Impact of High School Coursework on Postsecondary Enrollment

• In Event: Quantitative Methods and College Access

Abstract

A large body of literature exists on the relationship between high school curricular intensity and postsecondary enrollment. But earlier studies were either outdated, used state-level data, or did not attempt to account for self-selection or other omitted variables. The current study resolved these weaknesses by employing a statistical methodology that accounts for self-selection and using data from a recent nationally representative dataset, the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). Results showed that high school curriculum intensity had a positive impact on students’ postsecondary enrollment and enrollment in 4-year colleges. The measures developed as part of this study outperformed the curriculum intensity index developed by Adelman (2006).

Authors

• Burhan Ogut, American Institutes for Research

• Darrick Yee, American Institutes for Research

• Nevin Dizdari, American Institutes for Research

• Charles Scott, American Institutes for Research