Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
15. To Beat the Odds, Part 1
Socioeconomic status (SES) matters when it comes to students accessing college and graduating. An analysis by researchers at Penn State University of a national cohort of students from 10th grade in 1980 through their postsecondary experience in 1993 quantified those odds. According to their findings, “Thirty-five percent of the members of the High School Sophomore Cohort of 1980 obtained at least a bachelor’s degree by 1993. When the socioeconomic background of the student is examined, our analyses suggest a stratification pattern whereby: Lowest-SES students have a 13% chance to graduate within 11 years. [emphasis added] The graduation rate for Highest-SES students is 57%.” (Alberto F. Cabrera, Kurt R. Burkum and Steven M. La Nasa, Pathways to a Four-Year Degree: Determinants of Degree Completion Among Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Students, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. i.) http://www.sheeo.org/access/On%20the%20Right%20Path.pdf
Simply put, low SES students without sufficient academic preparation have reduced chances of success in college. As the authors of the report Reclaiming the American Dream stated: “Students who lack sufficient academic preparation in high school, particularly low-income students, have exceptionally little chance of attending and completing college.” [emphasis added] (William Bedsworth, Susan Colby, and Joe Doctor, Reclaiming the American Dream, The Bridgespan Group, October 2006, p. 19.) http://www.nhscholars.org/Documents/ReclaimingAmericanDream.pdf
Unfortunately, according to that report, although low-income students often expressed the intention of going to college, they often lacked the necessary academic preparation. As Reclaiming the American Dream stated: “Put simply, at least one-third of all low-income students expect to go to college but do not plan to take the coursework that will enable them to pursue that path.” [emphasis in original] (William Bedsworth, Susan Colby, and Joe Doctor, Reclaiming the American Dream, The Bridgespan Group, October 2006, p. 11.) http://www.nhscholars.org/Documents/ReclaimingAmericanDream.pdf
The Penn State researchers analyzed what they termed “Pathways to a Four-Year Degree.” In their view, “The High School Sophomore Cohort of 1980 followed nine different pathways to a 4-year degree. These paths were formed by a combination of academic resources secured in high school and the first type of postsecondary institution attended. The chance to secure a 4-year degree varies in relation to the particular pathway followed.
• The pathway most likely to lead to a 4-year degree is one defined by acquiring high academic resources in high school and entering at a 4-year institution upon high school completion. Those who followed this path had a 78% chance to graduate within 11 years.
• Most Highest-SES students followed this pathway, resulting in an 81% graduation rate.
• Most Lowest-SES student journeyed on a pathway defined by moderate academic resources and first enrollment in a 2-year institution. Only 3.3% of these students earned a 4-year degree.” [emphasis added] (Alberto F. Cabrera, Kurt R. Burkum and Steven M. La Nasa, Pathways to a Four-Year Degree: Determinants of Degree Completion Among Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Students, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. i.) http://www.sheeo.org/access/On%20the%20Right%20Path.pdf
Nonetheless, in the view of Clifford Adelman--who had first analyzed that national 1980 cohort of high school sophomores until these students were age 30 in 1993--academic preparation [emphasis added] could help overcome the handicap of a student’s low socioeconomic status. In his words: “Academic Resources (the composite of high school curriculum, test scores, and class rank) produces a much steeper curve toward bachelor’s degree completion than does socioeconomic status. Students from the lowest two SES quintiles who are also in the highest Academic Resources quintile earn bachelor’s degrees at a higher rate than a majority of students from the top SES quintile.” (Clifford Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1999, p. 3.) http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2007/Handouts/S229H3.pdf
This senior researcher from the U.S. Department of Education also addressed the importance of academic preparation on underrepresented students. In his view, “The impact of a high school curriculum of high academic intensity and quality on degree completion is far more pronounced and positive for African-American and Latino students than any other pre-college indicator of academic resources. The impact for African-American and Latino students is also much greater than it is for white students.” (Clifford Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1999, p. 3.) http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2007/Handouts/S229H3.pdf
Like Adelman, the Penn State researchers found that other factors could mitigate the effects of low SES. As they concluded: “The 44% SES-based degree completion gap separating Lowest-SES students from Highest-SES students is reduced to 24% when a myriad of factors are considered simultaneously. Degree completion is affected most by SES, academic resources, degree aspirations, enrollment patterns, taking college courses in math and sciences, financial aid, and having children while attending college.” (Alberto F. Cabrera, Kurt R. Burkum and Steven M. La Nasa, Pathways to a Four-Year Degree: Determinants of Degree Completion Among Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Students, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. i.) http://www.sheeo.org/access/On%20the%20Right%20Path.pdf
Therefore, despite having the odds stacked against them, some low-income students and those from underrepresented groups do matriculate and graduate from college. Several factors have been found to be most integral to their success. A 2006 study done for The Bridgespan Group suggested the most important in no uncertain terms. As its authors, echoing Adelman, stated: “Academic preparation is the most effective means of increasing the odds that students will graduate from high school ready for college, matriculate, and eventually receive their degrees. Cliff Adelman, a Department of Education researcher, has found that, ‘A rigorous high school curriculum has greater impact on bachelor’s degree completion than any other pre-college indicator of academic preparation, regardless of socioeconomic status or race.’ These results have been confirmed specifically for low-income students by A. F. Cabrera, who reports that low-income students enroll and progress in college at much higher rates when they graduate high school academically-prepared.” (William Bedsworth, Susan Colby, and Joe Doctor, Reclaiming the American Dream, The Bridgespan Group, October 2006, p. 4.) http://www.nhscholars.org/Documents/ReclaimingAmericanDream.pdf
According to Clifford Adelman, “Academic Resources” are one of two most important variables to consider; he defines this concept as “a composite measure of the academic content and performance the student brings forward from secondary school into higher education. This measure is dominated by the intensity and quality of secondary school curriculum.” [emphasis in original] (Clifford Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1999, pp. 1-2.) http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2007/Handouts/S229H3.pdf
Adelman quantified the importance of various components of these “Academic Resources” as follows: “High school curriculum reflects 41 percent of the academic resources students bring to higher education; test scores, 30 percent; and class rank/academic GPA, 29 percent. No matter how one divides the universe of students, the curriculum measure produces a higher percent earning bachelor’s degrees than either of the other measures. The correlation of curriculum with bachelor’s degree attainment is also higher (.54) than test scores (.48) or class rank/GPA (.44).” (Clifford Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1999, p. 3.) http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2007/Handouts/S229H3.pdf
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