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Summary
Changes in family background composition impact educational attainment. While improvements in elementary and secondary schooling are significant, future growth hinges on postsecondary transitions, which are less responsive to background changes.
Area of Science:
- Sociology of Education
- Educational Attainment Research
- Demographic Analysis
Background:
- Intercohort shifts in social background composition influence educational trajectories.
- Previous research indicates varying impacts of background on educational progression across schooling levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how changes in social background composition affect grade progression rates.
- To determine the differential impact of background composition across elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education.
Main Methods:
- Formal theoretical arguments regarding the declining influence of background composition.
- Empirical analysis using longitudinal data for white males born between 1907 and 1951.
Main Results:
- The effects of background composition on grade progression rates decrease at higher schooling levels.
- Increases in educational attainment in the 20th century were driven by elementary and secondary progression rates.
- Postsecondary progression rates show lower responsiveness to family background composition changes compared to earlier stages.
Conclusions:
- Future educational attainment growth may slow due to the diminishing impact of favorable background composition changes at the postsecondary level.
- Policy or interventions targeting postsecondary transitions are crucial for sustained educational growth.