Increasing High School Matriculation

China has shown incredible progress in the last several decades in expanding access to education. Today, the vast majority of Chinese children between the ages of 7 and 12 are enrolled in school. But something is still missing...

Why are high school enrollment rates so low? Surprisingly little is known about the factors that keep students out of school. A major policy challenge is therefore to identify specific barriers to increasing high school enrollment. China is entering a crucial stage of development in which it must make the transition from middle-income to high-income nation. All of the nations that successfully made that transition in the past fifty years underscored their growth with high rates of high school enrollment. If China's current trend of low high school matriculation continues, not only will individual rural students suffer as industries change, but China's continuing economic development may also be undermined if rural students are not prepared to contribute to a modern economy.

REAP has been conducting research since 2008 to find ways to increase high school matriculation rates among disadvantaged students. Here are a few of our projects: 

       > Free High School in Rural China

       > Guaranteed Financial Aid for High School

       > Counseling, Vouchers and High School Matriculation

To learn more about our efforts to keep kids in school throughout the secondary education process, see our projects on

       > Preventing Dropout from Junior High School