ERIC Number: ED553416
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Sep
Pages: 49
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Is It Worth It? Postsecondary Education and Labor Market Outcomes for the Disadvantaged. CALDER Working Paper No. 117
Backes, Benjamin; Holzer, Harry J.; Dunlop Velez, Erin
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER)
In this paper we examine a range of postsecondary education and labor market outcomes, with a particular focus on minorities and/or disadvantaged workers. We use administrative data from the state of Florida, where postsecondary student records have been linked to UI earnings data and also to secondary education records. Our main findings can be summarized as follows: 1) Gaps in secondary school achievement can account for a large portion of the variation in postsecondary attainment and labor market outcomes between the disadvantaged and other students, but meaningful gaps also "exist" within achievement groups, and 2) Earnings of the disadvantaged are hurt by low completion rates in postsecondary programs, poor performance during college, and not choosing high-earning fields. In particular, significant labor market premia can be earned in a variety of more technical certificate and Associate (AA) programs, even for those with weak earlier academic performance, but instead many disadvantaged (and other) students choose general humanities programs at the AA (and even the Bachelor's or BA) level with low completion rates and low compensation afterwards. A range of policies and practices might be used to improve student choices as well as their completion rates and earnings.
Descriptors: Postsecondary Education, Labor Market, Minority Groups, Disadvantaged, Student Records, Unemployment, Academic Achievement, Achievement Gap, Educational Attainment, Regression (Statistics), Secondary Education
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, Washington, DC 20007. Tel: 202-403-5000; Fax: 202-403-5454; e-mail: inquiry@caldercenter.org; Web site: http://www.caldercenter.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Smith Richardson Foundation
Authoring Institution: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A