Copyright Southern University at New Orleans Jul 31, 2004Abstract: Existing conclusions regarding racial variation in college enrollment implicitly assume that sex and socioeconomic status have similar effects on college enrollment across racial groups. Using data from the 1988 through 1994 surveys of the National Education Longitudinal Study, the author departs from these assumptions and finds that sex, socioeconomic status, and their interaction have different effects on college entry depending on a student's ethno-racial background. Moreover, the analyses reveal that while Asians are able to overcome certain obstacles known to deter college enrollment, Blacks are unable to reap the benefits of resources typically associated with college enrollment.
Keywords: education, college, college enrollment, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, socioeconomic status, class.
Most studies that examine differences in college enrollment compare Whites to Blacks, men to women, and the haves to the have-nots (see Baker & Velez, 1996; Hauser & Anderson, 1991; Hoefferth, Boisjoly, & Duncan, 1998; Jacobs, 1996; Lareau, 1987; Portes & Wilson, 1976; Thomas, Alexander, & Eckland, 1979). These studies rarely address the possibility that race, sex, and socioeconomic status intersect to confound the often-reported racial differences in college enrollment. Typically, the models used in these research studies implicitly assume that sex and socioeconomic status have similar effects on and relationships to college enrollment across ethno-racial groups (see Perna, 2000, for a recent exception). In this paper, I suggest that previous studies of college enrollment variation indicate that an interaction effect among sex, socioeconomic status, and ethno-racial background exists. Then, I use data from the 1988 through 1994 surveys of the National Education Longitudinal Study to investigate whether sex and socioeconomic status differences in college enrollment vary across ethno-racial groups, and whether this variation significantly influences what previous researchers have perceived as simple racial differences in college enrollment among high school graduates.
Despite substantial empirical research about group disparities in college enrollment, this study improves on previous research in two ways. First, I contribute to the growing understanding of racial variation in college enrollment by including both Hispanics and Asians in my analyses. Due to small sample sizes, Asians and Hispanics are rarely included in reports on educational attainment from current population surveys and other research studies. Second, I address the debate surrounding how the interrelated association of race, socioeconomic status, and sex influence college enrollment. Specifically, I examine how variation in sex and socioeconomic status influences the odds of attending college for Asian, Black, and Hispanic high school graduates relative to those of their White peers.
Throughout this paper, I have opted to use the terms ethno-racial to refer to groups that include Hispanics. As the term Hispanic is both defined and used by the federal government as an ethnic classification, I felt it was more appropriate to use the term ethno-racial when referring to any comparisons that included Hispanics as a group. In addition, I have opted to use the terms sex and socioeconomic status as opposed to gender and class, respectively. This decision seems most appropriate since neither the variables nor methods that I use to examine variation in college enrollment measures the concept of social status attributable to both gender and class. The variables used are self-reported sex (physical trait) and a mathematical composite of education, occupation, and income. These variables, by themselves and in the quantitative manner in which they are analyzed, herein don't relate to ascribed or self-identifying social statuses, identifications, or ideologies. That said, I recognize that the name of the journal is Race, Gender, and Class. I could have easily changed the words, but I felt that would be dishonest. I ask the reader who may be wedded to the terms race, gender, and class for their patience in receiving this work. For those who desire, the terms race, gender, and class may be considered synonymous with ethno-racial, sex, and socioeconomic status.
BACKGROUND
By the late 1970s, post-integration effects had virtually eliminated racial variation in college entry among high school graduates; however, a new racial gap began to develop in the 1980s (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Today, despite the increasing economic benefits to the college educated (Danzinger & Gottschalk, 1995), Hispanic and Black high school graduates are significantly less likely to enroll in college than their White and Asian counterparts (Ballantine, 1997:270; Hauser & Anderson, 1991; Hurtado, Inkelas, & Rhee, 1997; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001). This contradiction compelled many researchers to begin investigating what accounts for this racial variation.
Existing literature often reports that family socioeconomic background as measured by parental education, occupation, and income, is the best predictor of college enrollment regardless of racial background (see review in Baker & Velez, 1996). However, during the 1980's, despite rising parental education and household income, the proportion of Blacks and Hispanics entering college relative to Whites fell (Kane, 1994). That puzzle suggests that in certain situations, the influence of socioeconomic status on college enrollment may differ among racial groups.
