State high school exit examinations and postsecondary labor market outcomes

John Robert Warren; Eric Grodsky; Jennifer C. Lee

doi:10.1177/003804070808100104

State high school exit examinations and postsecondary labor market outcomes

John Robert Warren
, Eric Grodsky
, Jennifer C. Lee

Sociology (Twin Cities)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Since the late 1970s, an increasing number of states have required students to pass statewide high school exit examinations (HSEEs) in order to graduate. States have usually adopted HSEEs in response to the perception that a substantial number of graduates lack skills that are required for success in the modern economy. What do these educational reforms mean for students' postsecondary economic and labor market prospects? The central hypothesis of the study presented here was that state HSEE policies have the effect of widening gaps in labor force status and earnings between young people who have high school diplomas and those who do not. To test this hypothesis, the authors modeled the association between state HSEE policies and these labor market outcomes using data from the 1980-2000 U.S. censuses and the 1984-2002 Outgoing Rotation Groups of the Current Population Survey. The results revealed no evidence that state HSEEs positively affect labor force status or earnings or that the connections between state HSEE policies and these outcomes vary by students' race/ethnicity or the level of difficulty of state HSEEs.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	77-107
Number of pages	31
Journal	Sociology of Education
Volume	81
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070808100104
State	Published - Jan 2008

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article was originally a paper prepared for presentation at the 2005 meeting of the American Sociological Association. The National Science Foundation (SES-0452941) and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota (through its Grant-in-Aid program) provided generous support for this project. We are grateful to Evan Schofer, Michal Kurlaender, and the “Economy, Justice, and Society” group at the University of California—Davis for their helpful advice on earlier drafts of this manuscript. However, errors and omissions are our responsibility. 1 2008 81 1 77 107 © 2008 American Sociological Association 2008 American Sociological Association

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4 Quality Education
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Publisher link

10.1177/003804070808100104

Find It

Find It at U of M Libraries

Cite this

@article{8b4117438ac94f30a16e375d92eea2f0,

title = "State high school exit examinations and postsecondary labor market outcomes",

abstract = "Since the late 1970s, an increasing number of states have required students to pass statewide high school exit examinations (HSEEs) in order to graduate. States have usually adopted HSEEs in response to the perception that a substantial number of graduates lack skills that are required for success in the modern economy. What do these educational reforms mean for students' postsecondary economic and labor market prospects? The central hypothesis of the study presented here was that state HSEE policies have the effect of widening gaps in labor force status and earnings between young people who have high school diplomas and those who do not. To test this hypothesis, the authors modeled the association between state HSEE policies and these labor market outcomes using data from the 1980-2000 U.S. censuses and the 1984-2002 Outgoing Rotation Groups of the Current Population Survey. The results revealed no evidence that state HSEEs positively affect labor force status or earnings or that the connections between state HSEE policies and these outcomes vary by students' race/ethnicity or the level of difficulty of state HSEEs.",

author = "Warren, \{John Robert\} and Eric Grodsky and Lee, \{Jennifer C.\}",

note = "Funding Information: This article was originally a paper prepared for presentation at the 2005 meeting of the American Sociological Association. The National Science Foundation (SES-0452941) and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota (through its Grant-in-Aid program) provided generous support for this project. We are grateful to Evan Schofer, Michal Kurlaender, and the “Economy, Justice, and Society” group at the University of California—Davis for their helpful advice on earlier drafts of this manuscript. However, errors and omissions are our responsibility. 1 2008 81 1 77 107 {\textcopyright} 2008 American Sociological Association 2008 American Sociological Association ",

year = "2008",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1177/003804070808100104",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "81",

pages = "77--107",

journal = "Sociology of Education",

issn = "0038-0407",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - State high school exit examinations and postsecondary labor market outcomes

AU - Warren, John Robert

AU - Grodsky, Eric

AU - Lee, Jennifer C.

N1 - Funding Information: This article was originally a paper prepared for presentation at the 2005 meeting of the American Sociological Association. The National Science Foundation (SES-0452941) and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota (through its Grant-in-Aid program) provided generous support for this project. We are grateful to Evan Schofer, Michal Kurlaender, and the “Economy, Justice, and Society” group at the University of California—Davis for their helpful advice on earlier drafts of this manuscript. However, errors and omissions are our responsibility. 1 2008 81 1 77 107 © 2008 American Sociological Association 2008 American Sociological Association

PY - 2008/1

Y1 - 2008/1

N2 - Since the late 1970s, an increasing number of states have required students to pass statewide high school exit examinations (HSEEs) in order to graduate. States have usually adopted HSEEs in response to the perception that a substantial number of graduates lack skills that are required for success in the modern economy. What do these educational reforms mean for students' postsecondary economic and labor market prospects? The central hypothesis of the study presented here was that state HSEE policies have the effect of widening gaps in labor force status and earnings between young people who have high school diplomas and those who do not. To test this hypothesis, the authors modeled the association between state HSEE policies and these labor market outcomes using data from the 1980-2000 U.S. censuses and the 1984-2002 Outgoing Rotation Groups of the Current Population Survey. The results revealed no evidence that state HSEEs positively affect labor force status or earnings or that the connections between state HSEE policies and these outcomes vary by students' race/ethnicity or the level of difficulty of state HSEEs.

AB - Since the late 1970s, an increasing number of states have required students to pass statewide high school exit examinations (HSEEs) in order to graduate. States have usually adopted HSEEs in response to the perception that a substantial number of graduates lack skills that are required for success in the modern economy. What do these educational reforms mean for students' postsecondary economic and labor market prospects? The central hypothesis of the study presented here was that state HSEE policies have the effect of widening gaps in labor force status and earnings between young people who have high school diplomas and those who do not. To test this hypothesis, the authors modeled the association between state HSEE policies and these labor market outcomes using data from the 1980-2000 U.S. censuses and the 1984-2002 Outgoing Rotation Groups of the Current Population Survey. The results revealed no evidence that state HSEEs positively affect labor force status or earnings or that the connections between state HSEE policies and these outcomes vary by students' race/ethnicity or the level of difficulty of state HSEEs.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/41249097126

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/41249097126#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1177/003804070808100104

DO - 10.1177/003804070808100104

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:41249097126

SN - 0038-0407

VL - 81

SP - 77

EP - 107

JO - Sociology of Education

JF - Sociology of Education

IS - 1

ER -

State high school exit examinations and postsecondary labor market outcomes

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Publisher link

Find It

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this