What Matters Most? Analyzing Differential College Dropout by Race and Ethnicity

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Race/Ethnic Gaps across Educational Outcomes

Abstract

Black and Hispanic students have lower rates of degree completion than do white students. They also have lower rates of persistence to degree than white students, conditional on beginning a postsecondary degree program. This paper analyzes three factors that contribute to these disparities: individual background and academic performance, which produce racial/ethnic differences in the risk of dropout; group distinctions in the probability of entering a degree program for students with any particular a priori risk of dropout; and specific sorting by race/ethnicity into postsecondary institutions with varying impacts on students’ probability of persistence to degree. All three factors contribute to the overall racial/ethnic gap in degree completion, with pre-college factors playing the dominant role. Yet racial and ethnic differences in entry rates and in the types of institutions entered also contribute meaningfully to the rate of college degree completion and that of college persistence, conditional on college entry.

Authors

• Christina Ciocca, Columbia University

• Thomas A. DiPrete, Columbia University