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The effects of high school math curriculum on college attendance: Evidence from the NLSY97

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  • Aughinbaugh, Alison

Abstract

Using a sample of youth who graduated from high school in the late 1990s and early 2000s, this paper examines the impact of high school math curriculum on the decision to go to college. Results that control for unobserved differences between students and their families suggest that a more rigorous high school math curriculum is associated with a higher probability of attending college and of attending a 4-year college. The household fixed effect results imply that students who take an advanced academic math curriculum in high school (algebra II or precalculus, trigonometry, or calculus) are about 17 percentage points more likely to go to college and 20 percentage points more likely to start college at a 4-year school by age 21 compared to those students whose highest math class was algebra I or geometry.

Suggested Citation

  • Aughinbaugh, Alison, 2012. "The effects of high school math curriculum on college attendance: Evidence from the NLSY97," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 861-870.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:31:y:2012:i:6:p:861-870
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.06.004
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tobias Meyer & Stephan L. Thomsen & Heidrun Schneider, 2019. "New Evidence on the Effects of the Shortened School Duration in the German States: An Evaluation of Post‐secondary Education Decisions," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 20(4), pages 201-253, November.
    3. Ainoa Aparicio Fenoll & Sarah Zaccagni, 2021. "Gender Mix and Team Performance: Differences between Exogenously and Endogenously Formed Teams," CEBI working paper series 21-03, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    4. Görlitz, Katja & Gravert, Christina, 2015. "The Effects of Increasing the Standards of the High School Curriculum on School Dropout," IZA Discussion Papers 8766, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Biewen, Martin & Schwerter, Jakob, 2019. "Does More Math in High School Increase the Share of Female STEM Workers? Evidence from a Curriculum Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 12236, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. De Groote, Olivier, 2019. "Dynamic Effort Choice in High School: Costs and Benefits of an Academic Track," TSE Working Papers 19-1002, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Jun 2023.
    7. Fenoll, Ainoa Aparicio & Moscarola, Flavia Coda & Zaccagni, Sarah, 2021. "Mathematics camps: A gift for gifted students?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 738-751.
    8. Fenoll, Ainoa Aparicio & Moscarola, Flavia Coda & Zaccagni, Sarah, 2021. "Mathematics camps: A gift for gifted students?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 738-751.
    9. Strazzeri, Maurizio & Oggenfuss, Chantal & Wolter, Stefan C., 2022. "Much Ado about Nothing? School Curriculum Reforms and Students' Educational Trajectories," IZA Discussion Papers 15505, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics of education; Mathematics; College;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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