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High School Course Access and Postsecondary STEM Enrollment and Attainment

Author

Listed:
  • Rajeev Darolia
  • Cory Koedel

    (Department of Economics and Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, Columbia)

  • Joyce B. Main
  • Felix Ndashimye
  • Junpeng Yan

Abstract

We study the effects of access to high school math and science courses on postsecondary STEM enrollment and degree attainment using administrative data from Missouri. Our data include over 140,000 students from 14 cohorts entering the 4-year public university system. The effects of high school course access are identified by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in course offerings within high schools over time. We find that differential access to high school courses does not affect postsecondary STEM enrollment or degree attainment. Our null results are estimated precisely enough to rule out moderate impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajeev Darolia & Cory Koedel & Joyce B. Main & Felix Ndashimye & Junpeng Yan, 2020. "High School Course Access and Postsecondary STEM Enrollment and Attainment," Working Papers 2004, Department of Economics, University of Missouri.
    • Handle: RePEc:umc:wpaper:2004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Georges Landeghem, 2022. "An indicator of early school leaving per school: every pupil counts," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3795-3813, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    STEM; College sorting; High school curricula;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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