It is also well documented that women enroll in college more often than men (see review in Jacobs, 1996). In the case of African-Americans, it appears that the low college attendance rate of Black men compared to Black women might account for much of the visible Black-White difference in college enrollment (Cohen & Nee, 2000; Garibaldi, 1997). Therefore, racial and ethnic differences in college enrollment could be confounded by within-group sex differences. Nevertheless, few, if any, studies have investigated whether this sex gap is actually exaggerating or reducing ethno-racial variation in college enrollment.
Consequently, there remains disagreement regarding whether socioeconomic status and sex differences in college enrollment within racial groups are responsible for the often-observed racial differences in college enrollment. Researchers have not resolved whether certain combinations of race, sex, and socioeconomic status produce particular advantages or disadvantages for particular subgroups in the transition from high school to college. This paper investigates just that question by examining how sex and socioeconomic status influence the college enrollment patterns of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White high school graduates. College admission advisors, high school counselors, and other interested parties will be able to use these findings to develop more targeted expectations, goals, and solutions for increasing four-year college attendance for underrepresented minorities.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. First, I present a review of recent trends in college enrollment and relevant empirical literature, followed by a discussion of three hypotheses to be tested. Second, I describe the sample, explanatory variables, and covariates used in the empirical analyses. Third, I describe the models used to test the hypotheses and analyze the results that describe the circumstances under which socioeconomic status, sex, ethno-racial group membership, or any combination of these characteristics influence college enrollment. Fourth, I report the findings. The paper concludes with suggestions for policy makers and future researchers.
TRENDS AND RESEARCH IN COLLEGE ENROLLMENT
For 18-24 year old high school graduates, enrollment in degree-granting institutions has steadily increased from 30% in the 1970s to 45% at the end of the 20(th) century. Whites, who comprise nearly 70% of high school graduates, account for most of this increase in college attendance. Throughout the late 1970s, Black, Hispanic, and White high school graduates were enrolling in college at similar rates. However, despite higher rates of demographic growth, Black and Hispanic students have been enrolling in college at a much slower annual rate than Whites. Consequently, the ethno-racial gap in college enrollment rates has increased since the 1980s. By 1999, Whites were 1.2 times more likely to enroll in college than Blacks, and 1.4 times more likely to do so than Hispanics (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). In contrast to Blacks and Hispanics, Asian youth are far more likely to enroll in college than Whites (Barringer, Takeuchi, & Xenos, 1990; see review in Goyette & Xie, 1999). In 1999, only 18% of Hispanic 16-24 year old high school graduates enrolled in a four-year college compared to 46% of Asians (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001).
These trends in enrollment rates are frequently explained by parental factors that influence college entry such as socioeconomic status. In comparison to Asians and Whites, Black and Hispanic parents on average have lower educational attainment, lower status occupations, and lower family income. Because family background is a strong predictor for college enrollment, it is conceivable that the ethno-racial gap in college enrollment is more a result of socioeconomic status than group membership (see reviews in Baker & Velez, 1996; and, Kane, 1994). Most studies of group disparities in college enrollment focus only on the Black-White gap, ignoring the experiences of Hispanics and Asians. Of the few studies that include Hispanics, Jasinksi (2000) finds that socioeconomic factors are more important than language or immigration status in predicting college enrollment. However, Fejgin (1995) notes that socioeconomic factors explained very little of the Asian advantage in attending college.
Dating back to the 1970s, there has also been disagreement over whether the effect of socioeconomic status on college enrollment depends on minority group membership. Portes & Wilson, (1976) find that socioeconomic status was a stronger predictor of overall educational attainment for White men than for Black men. Recent studies report similar racial differences among women as well (Perna, 2000; see Appendix A in Teachmen, 1987; see review in McDonough, Antonio, & Trent, 1997).
Researchers also disagree about whether sex is a better predictor of college enrollment for some ethno-racial groups than for others. Hofferth, Boisjoly, & Duncan (2000) find that, after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics (and other variables), Black women are more likely to enroll in college than other men and White women. Focusing on Black students, Pascarella, Smart, & Stoecker (1989), find that family socioeconomic status directly influences degree attainment for Black men and not Black women. Their study, however, did not consider college enrollment.
