LIVERMORE FALLS – A study shows that high school students’ intent to go on to higher education has steadily increased.

However, the intent didn’t always lead to actually going to college or entering other post-secondary programs the year following high school.

Livermore Falls High School is in its fourth and final year of getting a $10,000 grant each year from the MELMAC Education Foundation to “connect aspirations to a plan.”

The money is being used to increase aspirations of students in an attempt to get more kids to go to college by sponsoring college visits with a career emphasis.

The Foundation defines college broadly to include four-year colleges, two-year colleges, certificate programs and the military.

SAD 36 interim Superintendent David Wallace recommended to the school board recently that the program continue because it appears to be working.

Since 2001, the high school has experienced an average annual increase of 2 percent in its intent to enroll rate, 14.1 percent over a seven-year period, according to the MELMAC Education Foundation. The school experienced an average annual decrease of 4.6 percent in the intent-to-enroll rate prior to the grant and an average annual increase of 7 percent in the years since, according to the Foundation.

High School Guidance Director Sue Spalding said there has been some money put in the budget for the program to continue.

“My goal would be to take at least two college trips,” she said. “It’s tough in these hard budget times.”

Data shows that those intending to go on to a four-year college have decreased over the last four years. But the relationship between the percentages of those with intent and those who actually followed through have remained fairly constant.

Identified challenges to pursuing higher education include low parental involvement with a high percentage of parents with no secondary education, finances, and local and regional economic challenges.

Most of the kids who didn’t go on to college are working, she said, but believes some of them will eventually go to college.

Finances play a big roll in continuing education and some kids don’t want to give up the money they are making at a job to go on to school, Spalding said.

“I am wondering that with so many of the mills closing if that will increase the rate of students going on to college,” she said. “I do believe that aspirations have to start young.”

In the first year of the grant 85.5 percent of the Class of 2005 planned to go on to college but only 80.6 percent actually went, according the study.

Fifty-one percent of those planning to go to college said they would attend a four-year college. The 4.8 percent of the class who said they planned to enter the military did. Of the 29 percent intending to go to a two-year college, 21 percent followed through and 3.2 percent got a certificate for careers such as in a technical field.

In the Class of 2006, 71.2 percent intended to go on to higher education with 69.2 percent following through with their plans. For the Class of 2006, 7.7 percent said they planned to join the military but only 1.9 percent enlisted. Also 5.8 percent said they intended to enroll in a certificate program but 9.6 percent actually went after one.

Of the 69.5 percent in the Class of 2007 who intended to go on to college, 61 percent actually enrolled. A lower percentage of students enrolled in four-year colleges while a higher percent enrolled in two-year colleges.

The Class of 2008 had 80.8 percent intending to continue education with 57.5 percent actually going. While 42.5 percent of the class said they intended to go on to two-year colleges, 23.3 percent actually did.