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High Schools and Students’ Initial Colleges and Majors

Author

Listed:
  • Rajeev Darolia

    (University of Missouri)

  • Cory Koedel

    (University of Missouri)

Abstract
We use statewide administrative data from Missouri to examine the explanatory power of high schools over student sorting to colleges and majors at 4-year public universities. We develop a “preparation and persistence index” (PPI) for each university-by-major cell in the Missouri system that captures dimensions of selectivity and rigor and allows for a detailed investigation of sorting. Our analysis shows that students’ high schools predict the quality of the initial university, as measured by PPI, conditional on their own academic preparation, and that students from lower-SES high schools systematically enroll at lower-PPI universities. However, high schools offer little explanatory power over major placements within universities.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajeev Darolia & Cory Koedel, 2016. "High Schools and Students’ Initial Colleges and Majors," Working Papers 1609, Department of Economics, University of Missouri, revised Apr 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:umc:wpaper:1609
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Diyi Li & Cheng Qian & Cory Koedel, 2020. "Nonresident Postsecondary Enrollment Growth And The Outcomes Of In‐State Students," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(4), pages 736-757, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    College sorting; major sorting; effects of high schools; college mismatch; postsecondary sorting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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