HYPOTHESES
I test three hypotheses in order to examine how variation in sex and socioeconomic status influences the odds of attending college for Asian, Black, and Hispanic high school graduates relative to those of their White peers. Hypothesis 1 is that the effect of socioeconomic status on the probability of college enrollment among high school graduates differs by race. Hypothesis 2 is that the effect of sex on the probability of college enrollment among high school graduates differs by race. Hypothesis 3 is that the combined effect of socioeconomic status and sex on the probability of college enrollment among high school graduates differs by race. The objective of this paper is to determine whether sex and socioeconomic status differences in college enrollment vary across ethno-racial groups, and whether this variation confounds the often-observed racial differences in college enrollment among high school graduates.
DATA AND MEASURES
Sample
The analyses use data from the 1988 (base year) through 1994 (third follow-up) surveys of the National Education Longitudinal Study, hereafter referred to as NELS (U.S. Department of Education, 2000a). In 1988, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educational Statistics surveyed nearly 25,000 eighth grade students using a clustered, stratified national probability sample of 1,052 public and private schools. The NELS data includes cognitive test results and interview data from the student respondents. The survey instrument covers school experiences, activities, attitudes, expectations, and selected background characteristics. Separate surveys were also administered to each respondent's parents, selected high school teachers, and high school principal. A sample of these students was re-interviewed every two years through 1994. In order to examine factors related to college enrollment, I use data from the 1994 (third follow-up) survey. The follow-up response rate was 91%, and 91% of those respondents were members of the original eighth grade cohort (for detailed methodology and sampling information see U.S. Department of Education, 1996).
I incorporate all aspects of the NELS complex design features (disproportionate stratified sampling, clustering, and probability sampling) into the variance estimates in order to obtain the correct standard errors, for reliable statistical inference. Weighted analyses presented in this paper were performed using survey estimator commands in Stata 7.0, which unlike SAS and SPSS, can calculate accurate standard error estimates from complex survey designs (U.S. Department of Education, 2000b). Appropriate stratum, psu, and probability weights used were calculated by the NCES (U.S. Department of Education2000a). Recent studies using NELS data (Perna, 2000; Roscigno & Ainsworth-Darnell, 1999); have only weighted for probability sampling alone and not other design effects. Reported findings are based on the weighted data.
Each model reported includes a control variable for missing values associated with socioeconomic status and covariate variables. The full unweighted sample consisted of 13,295 respondents who completed high school. I dropped 165 respondents who reported a race other than Asian, Black, Hispanic or White. From the remaining 13,130 observations, 833 respondents had missing values for survey weight data, and thus could not be included in the weighted analyses. The resulting weighted sample is based on 12,297 observations.
College Enrollment
My outcome variable is a dichotomous dependent variable for each student who completed high school indicating whether that student enrolled in a four-year college or university at any point before their 1994 interview. This variable includes students who may have initially enrolled in a two-year college and then later enrolled in a four-year college. My analyses focus on the factors that influence college enrollment for students for whom college is an option, namely high school graduates. Among high school completers from the 1992 twelfth grade cohort in American schools, 43% enrolled in a four-year college or university by the spring of 1994 (see Table 1).
Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Sex
I created dichotomous variables to represent whether a respondent was Asian, Black, Hispanic, or White. I also produced a dichotomous variable denoting whether a respondent was female. Using the top quartile, middle two quartiles, and bottom quartile of the NELS standardized composite of family socioeconomic status, I generated three dichotomous variables that indicate high, medium, and low socioeconomic status, respectively. The NELS standardized composite of family socioeconomic status consists of father's educational level, mother's educational level, father's occupation, mother's occupation, and family income. Typically, students from a low-SES (bottom socioeconomic status quartile) family had at least one parent with at most a high school diploma, and a total family income of less than $20,000 (in 1992 dollars). Med-SES students usually had a parent with some years of college education, and a total family income ranging between $20,000 and $50,000. Finally, the vast majority of high-SES students (top socioeconomic status quartile) had a parent with at least a bachelor's degree, and a total family income of greater than $50,000.
