State reports lower rates of high school students attending college post-pandemic

DENVER, Colorado. (KRDO) -- Colorado's Department of Higher Education reported that high school graduates in 2020 showed a 5% drop in college-going rates compared to the year before.

Not only is the state rate lower, but Colorado also trails more than 10% behind the national average in the number of high school students that opt into college. In Colorado, about 50% of high school students go to college and about 62% percent of students go nationwide.

The state attributes this drop to the pandemic and that COVID-19 disproportionately affected students of color, low-income students, and students in rural areas.

The silver lining is that although college attendance rates are dropping, the number of high school students that are earning college credit while still in high school is trending upward.