NCJ Number
195368
Date Published
1998
Length
53 pages
Annotation
This study explored why certain students identified as at risk of school failure managed to succeed in school and enroll in postsecondary education despite social and educational disadvantages. It also attempted to examine how these students differed from their less successful at-risk counterparts.
Abstract
Looking at students considered to be at moderate to high risk of dropping out of high school, this study examined whether student, parent, and peer engagement factors that contributed to at-risk students’ success in graduating from high school continued to be important in making the transition from high school to postsecondary education. This analysis utilized socioeconomic status (SES), lowest socioeconomic quartile, single-parent family, older sibling dropped out of high school, changed schools two or more times from first to eighth grade, average grades of C’s or lower from sixth to eighth grade, and repeated an earlier grade from first to eighth grade to identify eighth graders at risk. They were also identified according to their level of risk based on the number of risk factors they had accumulated. In addition, the effect of engagement behaviors of students, their parents, and their peers on the likelihood of enrolling in postsecondary education was investigated. The sample, ranging from 1,700 to 2,900 students, was drawn from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/94). To be included in the analyses, students had to have had two or more risk factors, had graduated from high school in 1992, and had data on the outcome variable examined in the analysis. Logistic regressions were used to determine the independent effect of the engagement variables on the outcomes. Key findings of the study included: (1) parent and peer engagement indicators were especially strong influences on postsecondary enrollment; (2) compared to students whose friends did not have college plans, students who reported that most or all of their high schools friends had plans for enrolling in a 4-year college were far more likely to enroll in a 4-year college themselves; (3) participating in college preparation activities increased the odds of enrolling in postsecondary education; and (4) moderate to high-risk students who reported participating in college outreach programs increased their odds of enrolling in a 4-year college nearly twofold. The study was less conclusive for the student engagement variables and the effect of the engagement variables differed depending on the outcome. Tables, references and appendix A and B (glossary and technical notes and methodology)