News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education
Oct. 10, 2005
More than two-thirds of students who were high school seniors in 2004 expected to complete a bachelor’s degree, and 35 percent planned to get a graduate or professional degree. But nearly two-thirds of the students who expected to get a four-year degree had not mastered intermediate level mathematics concepts as 12th graders, and nearly a third could not consistently solve simple problems based on low-level mathematical concepts, according to a study released Friday by the U.S. Education Department.
The survey by the National Center for Education Statistics, “A Profile of the American High School Senior in 2004: A First Look,” provides an array of demographic data and information about the plans and expectations of that group of young people, with a heavy emphasis on their views about postsecondary education.
The study finds that students in general have fairly ambitious expectations for postsecondary education. About three in five — 61.6 percent — said they expected to go on to a four-year institution after high school graduation, while 22.5 percent anticipated attending a community college and 8 percent planned to go to a vocational or trade school. The rest did not plan to continue or did not know whether they would.
A third of all students, 33.5 percent, expect a four-year degree to be their highest level of attainment, while another 35 percent anticipate going on to get a graduate or professional degree. Female students are more ambitious than men — 41.2 percent expect to get more than a baccalaureate degree, compared to 28.8 percent of male students — and among racial groups, Asian students aimed the highest, while Hispanic/Latino and American Indian students had the lowest expectations.
Students’ expectations were also shaped significantly by the educational achievement of their parents and their socioeconomic background, as those in the top quarter of the American income scale and whose parents had more higher education tended to think they were on track to do the same, as seen in the following table:
High School Seniors’ Expected Educational Achievement, by Gender, Race, and Family Background
|
Students |
High school |
Some college |
4-year degree |
Graduate/ professional degree |
Don’t know |
|
All |
5.0 |
18.1 |
33.5 |
35.0 |
8.4 |
|
Gender |
|||||
|
Male |
6.9 |
20.6 |
34.4 |
28.8 |
9.4 |
|
Female |
3.1 |
15.6 |
32.7 |
41.2 |
7.4 |
|
Race |
|||||
|
American Indian |
6.8 |
21.3 |
26.5 |
30.9 |
14.5 |
|
Asian/Pacific Islander |
2.5 |
10.4 |
32.7 |
47.6 |
6.9 |
|
Black |
5.0 |
18.8 |
32.1 |
35.3 |
8.8 |
|
Hispanic/Latino |
6.4 |
23.1 |
28.2 |
28.8 |
13.5 |
|
Multiracial |
6.1 |
16.3 |
36.4 |
30.6 |
10.7 |
|
White |
4.7 |
17.3 |
35.1 |
35.9 |
7.0 |
|
Parents’ education |
|||||
|
High school or less |
9.4 |
27.2 |
29.8 |
22.0 |
11.5 |
|
Some college |
5.1 |
20.9 |
35.6 |
29.4 |
9.0 |
|
College graduation |
2.6 |
12.6 |
38.5 |
40.1 |
6.2 |
|
Graduate/professional degree |
1.5 |
6.8 |
28.1 |
57.9 |
5.6 |
|
Socioeconomic status |
|||||
|
Lowest quarter |
9.6 |
27.4 |
28.8 |
22.0 |
12.1 |
|
Middle 2 quarters |
5.0 |
19.8 |
35.6 |
30.8 |
8.8 |
|
Highest quarter |
1.3 |
7.4 |
33.4 |
53.2 |
4.6 |
The study offers somewhat distressing evidence, though, for those concerned about the United States’ ability to compete in science and technical fields that depend on students’ mathematical abilities. It suggests a mismatch between what students hope to accomplish in college and their academic preparation, at least in mathematics.
While students with higher educational aspirations tended to have stronger mathematics skills, only about half (52.9 percent) of the students who expected to get a graduate or professional degree were found to have an “understanding of intermediate-level mathematical concepts” or “the ability to formulate multistep solutions to word problems.” And a third of the students who planned to get a four-year degree had not mastered “simple problem solving, requiring the understanding of low-level mathematics concepts.”
The Education Department study also offers some insight into what different groups of students are looking for in the choice of a college. If found that minority students are especially concerned about theoutcomes of their education — black students were more inclined than their peers to cite a college’s records in placing students into graduate school or jobs as “very important” factors in selecting an institution, for instance.