Table 1 reports the college enrollment differences by race, socioeconomic status, and sex, among the 1992 high school senior cohort. As observed in previous studies, the college enrollment rate was highest for Asians (55%), followed by Whites (45%), then Blacks (35%), and Hispanics (28%). College enrollment differences by socioeconomic status are large, with 71% of high-SES high school graduates enrolling in a four-year college compared to only 39% of med-SES and 20% of low-SES high school graduates. Ethno-racial differences in college enrollment are not uniform by socioeconomic status. Notably among high-SES students, the status level at which most students attend college, Asians and Whites enroll at substantially higher rates than Hispanics and Blacks.
Among the sample, 45% of women and 41% of men attend a four-year college. In addition, ethno-racial differences in college enrollment by sex mirrors the overall ethno-racial differences. Blacks and Hispanics are as likely to enroll in college as Whites from the low and medium SES categories. It is among high-SES students that Blacks and Hispanics lose ground to White students in college enrollment. However, ethno-racial differences in college attendance sorted by both socioeconomic status and sex clearly reveal that the low rates of college enrollment among high SES Black men (46%) drive down the overall college enrollment rate among high-SES Blacks (59%). Similarly, the low rates of college enrollment among high-SES Hispanic women (46%) drive down the overall high-SES Hispanic college enrollment rate (61%). Thus, it appears that sex differences in college enrollment rates among high-SES Blacks and Hispanics may exaggerate perceived ethno-racial differences in college enrollment.
These initial findings, however, do not account for factors that previous researchers have found to influence college enrollment beyond race, socioeconomic status, and sex. The logistic regression models shown in tables 3 and 4 are designed to consider the subgroups examined in Table I to determine whether the results observed in Table 1 remain after holding the covariates constant.
Control Variables
To evaluate the unique effects of race, socioeconomic status and sex in college enrollment, the multivariate regressions control for several variables that previous studies have shown to influence educational attainment and covary by minority group status. These include: respondent age, traditional family composition (McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994), number of household educational resources (Teachman, 1987; Roscigno & Ainsworth-Darnell, 1999), attendance at the same high school for four years (Swanson & Schneider, 1999), high school region, locality, and poverty status (Perna, 2000; McDonough et al., 1997; see review in Garabaldi, 1997), public high school (Cookson & Persell, 1985; Coleman, 1988), high school racial composition (Card & Kreuger, 1992), whether the student had ever been assigned to a high academic track, class, or program (Wilson & Allen, 1987), and number of significant others encouraging college attendance (Sewell, Haller, & Portes, 1969; Sewell, Haller, & Ohlendorf, 1970). Previous research has used high-status activities and practices as a proxy for cultural capital in educational achievement (DiMaggio, 1982) and attainment (Roscigno & Ainsworth-Darnell, 1999). Lareau (1987) advanced the notion that cultural capital influences the relationship between parents and schools. Therefore, I include as a covariate the high-status activities of parents in addition to the student's own high-status practices. Mean values, standard deviations, and definitions for all variables used in the analyses are included in Table 2.
ANALYSES AND FINDINGS
The Baseline Model: Testing Hypothesis 1 and 2
Table 3 reports the results of a logistic regression model of race, sex, socioeconomic status, and covariates on enrollment into a four-year college or university among high school graduates. The top half of table 5 reports the odds ratios related to race, sex, and socioeconomic status from the logistic regression modeled in Table 3. In Tables 3 and 5, model (1) represents the logistic regression modeled on the full sample, models (2) - (5) represent the same baseline logistic regression modeled separately for Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites, respectively. The reference groups in all models are Whites for race, med-SES students for socioeconomic status, and male for sex.
As evidenced in Table 3 model (1), and consistent with previous research (see review in Baker & Velez, 1996; Jacobs 1996), socioeconomic status, being female, and Asian origin are significant predictors of college enrollment among high school graduates in the full sample. High-SES students were 2.3 times as likely as med-SES students to enroll in college. Low-SES students experience a 39% reduction in the odds of attending college compared to med-SES students. Also consistent with previous research women were more likely to attend college than men. The college enrollment rate for Blacks and Hispanics were not significantly different from Whites net of the covariates. Only Asians, who were 1.6 times as likely to attend college as Whites, exhibited a statistically significant difference from Whites in likelihood of college attendance.
