Only 9 percent of District children who enter a public high school go on to and graduate from college within five years, less than half the national average of 23 percent, according to a study released today.

The study, called “Double the Numbers for College Success,” comes at a time of higher scrutiny of the District’s schools performance and could have a ripple effect among educators, activists and city leaders. Democratic presumptive mayor Adrian Fenty has acknowledged devising some sort of proposal for a takeover of District schools.

“They are alarming to all of us. We’re all very concerned about the numbers, but they did support, I think, what we expected,” said State Education Office Director Deborah Gist Wednesday. “There were some surprises, and the surprises were mostly in the deeper data and the nuances in what we found.”

The study, based on 2001 DCPS and charter school data, was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. District education leaders, including Gist, as well as Mayor Anthony Williams and Superintendent Clifford Janey, are expected to meet to discuss findings and recommendations this morning.

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Gist called some numbers encouraging. For example, of the 43 percent of District’s students who did graduate high school in 2001, 67 percent entered college and 30 percent of those students obtained a degree within five years, the report said.

Still, those numbers indicate more work must be done to keep children from dropping out of high school as well as advising them about financial aid options and preparing them for college course loads. Often, District students who enter college are forced to take remedial courses to catch up with their peers, Gist said.

“We do need to do a better job of preparing students for college,” Gist said.

Too many parents and children are not aware of financial aid options that can help pay for tuition, Gist and D.C. Education Compact Executive Director Juanita Wade said.

But the report also indicated other disparities, some of which could be attributed to D.C.’s disproportionate ward demographics. For example, all 82 seniors at Benjamin Benneker Academic High School in the 2005 class applied to college; 74 enrolled. At Anacostia High School in Southeast, 45 of the 184 students who entered in 2001 graduated; 32 of those enrolled in some form of post-secondary education.

Ward 5 and 6 Board of Education member Tommy Wells, who is running as a Democrat for the Ward 6 D.C. Council seat, called the results “horrible.”

“The other challenge for the school system is the achievement gap between races in D.C. public schools,” Wells said.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com