Percentage of College-Bound Students Citing Factors as “Very Important” in Selecting a College
|
Students |
Strong academic reputation |
Low expenses |
Good job placement |
Good graduate school placement |
Racial/ethnic makeup |
|
All |
57.6 |
35.6 |
59.1 |
42.8 |
14.0 |
|
Gender |
|||||
|
Male |
51.8 |
33.3 |
55.8 |
38.2 |
14.0 |
|
Female |
63.1 |
37.7 |
62.1 |
47.0 |
14.0 |
|
Race |
|||||
|
American Indian |
61.3 |
33.9 |
59.6 |
46.6 |
14.8 |
|
Asian/Pacific Islander |
66.2 |
33.1 |
64.9 |
54.2 |
19.1 |
|
Black |
66.3 |
53.8 |
72.9 |
60.3 |
31.0 |
|
Hispanic/Latino |
53.1 |
43 |
63.6 |
47.5 |
18.7 |
|
Multiracial |
56.8 |
42.2 |
59.5 |
40.6 |
19.8 |
|
White |
56.2 |
29.7 |
54.6 |
37.1 |
8.5 |
|
Parents’ education |
|||||
|
High school or less |
51.3 |
44.1 |
63.1 |
43.5 |
17.2 |
|
Some college |
54.2 |
38.4 |
58.8 |
41.6 |
13.7 |
|
4-year degree |
61.1 |
31.6 |
57.5 |
39.9 |
11.9 |
|
Graduate/ professional degree |
67.4 |
24.7 |
56.4 |
47.6 |
13.2 |
|
Own expectations |
|||||
|
High school or less |
37.7 |
36 |
50.9 |
38.2 |
23.9 |
|
Some college |
38.2 |
42.8 |
58.1 |
30.2 |
17.5 |
|
4-year degree |
54 |
35.6 |
55.8 |
33.7 |
13 |
|
Graduate/ professional degree |
74 |
31 |
63.6 |
58 |
12.5 |
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This month’s AFT journal is about math-ed in K-12. Research about order, discipline, and stability in all-Asian classrooms are cited.
How unfortunate that in Big-box Education, such issues require soul-stifling bureaucracies that the late Albert Shanker compared to USSR-style Communism.
A.D., Tired of at Door cracks by evangelicals, at 8:44 am EDT on October 10, 2005
The most interesting finding here, I think, is that black students seem to have higher expectations of what college will provide for them than students of other races. In so far as this study: on average, African-American students place more importance than members of other groups on every attribute the study asked about. On average, blacks look more closely at EVERY aspect of the colleges they attend.
This is revealing. It will likely result in two things. First, African-American students, one assumes, will be more likely to get in above their heads. Putting aside affirmative action—which only makes a difference at a small handful of colleges anyway—even students attending colleges with open or formula admission may be less likely to set realistic expectations for themselves.Second, more African-American students are more likely to be disapointed with whatever they get whereve they go.
I don’t think that SES or the relative lack of parents who have gone to college can explain this: American Indians, worse off by nearly all measures, have lower expectations for college than African-Americans.
Thus, one secret to retention efforts, paradoxically, may be to manage expectations a bit more carefully. Obviously, there’s a fine line to walk. . .
Best,
Eli
Dr. 3rd Eye, at 11:58 am EDT on October 10, 2005
I am confused by the comments regarding black students’ mismatch of expectations vs. likelihood of success in college. Of the factors evaluated, i.e., placement rates, cost, reputation; I fail to see which significantly impacts performance or disappointment with choice. It may be that these factors significantly impact African Americans more than other races. If this is true, then the evaluation weight would be appropriate for this group. In any case, to determine whether one could expect disappoint or ill performance should be measured against the student population that has attended college to analyze the true weight of these factors in performance and disappointment in choice of schools. I don’t think that many conclusions can directly be drawn from the information as presented.
KW, at 2:42 pm EDT on October 10, 2005
Pro active teachers make high schools want to learn. Many high school teachers are burned out or close to it due to lack of professional support. Students get “tired knowledge". The lose enthusiasm for learning.
Success breeds success.
Mary Ann Kemmer, M.S., Instructor, at 12:18 pm EDT on October 18, 2005
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Ambition is a good start
The one good thing about these statistics is that most high school students are ambitious. That is always a good start.
The gap between their ambition and their Math capabilities is not insurmountible. After school programs and extra lessons in weak areas on a consistent basis can be of great assistance to many struggling students.
In addition, it is not a surprise that good job placement dominates the overall statistics concerning factors that affect college selection. College is a major investment and one of the important ways to benefit from that investment is through proper job placement. Great article!
Regards, Donnell Duncan, President and Founder, The Cracked Door, “If the Door is Cracked, the Door is Open.”
Donnell, Civil Engineering (Structures) Graduate at Georgia Instititute of Technology, at 7:18 am EDT on October 10, 2005