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Research summaries related to the Scholars Initiative:
Scholars Advantage
Because a majority of jobs now require some type of education after high school, all students need to complete a sequence of rigorous academic courses in math, lab sciences, English, social studies, and foreign languages to be competitive in the workplace. Students who complete coursework at or above the Scholars Course of Study have more - and better - options after high school graduation. They are better equipped to advance to higher education, succeed in workplace and military training programs, and/or resume their education in preparation for a career change at a later date.
Research shows that there is a strong link between courses completed in high school and postsecondary achievement.
Research also shows that a solid high school education can increase wages both for students who enroll in and complete postsecondary education and for students who enter the workforce directly from high school.
A solid academic foundation in high school benefits every student, regardless of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). However, students from families with lower SES tend to derive a greater relative benefit from a rigorous course of study.
Postsecondary Achievement
The U.S. Department of Education has conducted three long-term studies that track students from the sophomore year of high school through age 30. The research shows that there is a strong link between the courses completed in high school and postsecondary degree completion. Students who took Algebra 2, for example, earned a bachelor's degree 39.5 percent of the time, while students who stopped at geometry earned a bachelor's degree only 23.1 percent of the time. (Adelman, chapter 1, table 6) The rigor of academic courses completed has proved to be a better predictor of success in postsecondary education than a student's GPA or class rank.
Adelman, Clifford, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor's Degree Attainment (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1999).
Wages
Research conducted by the U.S. Department of Education found that students who complete rigorous academic courses like the Scholars Course of Study enjoy on average a 13.1 percent wage advantage nine years after graduation, an effect that occurred regardless of whether the student attended college or not. (Zucker and Dawson, NCES 2001-168, table 21)
Zucker, Brian and Dawson, Royal, Credits and Attainment: Returns to Postsecondary Education Ten Years after High School (NCES 2001-168), Table 21.
Worth Reading
Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States
In this September 2003 report released by the Manhattan Institute, Jay P. Greene and Greg Forster estimate the percentage of students in the public high school class of 2001 who actually possess the minimum qualifications for applying to four-year colleges. For the complete report, see Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States.
American Diploma Project National New Economy Workplace Study
The ADP workplace study is an analysis of the relationship between education, employment and earnings data, and includes employers' reflections on what they think critical employee competencies in English language arts and mathematics are for success in the high-performance workplace. For the complete report, see The ADP Workplace Study.
High Standards for All?
David L. Angus and Jeffrey E. Mirel wrote in "High Standards for All? The Struggle for Equality in the American High School Curriculum, 1890-1990" (1994) that by setting low expectations and creating a differentiated curriculum for students of supposedly low ability, the United States drove down achievement of all students in the 20th century. In The Failed Promise of the American High School 1890-1995 (1999) the authors recommended that the United States move steadily toward more rigorous and demanding high school graduation requirements as well as national content standards. For the complete article, click here.
A New Core Curriculum for All
In a May 2003 report, the Education Trust recommends that all students complete a sequence of rigorous academic high school courses equivalent to the Scholars Course of Study.
Download a copy of A New Core Curriculum for All (Adobe Acrobat 4.0 format) or go to www.edtrust.org/main/main/reports.asp.
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