Appendix Table 3 provides evidence consistent with previous studies that the racial variation commonly observed in college enrollment is exaggerated unless controls for socioeconomic status, sex, and other covariates are included in the model. Nonetheless, even the full sample with covariates shown in model (1) obscures the amount of exaggeration, because it fails to address the interaction between race and other well-documented factors influencing college enrollment, such as socioeconomic status and sex. To address this matter, models (2) - (5) in Table 3 estimate the coefficients of our baseline logistic regression model separately for each ethno-racial group.
The race-specific models in Table 3 reveal that the often-reported female advantage in college enrollment is true only for Whites. The race-specific models also demonstrate that Low-SES Asians and Hispanic students do not suffer from a socioeconomic disadvantage in college enrollment net of covariates. Only Blacks and Whites experience a significant reduction in the odds of attending college when coming from a low socioeconomic background. In addition, the advantage of higher socioeconomic status on the college enrollment rate is greatest for Whites, followed by Asians, then Blacks, with Hispanics showing a significant advantage over their med-SES counterparts only when the significance threshold is increased to p<.10. The smallest race, sex, and socioeconomic status subgroup in this sample is low-SES Asian men for which there are 62 observations. Appendix Table 1 details sample size by race, sex, and socioeconomic status. After examination of this information and testing for multicollinearity, I am confident that the results presented herein do not represent any considerable statistical anomalies based on subgroup sample size.
These results provide evidence to support hypotheses 1 and 2 that the effect of SES and the effect of sex on the probability of college enrollment among high school graduates differs by race. Moreover, among high-SES students, these results reveal ethno-racial variation in the strength of the relationship between high socioeconomic status and college enrollment.
The Expanded Model: Testing Hypothesis 3
Table 4 reports the coefficient results from an expanded logistic regression model that introduces a two-way interaction of sex and socioeconomic status added to the original baseline model reported in Table 3. This expanded model tests the third hypothesis that the combined effect of socioeconomic status and sex on the probability of college enrollment among high school graduates differs by race. The bottom half of table 5 reports the odds ratios related to race, sex, socioeconomic status, and the two-way interaction from the logistic regression modeled in Table 4. In Tables 4 and 5, models (6) - (9) represent the expanded logistic regression modeled separately for Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites, respectively. As in the baseline model, the reference groups are Whites for race, med-SES students for socioeconomic status, and male for sex.
Based on model (1), it appears that med-SES students were more likely to enroll in college compared to low-SES students. Then, the models by race in 2) - (5) revealed that this was only the case for Blacks and Whites. After controlling for two-way interactions of SES and sex in models (6) - (9), the results show the low socioeconomic status disadvantage relative to students from medium socioeconomic backgrounds disappears for Blacks and Whites.
The benefit to college enrollment for high-SES students relative to low-SES students disappears for Asians and Blacks after controlling for two-way interactions of SES and sex. Among Hispanic high school graduates, high-SES students are 3 times as likely to enroll in college as med-SES students. The strength of high socioeconomic status is slightly less among White high school graduates, as White students from high socioeconomic backgrounds are 2.6 times as likely as low-SES White students to attend college. In addition, the gender gap in college entry continues to be experienced solely by White high school graduates, as White female students enjoy a 39% increase in the odds of enrolling college compared to their male colleagues.
The two-way interaction of socioeconomic status and sex has a significant influence on college enrollment for only Hispanics and Whites. Previous results from model (4) showed that among Hispanics, there was an advantage for high-SES students and no differences by sex. However, in model (8), the coefficient associated with being a high-SES Hispanic female college enrollee is negative. In other words, there is a particular subgroup disadvantage in college attendance by virtue of being a high-SES Hispanic woman. Among Whites, being a woman worsens the low enrollment odds already associated with low socioeconomic status. Both of these results challenge the commonly held notion that being female is an advantage in college enrollment. Not only is the female advantage nonexistent for Hispanic women, there is a disadvantage to being a woman from a Hispanic high socioeconomic background. In addition, the female benefit in college entry for Whites does not exist among White women from low socioeconomic backgrounds. These results support the hypothesis that the combined effect of socioeconomic status and sex on the likelihood of attending college does indeed differ by race.
