The College Readiness of White and Latino Students: Measurement Invariance and Population Heterogeneity

• In Event: Understanding and Measuring Academic Performance

Abstract

The gaps in postsecondary outcomes between White and Latino students are well documented. It is striking, though, that differences in college success exist even when students are, supposedly, equally prepared for college. It is possible that the differential schooling Latinos experience influence their college readiness in ways that are not well captured by traditional measures of college readiness but are represented when a multifaceted notion of college readiness is considered. The study examines a second-order factor model for college readiness. It further utilizes invariance testing procedures to investigate differences between groups in the measurement model of college readiness. Finally, it proposes a structural model for the prediction of college success by college readiness.

Author

• Hadar Baharav, University of California - Santa Barbara