session to learn how these reports help you gauge the college success of your graduates.
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External ResourceExternal ResourceUnderstanding Your Reports
Watch this video to learn how to understand your basic and demographic StudentTracker report packets.
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External ResourceExternal ResourceUnderstanding Your Detail Report
Learn how to understand the Detail Report in your StudentTracker reports packet.