Which TDSB high school graduates are going on to post-secondary? Race, disability are factors, report says

“We often don’t like to talk about who is going to university and college because it can be seen as uncomfortable or elitist, instead, we talk about different pathways,” she told the Star. “But given the clear social benefits associated with post-secondary — earning more, living healthier and happier lives — we need to be concerned when historically marginalized groups are disproportionately winding up on a pathway that does not lead to post-secondary.”

The report is published by Wilfrid Laurier and York University’s Jean Augustine Chair. Researchers looked at data over 10 years from the Toronto District School Board and found students with disabilities and those from historically marginalized racial groups go on to post-secondary studies at a lower rate. The data was taken from 10 cohorts, who started Grade 9 between 2006 and 2015, and includes 156,580 kids.

Overall, 16 per cent of TDSB graduates didn’t go on to post-secondary. By comparison, 20 per cent of Black students, 25 per cent of Latin American and 21 per cent of mixed-race students did not. About 22 per cent of white students didn’t, but Gallagher-Mackay notes that other research shows white boys, in particular, are far more likely to end up in high-paying apprenticeships. Among those with disabilities — these are kids with an individual education plan that outlines special education programs, accommodations and services — 23 per cent didn’t go on to college or university.

When looking at graduation rates and those going to post-secondary, there were also big differences among different races. For instance, 94 per cent of East Asian kids graduated, with 75 per cent headed to university and 11 per cent to college. By comparison 75 per cent of Black students graduated, with 29 per cent going to university and 26 per cent to college. About 75 per cent of Latin American kids graduated, with 27 per cent going to university and 22 per cent to college. And 87 per cent of white kids graduated, with 50 per cent of them off to university and 15 per cent to college.

York Prof. Carl James, who holds the Jean Augustine Chair, says racialized students face various systemic barriers. They can include curriculum that doesn’t support their aspirations, teachers who don’t understand their experiences, and stereotypical assumptions about what they are and aren’t good at, which some kids internalize.

“We also have to think about the larger society’s messages to some of these students, and some of these parents, about their background,” he told the Star. “It’s not simply what’s happening in school.”

James also notes that whether students come from immigrant families, or are immigrants themselves, can also be factors. For instance, within the Black community, he says Statistics Canada research has shown that those who’ve been in Canada for many generations have educational outcomes that aren’t as good as newer immigrants.

The study also looked at the potential role that course choices in grades 11 and 12 can have on students’ trajectory. Teens choose between university or U courses, and college or C courses, when it comes to areas such as English, math, social sciences and sciences. But researchers say the course names can be misleading, because very few kids who take only college courses actually go on to college. Meanwhile, students who take university courses are more likely to go on to all kinds of post-secondary education.

Researchers say there were disparities for marginalized groups in the enrolment of U courses even when they controlled for prior achievement. For instance, they looked at kids who got straight A’s in Grade 9 and overall, 99 per cent went on to take the Grade 12 English U course, which is a launching pad for post-secondary studies. Among those high achievers, about 96 per cent of Black and Latin American kids, and only 80 per cent of those with disabilities, went on to take that English course.

“Right now, students and parents don’t routinely get the information they need to understand the short- and long-term outcomes associated with course choices in grades 11 and 12, and our current policy focus on graduation as the finish line obscures some of the most important inequalities in schooling,” said Gallagher-Mackay.

Among the report’s recommendations is that the province ensure people have a clear understanding of how course choices in the upper years of high school can impact post-secondary pathways and lifetime outcomes, and that it consider renaming C and U courses. They’d also like to see the province routinely report publicly on rates of post-secondary access as well as graduation, broken down by race, disability and other characteristics.

The TDSB is aware of the evidence and is acting on this as part of its ongoing work in equity. As noted in the report, it added enrolment in U courses as a key metric in its Pandemic Recovery Strategy Update. And the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement is working to address racism and ableism.