A Note about Covariates:
The race-specific models in Table 3 and 4 reveal that even the effect of covariates on college enrollment differ by race. Eleven of sixteen covariates were significant predictors of college enrollment in the full sample, model (1). However, only two covariates are significant predictors of college enrollment across ethnoracial groups: whether a student had ever been assigned to a high academic track, and number of significant others encouraging college attendance. These two covariates are significant predictors in both the baseline and expanded models.
In five of the eleven covariates found to be significant in the full sample, model (1), all but one ethno-racial group experienced a significant effect on college enrollment related to the covariate's influence. All groups, except Blacks, increased their odds of enrolling in college with each additional household educational resource. Each group, except Asians, benefited from attending the same school for four years. Across all groups, except Blacks, attending a high school in the northeastern United States (as opposed to the southern United States) increased the likelihood of attending college. Finally, Asians were the only group able to overcome detriments to enrolling in college derived from attending a school in the western (compared to southern) United States or a public (compared to private) school.
SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
Building on previous research, the race-specific models in this study provide strong evidence that the effect of socioeconomic status, sex, and their two-way interaction on college enrollment varies by ethno-racial group. From the findings, I draw a number of conclusions regarding the relative importance of certain factors influencing college enrollment. First, there is evidence of the reproduction of inequality as high socioeconomic status benefits Whites and Hispanics. However, any positive effect of socioeconomic status on college enrollment for Blacks and Asians disappears after introducing the two-way interaction of socioeconomic status and sex. In addition, being female increases the likelihood of college enrollment only among Whites. The commonly held notion that there is a female advantage in college enrollment is, in fact, a disadvantage for White women of low socioeconomic status and Hispanic women of high socioeconomic status.
Another set of conclusions revealed by the findings is that Asian high school graduates are able to overcome factors (e.g., changing schools, public school attendance, and attending high school in the western United States) that are detriments to the success of other groups. Moreover, Blacks are unable to reap the benefits from factors (e.g., household educational resources, and attending high school in the northeast United States) that help the other ethno-racial groups succeed in pursuing a college degree.
These empirical analyses were able to demonstrate sex and socioeconomic status differences in college enrollment vary across ethno-racial groups. Moreover, these findings provide new information regarding the circumstances under which certain factors may work as a benefit or a detriment for high school graduates in their decision or ability to enroll in college. In addition, these results suggest that the intersection of race, sex, and socioeconomic status influences college enrollment in ways not clearly visible from the single variable information frequently reported.
The fact that sex and socioeconomic status collectively work differently in influencing college entry depending on race has important ramifications for future research and public policy. For example, high socioeconomic status does not benefit Hispanic women as much as it benefits Hispanic men. Future research should attempt to establish why this is the case.
Many findings in this study should serve as a reminder to policy makers that certain characteristics strongly associated with college enrollment are not so influential in the success of ethno-racial minorities. The analyses reveal that while Asians are able to overcome certain obstacles that impair college enrollment for other ethno-racial groups, Blacks are unable to reap the benefits of common resources associated with college enrollment. These findings serve as a reminder to those seeking to address under-representation in higher education that what works for some groups may not work for others. Future research needs to reject the notion that all groups are the same. The analyses and models used in future research must take into account that collectively sex and socioeconomic status do not necessarily have similar effects on college enrollment across ethno-racial groups.
These results warrant further examination of the conditional associations of socioeconomic status, sex, and ethno-racial group membership. Future research needs to determine whether these findings are robust beyond the 1992 cohort while at the same time controlling for covariates, such as motivation, that government statistical data currently does not attempt to measure.
The future of America clearly depends on reducing the racial and ethnic gap in four-year college enrollment. If the college enrollment rate of Hispanics and Blacks in the highest socioeconomic strata remains lower than Whites and Asians, then this will only perpetuate the cycle of Hispanics and Blacks born into lower socioeconomic status families. Consequently, the current ethno-racial gaps in college enrollment and income inequality combined with demographic changes will produce a greater proportion of the American population that is left out of higher education and its associated individual and societal benefits. Neglecting to avert this trend could set in motion the downfall of American productivity and prosperity.
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Article copyright Race, Gender & Class.
Table (Rates of Enrollment into Four-Year Colleges or Universities Among High School Graduates)
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